Eric:
 
A few recent movies come to mind.  One in which the woman is an active
participant in criminal activities with her husband is The Rookie (1990),
directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen as the
cops and Raul Julia and Sonia Braga as the criminal couple.  I think this film
is unusual among recent movies in that the woman does not play the typical role
of the ignorant girlfriend or wife but is just as involved and as ruthless as
the man.  They have a partnership and run their organization together and
appear to have a strong bond.
 
Another film, one in which a major criminal organization is run by two men, is
Lethal Weapon (1987), directed by Richard Donner.  The General (Mitchell Ryan)
and Joshua (Gary Busey) are the leaders, although one is very clearly in charge
and the other displays an intense, fanatic devotion as he carries out the
General's commands.  These two individuals share a strong bond from having
served together in the Vietnam War, and they continue the close association in
civilian life with their criminal activity.
 
Perhaps another film to consider is Under Seige (1992), directed by Andrew
Davis, with Strannix (Tommy Lee Jones) partnered with Commander Krill (Gary
Busey).  Each needs the other in order to carry out their mission, and this is
stated repeatedly in the film.  But there does not appear to be any bonding.
It's difficult to say, as the audience is not provided with any backstory and
the characters are not well developed.  We are never told how these two
connected, and each one's motivation is never clearly explored.
 
I, and I'm sure others, would be most interested in reading your paper after it
is completed.  Would you consider including it in the SCREEN-L archives?  Also,
posting a list of sources you have compiled would be informative as well.
Thank you.
 
     Adele Maurer
     Student, De Anza College Film/TV Dept.
     [log in to unmask]