Extreme Prejudice (1987) Jack of all Genres, Master of Some? (Blu-ray Review)

The 1980s can be defined by many elements. Big hair and shoulder pads, bright colours, rampant consumerism. Cinematically, the decade saw the development of a particular type of action movie, a sub-genre that reconstituted American masculinity severely wounded by the Vietnam War with Reaganite assertion and nationalism. Indeed, the presidency of former Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan included prominent movie references, from the orbital defence programme named ‘Star Wars’ to Reagan’s comment that ‘after seeing Rambo last night, I know what to do the next time’ hostages are taken. Films like Rambo: First Blood Part Two, Commando, The Delta Force and Top Gun demonstrated unassailable authority, both in terms of power and morality, the latter often legitimised by the former. Some of these films became iconic, while others faded into obscurity. Somewhere in between is Extreme Prejudice, released on Blu-ray by Studio Canal as part of their Cult Classics collection. The film is not especially iconic and a 21st-century audience may well find it dated, but it does demonstrate some interesting tendencies that look both back and forward.

Extreme Prejudice takes place in the Texas/Mexico borderlands, a landscape rich in tensions. Across this rich but parched landscape comes Texas Ranger Jack Benteen (Nick Nolte), a man with a badge, a gun, an unwavering belief in the law and an even less wavering commitment to not talk about feelings. Jack is steeped in this country, and Nolte conveys the sand of the desert through the firm set of his features and the bright open sky with the steely gaze of his blue eyes and the grit that he seemingly gargles. Nor is Nolte alone in the gravelly voice stakes, as he is ably supported by Rip Torn as county sheriff Hank Pearson and his old friend/now nemesis Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe). These three men’s men occupy
genre archetypes of the western: Jack is the town marshal who dispenses justice the hard way; Hank is the figure of civilised law and order; Cash is the greedy gang boss whose wealth is steeped in blood.

In this contemporary or neo-western, drug smuggling and immigration have replaced cattle rustling and land struggles. There are also contemporary concerns such as the ‘dirt farmers’ turning to crime to make ends meet, as well as ethnic and racial tensions between different communities. If all this wasn’t enough, a team of special forces soldiers enter Jack’s small town. This team are introduced in an opening sequence that presents their official military ‘deaths’ as well as showing them to be very much alive. Led by Major Paul Hackett (Michal Ironside), these bad hombres have a mission that any local ranger will not stop. Jack, of course, is going to intervene.

If these different elements sound confusing, that confusion runs throughout the film as it never settles on a single genre. Sometimes Extreme Prejudice plays as a western like The Wild Bunch (to which it makes obvious homage) or Lone Star, other times as a special forces film like Rambo or The Delta Force. There are also elements of the heist film and a war on drugs film, and there is some pleasure to be had in identifying the different generic tropes. However, while it is interesting to consider the film contextually as an amalgam of genres – special forces in a western – this type of amalgamation has been done more consistently elsewhere. In particular, audiences coming to the film for the first time, with its less than
stellar Blu-ray transfer, may have encountered more effective neo-westerns such as No Country For Old Men and Hell Or High Water, while the special forces film has produced specimens like Six Underground, Three Kings and Shooter. Heist films have a long and well-established history and legacy, from The Asphalt Jungle to Thief to Inception, and the drug war film, especially on the Mexican border, arguably achieved its perfect form in Sicario.

Comparisons to these other films may be unfair, but it does indicate the interesting developmental stage of the various genres in the mid-1980s. It is, however, unfortunate that director Walter Hill is unable to assemble them coherently because Extreme Prejudice’s inability to settle on a genre makes it messy. Hill would later deliver a more coherent blend of the western and gangster genres in Last Man Standing. Extreme Prejudice never gels as a whole, and as a result, the viewer may feel they are shifting from one genre to another and never settling into one.

As well as this overall imbalance, the film has more specific problems. The action sequences are less than thrilling because there is an unclear demarcation of space, first in a shootout, then in a mid-point bank robbery and especially in the climax that feels like a pale imitation of its inspiration in The Wild Bunch. A pistol duel feels silly, especially when it gets interrupted (seemingly because it is the special forces film’s turn) and resumes. Monologuing from Cash and Hackett explains the meaning behind everything, which makes the storytelling and dialogue of Deric Washburn and Harry Kleiner’s script rather clunky.

As for its politics, the film is understandably dated. The US military is presented as largely heroic despite their dubious actions, the film taking steps to assure the audience that bad things are the fault of bad apples rather than institutional policy. White men are the source of all power and agency, both good and bad, while the Mexican community play a largely reactive role. The perfunctory female character, Sarita Cisneros (Maria Conchita Alonso), is little more than a token passed between Cash and Jack, and while she may comment on the action, she has no say over her own place within it. Guns are righteous and no true man is ever without one: every man in the film either has a gun or is victimised because he does not.
All in all, Extreme Prejudice is very much a product of its time, and therefore an interesting demonstration of the practices at that time, even if the time spent watching it is only passingly entertaining.

Speaking of its time, this Blu-ray release comes with a commentary from C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke, whose backgrounds in film history, screenwriting and filmmaking allow them to provide a detailed and comprehensive discussion on the film, the creatives behind it and its production history. Particular gems are that John Milius wrote the original screenplay ten years prior to the film being made, and many aspects were changed while others survived to the final product. Joyner and Parke are knowledgeable and informative while also being witty and engaging, thus educating the audience in an entertaining fashion.

The disc offers another commentary from music historian John Takis, over an isolated score selection. Takis takes the viewer/listener through the film’s entire score, as he puts it, ‘cue to cue’. He provides a history of composer Jerry Goldsmith, explaining the combination of action, military and western influences on the score for Extreme Prejudice as well as how close Walter Hill’s regular composer Ry Cooder came to working on the film. It is of particular interest that Goldsmith incorporated symphony orchestra and synthesiser music into the score, as this demonstrates again the combination of different elements and the transitionary phase that the film occupies within wider filmmaking practice.

Further extras include interviews with actors Clancy Brown and Michael Ironside, who describe their experiences and the rehearsals, as well as recalling some amusing anecdotes about the production, such as Ironside being surprised by gunfire. Original publicity materials such as a trailer and TV spot, as well as a Vintage press pack video, convey a sense of how the film was marketed. Especially interesting is an interview with Director of Photography Matthew F. Leonetti, ‘Capturing the Chaos’. Leonetti, who also worked with Walter Hill on Red Heat and Another 48 Hours, provides valuable insights into the practice of lighting and shooting scenes, such as Hill’s approach to shooting coverage of an actor at different heights. These extras further help to place Extreme Prejudice in its historical context, making the Blu-
ray release a more valuable and intriguing product than the film might be if presented on its own. This Blu-ray release, therefore, serves as a strong treatment of a cult favourite, that could also reach a new audience curious about 80s cinema.

Vincent on EXTREME PREJUDICE