The Bourne Identity (1988 film)

The Bourne Identity
Genre	Drama Action Thriller
Based on	The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
Screenplay by	Carol Sobieski
Directed by	Roger Young
Starring	Richard Chamberlain Jaclyn Smith Anthony Quayle Donald Moffat Denholm Elliott
Music by	Laurence Rosenthal
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Alan Shayne
Producer	Frederick Muller
Cinematography	Tony Pierce-Roberts
Editors	Ellen Ring Jacobson Benjamin A. Weissman
Running time	185 minutes
Production companies	Alan Shayne Productions Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	May 9 (1988-05-09) – May 10, 1988 (1988-05-10)
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The Bourne Identity is a 1988 American mystery action thriller miniseries adaptation of Robert Ludlum's 1980 novel The Bourne Identity.^[1] The adaptation was written by Carol Sobieski, directed by Roger Young for Warner Bros. Television with Richard Chamberlain in the title role, along with Jaclyn Smith. It follows the storyline of the original novel, with a run-time of 185 minutes; with commercials added, the running time was extended to four hours, and was first shown on ABC in two 120 minute installments over two nights, making its first run count as a miniseries rather than a TV movie. As such, it was nominated in the Outstanding Miniseries category at the 40th Primetime Emmy Awards.^[2]

The book was adapted again in 2002 by Doug Liman starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, launching the Bourne series of theatrical films, with considerable deviations from the original Cold War novel.^[1][3] It was followed later by a new series of Bourne bestsellers written by Eric Lustbader with the permission of the Ludlum estate.