Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Wyatt There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

mlhawken-503-861998 Yes, the Matt Damon Bourne movies are good, but they are not about the Jason Bourne written about by Robert Ludlum. Very seldom does a movie represent a book well, but the made for TV Bourne Identity does. If you are not a reader, but would like to know the real story of Jason Bourne and Treadstone then watch this. It is truly excellent!

Uriah43 The mini-series begins with a gunfight between two men on the deck of a ship passing through a storm somewhere in the Meditterean Sea. One of the men is shot and tumbles overboard and rapidly sinks into the murky water. Fortunately, he recovers his strength long enough to surface and eventually gets washed ashore on the southern coast of France. Unconscious and bleeding from two bullet wounds he is taken to a village doctor by the name of "Dr. Geoffrey Washburn" (Denholm Elliott) who carefully patches him up. When his patient finally regains consciousness Dr.Washburn discovers that he has no recollection of anything—including his name. Yet it soon becomes apparent that he has a good skill with guns and self-defense. Not only that, but while he hunts for clues to his identity he also discovers that paid killers and the law are hunting for him as well. Now rather than reveal any more and risk spoiling this film for those who haven't seen it I will just say that the entire plot featured mystery and action throughout. Although Richard Chamberlain (as "Jason Bourne") and Jaclyn Smith ("Marie St. Jacques") performed in a decent manner, I thought the made-for-television format hampered what could have been an outstanding movie and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

JLRMovieReviews Richard Chamberlain, star of TV miniseries The Thorn Birds and Shogun, appears as Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne in this 1988 TV adaptation of The Bourne Identity. Frankly I started this in May 2010, and the first 15 or 20 minutes (getting shot on the boat and his body getting washed up on the island) were so laughable, I couldn't get through it. But resolved to watch it or get rid of the DVD, I started it again one Saturday night in January 2011. The beginning still seemed stiff and dated and his acting limited, but once off the island and meeting Jaclyn Smith, the pace picked up. It doesn't compare to the modern remake with Matt Damon, but it works to a degree. It made me think of those old British espionage thrillers, like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (without the fancy technology,) but it is nowhere as good as that, either. Despite the comparisons and where I found it lacking, I think I would watch it again. Jaclyn Smith, a former Charlie's Angel, gives this TV movie a character you can relate to and the presence of older actors like Anthony Quayle, Donald Moffitt, and Denholm Elliott gives this even more credibility. I especially liked how they handled the ending. Given the fact you're dealing with Richard Chamberlain, you should just enjoy Robert Ludlum's story and let it all go.

rixrex Chamberlain was probably happy to shoot this film in Europe, but I'm sure he like the pay as well. At this time he was probably the highest paid actor doing films specifically made for TV broadcast.I got the DVD of it yesterday, and the main reason I got it was because I just watched the Matt Damon series, and was curious to see how this was adapted for the "small screen" (not so small anymore). It's very different but held up well on its own, as I see it. It has things that the Damon films miss, such as in-depth character development, mostly due to being twice as long too, and a much more realistic lead character. It also has other things that make it a lesser film, like some unrealistic plot contrivances and occasionally overplayed emotional conflicts, similar to what you'd see on popular TV shows of the time like Dallas and Dynasty.One thing I like much better in the older version was the wider shots of most action scenes. This version translates well to a large screen, whereas the new version uses too many super-tight close-up action shots. These are typically used when the wider action shots don't really work well, and the closer shots give the viewer less detailed info about the action, but more movement across the screen, so as to make viewers think they saw lots of intense action.