Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Extreme Prejudice Blu-ray Movie Review

The DOA Team.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 24, 2022

C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke contribute another enjoyable and informative commentary as a bonus item included with this release, and they go into some detail about this film's extremely long gestational period, one which saw any number of people go in terms of "attached stars", writers and/or directors. That may be one reason why Extreme Prejudice can seem like it has plot elements that are at cross purposes with each other, but as Joyner and Parke also at least allude to, some of the changes that occurred in at least the writing department may have actually helped to streamline things. In that regard, the opening "introductions" of a team of kind of quasi-black ops types evidently took reams of paper in an earlier version by John Milius, but which in this final offering are handled rather brilliantly, with brief looks at various characters, and then even briefer interstitials that provides their "personnel file", kind of like would often be seen in the opening moments of old episodes of Mission: Impossible. In this particular instance, though, this "Impossible Missions Force" is made up of a motley crew of guys the rest of the outside world thinks is dead for one reason or another. Playing out pretty much simultaneously with those introductions are even more involving a Texas Ranger named Jack Benteen (Nick Nolte), who is seen in an early vignette with his partner Sherriff Hank Pearson (Rip Torn) attempting to bring a low life drug runner to justice. Are these two elements part of the same story or have they been shoehorned in together in a not very organic way?

Playing into this already potentially schizophrenic situation is a hoary plot trope that may remind some of old Warner Brothers "gangster" pictures from days of yore, where two best friends would grow up together but as adults end up on different sides of the law. In this case, Benteen's former best buddy is a guy named Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe), who has given into the "dark side" and is a major drug smuggler. Benteen knows Bailey is smuggling, and attempts to reason with him, but suffice it to say the film has already summed up Bailey's general persona by having him pick up a scorpion in the hot Texas desert and then crush the poor thing in his fist. With one interstitial "tragedy" that supposedly gives Benteen even more of a motive to bring Bailey to justice, the plot pieces are mostly in place, at least if you factor in Benteen's girlfriend Sarita (María Conchita Alonso), who also of course (of course) has a "history" with Bailey.

Those "rogue", apparently thought of as deceased, mercenaries do in fact have a connection with all of this florid melodrama, with an undercover mission that is unsurprisingly also aimed at bringing Bailey to justice. Suffice it to say that Benteen ultimately joins forces with the gaggle of soldiers who are affectionately (?) known as the Zombie Unit, and a great deal of mayhem ensues. Now Joyner and Parke are not above admitting that as much as they enjoy the film, there are certain plot holes left wide open and a "too many chefs in the kitchen" approach to the production may have resulted in some kind of shoddy cobbling together of various plot points, at least in terms of the final edit. But the kind of remarkable thing about Extreme Prejudice is how amazingly well it still hangs together.

The Zombie Unit is populated by a sextet of fantastic character actors, including Michael Ironside, Clancy Brown, William Forsyth, Larry B. Scott, Dan Tullis Jr. and Matt Mulhern, and they bring some kind of dry humor to the film. Nolte and Boothe are well matched as semi-respectful adversaries, even if Boothe is admittedly more able to chew the scenery than is Nolte, given the vagaries of the characters and writing. The film is often surprisingly scenic, given its kind of dusty, gritty Texas locale, and Hill delivers his usual array of testosterone fueled action.

Extreme Prejudice Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Extreme Prejudice is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Film's Vestron Video Collector's Series imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. As usual with these Vestron Video releases, there's unfortunately no real technical information given about the transfer, though if you search our news articles (see the tab above), you'll notice we posted that StudioCanal was working on this film along with a couple of others, and this does have the StudioCanal logo up front. The result is often quite striking, with a nicely suffused palette and generally very commendable detail levels. Fine detail is supported immeasurably by some extremely brightly lit outdoor moments, where things like the stubble on Boothe's face or even some of the tiny hairs in his nostrils can be easily spotted. There are some kind of curious variances along the way. The last third or so of the film looks a bit dowdy and brown, and not just because of the shooting locations. There are also some dark moments where the grain field is noticeably coarser in appearance, but I noticed no real compression issues of any kind. Clarity can also experience brief moments of ebbing and flowing, not necessarily tied to any lighting conditions. My score is 4.25.

Extreme Prejudice Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Extreme Prejudice has a well wrought DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that capably supports some of the film's more gonzo elements, like an explosion that just erupts out of nowhere early in the film (Joyner and Parke postulate that it may have been the result of some footage left on the cutting room floor that might have better contextualized what's going on). Jerry Goldsmith's typically excellent score also sounds full bodied and propulsive. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English, English SDH and Spanish subtitles are available.

Extreme Prejudice Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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


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


• Interview with Director Walter Hill (HD; 58:52) is evidently culled from a French broadcast, at least as evidenced by the opening title, but is in Hill's memorable English, with a wealth of anecdotes about his career in general and this film in particular.


• The Major's Agenda (HD; 22:57) is a great interview with Michael Ironside, who is also quite the raconteur, including offering his remembrances of the first time he met John Milius.


• The War Within (HD; 24:25) features a nice interview with Clancy Brown.


• Capturing the Chaos (HD; 15:11) focuses (pun unavoidable) on Director of Photography Matthew F. Leonetti.


• Teaser Trailer (HD; 1:04)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:13)


• TV Spots (HD; 2:13)


• Vintage EPK (HD; 6:54)


• Still Gallery (HD; 9:56)

Additionally, packaging features a slipcover.

Extreme Prejudice Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a viscerally exciting film a lot of the time even when it's not making a whale of a lot of sense, but this Vestron Video release ups the ante by providing enough supplements that fill in some of the backstory and perhaps make the film all the more enjoyable because of its kind of crazy quilt ambience. Technical merits are solid, and the supplementary package very enjoyable. Recommended.