Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Malone Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 12, 2023

Harley Cokeliss' "Malone" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson as well as vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Burt Reynolds once said: “Just to show you how movies change, Gerard Depardieu and Christopher Lambert at one point were going to play Malone. I wonder how this guy got rewritten into me.” Well, I wonder, too. It is very strange that Depardieu and Lambert were considered for Reynolds’ part because both would have been incompatible with the film Harley Cokeliss shot in 1987. The original material for the film came from William Wingate’s novel Shotgun and Reynolds has such a commanding presence in it that he very quickly becomes more important than the story. Indeed, some of the very best moments in the film are the ones where Reynolds remains silent, allows his age to show, or does very particular things to make the audience guess the thoughts that are passing through the mind of his character. The film does have plenty of the action that made Reynolds an iconic star but it is not what makes it interesting. Had Cokeliss gone to work with Depardieu or Lambert, the story and personality of the film instantly would have been altered, quite dramatically, too.

In the prologue, CIA hitman Richard Malone (Reynolds) allows a high-profile target to walk away and shortly after decides to exit “the business”. When Malone reveals the decision to his lover and direct contact at the CIA, Jamie (Lauren Hutton), he is told that it cannot be done because he knows too much. Nevertheless, fully aware that he has already become a target, or better yet a dead man walking, Malone disappears.

Sometime later, after his car breaks down, Malone reappears near a small town deep into the Northwest. The local mechanic (Scott Wilson) agrees to replace the transmission of his car but warns that it may take several days for the new parts to arrive. While waiting, Malone makes the right impression on the mechanic’s young daughter (Cynthia Gibb) and annoys a paranoid millionaire (Cliff Robertson) who is on the verge of taking over the town with his militia. When Malone complicates an intimidation campaign to crush the final holdouts in town who have refused to sell their land to the millionaire, one of whom is the mechanic, a violent confrontation becomes inevitable. Meanwhile, Malone’s former employers relaunch a secret operation to have him taken out.

Reynolds frequently compared Malone to the classic western Shane and for several very good reasons, one of which is that his former CIA hitman is essentially an updated replica of Alan Ladd’s lone gunslinger. However, I think that Malone shares plenty and perhaps even more with another cult film from the 1970s, which is Mr. Majestyk. For example, the character Charles Bronson plays is a former bad man trying to start a new chapter in his life but failing because he cannot escape his past. He is forced to confront some seriously deranged thugs, too. In both films, Reynolds and Bronson do not hide that they are past their prime and do plenty to ensure that their age defines their characters. Also, both films engage nature in unique ways and as a result become quite easy to describe as period pieces of Americana. (Ironically, the bulk of Malone was shot in several picturesque areas around Vancouver, Canada, so its Americana appearance and atmosphere are slightly deceiving).

What Malone does not have so that it can replicate the quality of Mr. Majestyk (or Shane) is solid parts for its supporting cast. Indeed, there are several very good actors who are given mediocre parts at best, so their impact on the film’s energy and tone is minimal. For example, Kenneth McMillan is a corrupt Sheriff who does not do anything to raise the intensity of the drama. Tracey Walter is outstanding as an easily manipulated drunkard but his time in front of the camera is extremely short. The always reliable baddie Dennis Burkley is instantly forgettable. And Hutton, who is supposed to have a crucial presence in the film, struggles with a most conventional character.

Reynolds makes Malone look decent, at times even surprisingly good, but when the final credits roll you will easily conclude that it deserves to be placed among the smaller films he made over the years. Next to Malone, the likes of White Lightning and Gator look almost like groundbreaking genre films.

Malone Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Malone arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Malone made its high-definition debut in 2015 with this release, which was sourced from an older master that was supplied by MGM. This release is sourced from the same master but is encoded differently.

I have the previous release in my library and was able to do some direct comparisons. I think that the new release offers a marginally better presentation of the film, which will likely be appreciated only by folks with very large screens or projectors, but the older master has certain limitations that prevent a drastic improvement. For example, in darker footage grain has a tendency to become noisy, so very fine nuances become quite tricky to properly reveal. Also, while color balance is stable, several primaries and supporting nuances can be better saturated and healthier, and if they are, the dynamic range of various visuals will be stronger. A few highlights can be improved as well. This being said, I still think that the master is quite nice. Why? It is free of digital tinkering, so while slightly dated the visuals still look attractive. On larger screen, they hold nicely, too. This master is not plagued by serious age-related imperfections either. All in all, I think that this release offers a pretty decent presentation of Malone that makes it easy to enjoy it. (Note: This is a Region-A "kicked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Malone Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The dialog is easy to follow. However, while viewing the film, I noticed several areas with small dynamic unevenness which does not appear to be part of the original sound design. Naturally, I think that if the Malone is remastered in the future and the audio is remixed, there might be some small but meaningful improvements in terms of dynamic stability. The upper register is healthy and I did not notice any anomalies in other areas to report in our review.

Malone Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage theatrical trailer for Malone. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson. The commentators address Burt Reynolds' famous statements about the conception and style of Malone, the decision to shoot the film in Canada and its struggle to sell the areas around Vancouver as something else, casting choices that were made, action cinema during the '80s, etc.

Malone Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Whether Malone could have been a better film without Burt Reynolds is hard to tell, but it is very easy to guess that it would have been a drastically different film. At some point, Gerard Depardieu and Christopher Lambert were apparently considered for Reynolds' part, and I just can't see how they could have fit in the film Harley Cokeliss ended up directing. Depardieu or Lambert could have been rational choices for an American equivalent of Yves Boisset's bizarre but enormously enjoyable crime thriller Dog Day, which was completed at approximately the same time. Malone is a good film to see very late at night but Reynolds fans will have the best time with it. RECOMMENDED.