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Extreme Prejudice (1987) – Blu Ray Review


Director Walter Hill had a string of hit action movies in the 70s and 80s and Extreme Prejudice is his homage to Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch with a riveting story and great cast.

Nick Nolte stars as Texas Ranger John Benteen who finds himself going up against his old friend Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe), a former police informant who changed sides to become a feared drug kingpin. But Benteen is not the only person after Bailey as there is a group of presumed dead soldiers, led by the ruthless Major Paul Hackett (Michael Ironside), looking to take him down as well, eventually forcing Benteen to team up with them to face off against his former friend. But all is not as it seems.

Written by John Milius and featuring a cast that includes the aforementioned Nolte, Boothe and Ironside along with Clancy Brown, William Forsythe and Rip Torn this has Nolte at the top of his game as a Ranger who takes no prisoners if it means justice is served but also has a side of him that regrets his friend has turned bad. Michael Ironside gives a good performance in one of his first major roles in Hollywood and tells some interesting stories in his interviews in the extras on what the filming was like and also how some of the more bloody violent scenes shot never made it pass the US censors because they needed an R rating.

The bullet-ridden and bloody climax has Peckipah written all over it, which is no bad thing and ends an enjoyable and fast-paced action movie which has stood the test of time well.

Released as part of StudioCanal’s new Cult Classics line of restorations this looks great with a bold 1080P transfer with great contrast and colours. Audio gives you DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 which is clear and very bombastic in the many action set pieces.

Extras are –

* Audio Commentary with Film Historians C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke

* Isolated Score Selections with Audio Interview from Music Historian John Takis

* The Major’s Agenda – An Interview with Actor Michael Ironside

* The War Within – An Interview with Actor Clancy Brown

* Capturing The Chaos – An Interview with Director Of Photography Matthew F. Leonetti

* Original Trailers, Vintage EPK & Stills Gallery and a set of art cards

A gritty and violent tale with great performances this comes highly recommended.

FILM – 8 PICTURE – 8 AUDIO – 8 EXTRAS – 7.5

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