May 18, 2002 About Against All Odds. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. The wise, moving novel from Danielle Steel, whose many bestselling tales have made her one of America’s favorite authors Taking chances is part of life, but when you bet your future against the odds, it’s a high-risk game. Kate Madison’s stylish resale shop has been a big SoHo success, supporting her.
- Play Against All Odds is a website about World of Warcraft Services. We deliver services such as Classic WoW Gold, WoW Powerleveling and WoW Classic Gear Purchases. Play Against All Odds. Cssfox is a community of people who love and create the Web. It is a portfolio for all your web design works.
- Lyrics to 'Against All Odds' by Phil Collins: How can I just let you walk away, just let you leave without a trace When I stand here taking every breath with you, ooh You're the only one who really knew me at all How can you just walk away from me.
| Against All Odds | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | UNHCR |
| Platform(s) | Adobe Flash |
| Release | fr September 22, 2008[1] June 20, 2008[2] fi January 25, 2008[3] en November 7, 2007[2] el June 20, 2006[2] de March 6, 2006[2] nb December 7, 2005[2] sv May 10, 2005[4] |
| Genre(s) | Educational |
Against All Odds is an Adobe Flashvideo game developed by UNHCR designed to teach players about the plight of refugees. Originally released in Swedish in 2005, the game has been translated into several languages, the English edition of which was released in November 2007.[5]
Initial funding for the project came from a grant of NOK 1 million from Statoil to UNHCR's Baltic and Nordic regional office, with the aim of developing a project to reach young people and promote integration in the region. UNHCR sought advice from Umeå University regarding interactive media for schools, and discussed ideas with the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training and the Swedish Integration Board.[6][7]
UNHCR decided to proceed the project as a web-based game, a medium which could reach a large number of young people, require no distribution costs and minimal marketing costs. The game was aimed at 12 - 15 year olds, an age where people began to develop ideas regarding refugees and similar issues.[5][7][8]
In Against All Odds, the player takes the role of a refugee, and plays through twelve stages - depicting his persecution and flight from his native country, through to eventual integration into a foreign country as an asylum seeker. Complementing the game is a facts repository detailing the history of asylum, and refugee testimonies. A teacher's guide section provides discussion points and lesson ideas for the classroom. The game takes approximately 45 minutes to play through, coinciding with the typical length of a lesson.[7][8]
Reception has been positive, prompting translations into multiple languages from its original Swedish. In 2006, the German edition of the game, LastExitFlucht was awarded the Austrian State Prize for Multimedia and e-Business in the Knowledge and Learning category. The jury praised the game for building understanding, empathy and concern for the plight of refugees in the player.[9][10]
References[edit]
- ^'Surviving against the odds: a taste of life as a refugee'. UNHCR Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic Countries. Archived from the original on 2008-02-25. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^ abcde'Mot alla odds' (in Swedish). UNHCR Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic Countries. Archived from the original on 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^'UNHCR:n nettipeli tuo pakolaisen arjen luokkahuoneeseen' (in Finnish). UNHCR Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic Countries. 2008-01-24. Archived from the original on 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^'Against All Odds'(PDF). UNHCR Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic Countries. 2005-05-10. Retrieved 2008-10-22.[permanent dead link]
- ^ abThomas Lane (2007-11-09). 'Gamers get taste of refugee life'. BBC News. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^'Backing tolerance-building game'. Statoil. 2005-12-07. Archived from the original on 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^ abcgamesTM staff (March 2008). 'Against All Odds'. gamesTM (67): 34–35. ISSN1478-5889.
- ^ abGregor Kucera (2006-03-19). ''LastExitFlucht' - UNHCR startet interaktives Reality-Game' (in German). Der Standard. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^'Multimedia & e-Business Staatspreis - Gewinner 2006' (in German). Austrian State Prize for Multimedia and e-Business. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^'Die Besten in Multimedia & e-Business 2006'. Austrian State Prize for Multimedia and e-Business. Retrieved 2008-10-22.[dead link](in German)
External links[edit]
| Against All Odds | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Taylor Hackford |
| Produced by |
|
| Screenplay by | Eric Hughes |
| Based on | Out of the Past by Daniel Mainwaring |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Michel Colombier Larry Carlton |
| Cinematography | Donald E. Thorin |
| Edited by | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date | |
Running time | 121 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $13 million |
| Box office | $21.7 million |
Against All Odds is a 1984 American romanticneo-noirthriller film directed by Taylor Hackford and starring Rachel Ward, Jeff Bridges and James Woods alongside Jane Greer, Alex Karras, Richard Widmark and Dorian Harewood. A remake of Out of the Past (1947), the film's plot is about an aging American football star who is hired by a mobster to find his girlfriend.
The film's soundtrack, nominated for a Grammy Award, featured songs from Big Country, Kid Creole & the Coconuts, Stevie Nicks and Genesis breakout stars Mike Rutherford, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins; the latter performed the title song, which was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Original Song and for a Golden Globe Award as Best Original Song, being one of the top-selling singles of 1984.
Plot[edit]
Professional football player Terry Brogan (Jeff Bridges) is released by his team. Aging, injured and in need of money, he is contacted by an old acquaintance, the shady gambler and nightclub owner Jake Wise (James Woods), who wants Terry to find Jake's girlfriend Jessie Wyler (Rachel Ward), daughter of the Outlaws' owner. Jake claims that Jessie assaulted him, stole money and fled. Terry is reluctant to take on the job, but needs the money and knows Wise is capable of blackmailing him.
Terry gets in touch with Jessie's mother (Jane Greer), ostensibly to find out where Jessie can be found, but mainly to convince Mrs. Wyler and her business partner Ben Caxton (Richard Widmark) to reinstate him on the team. Mrs. Wyler makes clear that she has no interest in his football career. She's willing to pay him more than Jake would if he will find Jessie for her. Beyond that, she has no use for him. Hank Sully (Alex Karras), the team's trainer, strongly advises Terry to stay away from Jake and offers to help Terry get a coaching job. Terry is convinced his days as a player are not over and instead decides to work for Jake to tide him over until the next season, when he can try to continue his playing career.
Terry finds Jessie living in Cozumel, Mexico. He makes multiple attempts to approach Jessie, but she rebuffs him, aware that he must have been sent by either Jake or her mother. Terry tires of pursuing a spoiled brat and packs to leave, but Jessie appreciates that he hasn't revealed her whereabouts and invites him to see where she is staying. They become lovers. Terry confides the leverage Jake has over him is the knowledge that Terry once shaved points in an important football game after he had fallen into debt.
Terry and Jessie remain happily together for a few weeks, with Terry continuing to tell Jake he's been unsuccessful in locating her. Sully is sent by Jake to investigate. He catches the lovers alone at the ruins of Chichen Itza. Wielding a gun, Sully demands that Terry turn over the girl and warns him she's 'no good.' He, too, has been involved in corruption with Jake's sports syndicate. A struggle between the men ensues and Jessie fatally shoots Sully. She wants to flee, as the two will be unable to offer an explanation that will allow them to avoid jail. But when Terry refuses, insisting that the two cannot just run away from the matter, Jessie abandons him.
After disposing of Sully's body, Terry returns to Los Angeles and finds to his astonishment that Jessie has returned to Jake. He is bitter toward her, but Jake maintains a hold over him with the point-shaving incident, as well as Sully's sudden disappearance. Terry is sent to break into the office of Kirsch (Saul Rubinek), the team's corrupt lawyer, who is also involved in Jake's gambling operation. Terry's mission is to retrieve Kirsch's files, which implicate everyone involved.
Terry breaks into the office only to find Kirsch dead. A security guard has been hired to kill Terry and make it look like Terry committed the murder. Terry fights off the security guard, then hides Kirsch's body. He finds a local bar frequented by Kirsch's secretary, Edie (Swoosie Kurtz), where he tells her what has happened and that she too is in danger. Edie tells him about a secret box that contains the information to bring down the entire syndicate and local politicians. They return to the office to retrieve the box, where a fight occurs with another two guards, but again Terry escapes, this time with Edie and the files.
Jessie remains at Jake's side but claims to be still in love with Terry. She knows that Jake is behind Kirsch's murder and informs Caxton, telling him that Jake has been handling bets on his old football team using information he's been given by Sully and Kirsch. What she doesn't know is that Caxton is actually Jake's boss at the syndicate.
Caxton takes charge. He arranges to meet Terry at the site of a new construction project that he and Mrs. Wyler are backing. Terry is able to disarm Caxton's armed henchman Tommy (Dorian Harewood). He says his price for turning over the files is that Caxton must take down Jake. Caxton indicates he is receptive to that idea, whereupon Jake pulls his own gun and threatens to kill Jessie, forcing Terry to drop his weapon. While the men have their attention focused on each other, Jessie retrieves the dropped gun and shoots Jake.
Having killed both Jake and Sully, she must agree to terms set by Caxton to avoid going to jail. Caxton's terms include Jessie returning to her estranged mother's side and ending her relationship with Terry.
Months later, Terry stays in the background while attending a publicity function for Caxton's and Mrs. Wyler's construction project. He just wants a last look at Jessie before leaving Los Angeles to play for a team in Miami. Caxton reminds him that he is no longer a part of Jessie's life. Terry acknowledges that this is true for the moment, but predicts that some day Jessie will break free of the hold that Caxton and Mrs. Wyler have on her. In the meantime, all Terry and Jessie can do is stare at one another from a distance.
Cast[edit]
- Jeff Bridges as Terry Brogan
- Rachel Ward as Jessie Wyler
- James Woods as Jacob 'Jake' Wise
- Alex Karras as Hank Sully
- Jane Greer as Mrs. Grace Wyler
- Richard Widmark as Ben Caxton
- Dorian Harewood as Tommy
- Swoosie Kurtz as Edie
- Saul Rubinek as Steve Kirsch
- Pat Corley as Ed Phillips
Soundtrack[edit]
Production notes[edit]
- The film featured two cameo appearances by stars of Out of the Past on which the film is based. Jane Greer, who was the star of Out of the Past, plays Rachel Ward's mother. Greer held the infant Jeff Bridges in 1951's 'The Company She Keeps' in a scene with his real life mom, Dorothy Bridges. Paul Valentine, who played hood Joe Stephanos in the first film, played a councilman in Against All Odds.
- Jeff Bridges' age and appearance in this film is used as a reference to re-create a 35-year-old version of him for the characters of Kevin Flynn and CLU in the film Tron: Legacy, released in December 2010.[1]
Reception[edit]
Play Song Against All Odds
The film has a 70% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 critic reviews.[2]
References[edit]
Play Against All Odds By Collins Live
- ^'We used Jeff's performance of CLU and remapped it onto a digital version of himself at 35 years old. I used the movie Against All Odds as a reference for CLU's appearance.' - Tron: Legacy Director Joseph Kosinski Forces of Geek: Celebrate Your Pop Culture Obsessions1: FOG! Chats With TRON: Evolution Director Joseph Kosinski
- ^https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/against_all_odds
External links[edit]
| Wikiquote has quotations related to: Against All Odds |
- Against All Odds on IMDb
- Against All Odds at Rotten Tomatoes
- Against All Odds at Box Office Mojo
- Against All Odds at AllMovie