Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- bleak
- harrowing
- procedural
- serious movie night
- true crime viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's affecting true-crime realism and performances while finding its detailed parallel storylines and courtroom structure unwieldy.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film dramatizes the Powell-Smith police kidnapping and its investigation, trials, and institutional aftermath with closely observed police and courtroom procedure.
The story follows the surviving officer's psychological damage alongside the complicated trials and the broader consequences of capital punishment.
Critical reception specifically highlights police procedure without romanticism and portrays life in the force as psychological hell.
The deserted Bakersfield onion field is the concrete location where the shooting occurs and the event's psychological meaning concentrates.
Films like The Onion Field, and why
Serpico
true-crime police procedural, institutional critique, and psychologically devastating aftermath
The New Centurions
fact-based crime drama focused on policing, justice, and morally compromised institutions
Prince of the City
procedural realism, criminal psychology, and a bleak examination of law enforcement
Dead Man Walking
courtroom complexity and the corrosive human consequences of capital punishment
Movie Details
- Director
- Harold Becker
- Release Date
- 1979-09-09
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (123)
Cast
- John Savage
- James Woods
- Franklyn Seales
- Ted Danson
- Ronny Cox
- David Huffman
- Christopher Lloyd
- Dianne Hull
- Priscilla Pointer
- Beege Barkette
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- BFI Player Amazon Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Onion Field about?
- A grim true-crime drama follows a botched police kidnapping into the psychological wreckage of murder, trials, and institutional justice.
- What is The Onion Field like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Onion Field as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Onion Field violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Onion Field as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Onion Field?
- Critics broadly praised the film's affecting true-crime realism and performances while finding its detailed parallel storylines and courtroom structure unwieldy.
- Which films are like The Onion Field?
- Films with a similar feel include Serpico, The New Centurions, Prince of the City, and Dead Man Walking.
- How long is The Onion Field?
- The Onion Field runs 122 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Onion Field?
- In United States, The Onion Field streams on BFI Player Amazon Channel.
