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Post by stefancrosscoe on May 13, 2020 13:15:09 GMT
"Remember the good old days, when guns actually killed people?"After several brutal robberies that have been taking place during the middle of the day, the police decided to put in as much power they can get, in order to put the robbers down for good. However, during an upcoming "battle", it become suddenly very clear that bullets do not seem to be able of stopping the bad buys. In fact, they do not even look like they could be bothered at all. When this happens later on, and again with the same outcome, the two police detectives Roger Mortis (Treat Williams) and his partner Doug Bigelow (Joe Piscopo) is put on the case, and one which will soon guide them towards the rather mysterious looking high-tech workplace, that of Dante Laboratoriums.Director Mark Goldblatt should probably be a very well-known name, at least for those with a passion for action movies of the 80s and 90s, as this guy has been involved with some of the most manliest and coolest action, sci-fi, horror titles of that time, and his CV is quite a piece of impressive work. However, I guess he wanted to try out the director chair, and I think he did a fine job with the intense and at times very brutal action-vigilante thriller that become The Punisher (1989). Sadly, that one seemed to be getting a lots of bad reviews, but I think many have kind of "re-discovered" it after so many years, and realized it is really not that bad of a movie, and I think much of it, is down to Dolph Lundgrens very minimalistic approach as a broken down man, Frank Castle, and the only thing that keeps him barely "alive", is his constant quest for revenge of his former beloved ones. I mean, it is surely not an "Oscar" role, but I think it suited Dolph at that time, and of course it also helped having him teamed up with such a fun and likeable character actor, as that of Louis Gossett Jr. as his friend and partner, while Jeroen Krabbé makes up for a rather creepy and sleazy bad guy as well. But one year earlier, Goldblatt tried, I guess to "cash" in on the whole success of the 80s buddy-cop genre, but this time by putting a bit of a "spin" on the story, by combining sci-fi, horror, comedy and action all together, and I think it resultet into one of the better and funniest examples of a "horror-action" movie. "Roger, I think this is the end of a beautiful friendship." Dead Heat (1988) is the final result of that, and where two hard working police detective must soon realize, that if you cannot stop them, then why not just join them! Something Roger Mortis ends up with, of course not by his own choice, but rather due to an eccident, and he soon wakes up inside Dante Laboratoriums as their latest "scuccessful" evidence of their groundbreaking technology. Their technology and science is actually not meant for the "common" man, but instead for the more rich and, well, rather filthy rich that is, and who thinks of themselves as the society's "elite class" of people, and those who should not die, ever. Anyway, somebody has to do their dirty work, and it certainly ain't gonna be a bunch of old rich farts, sitting on their wrinkly asses all day long, so that kind of heavy work goes out to former "dead" criminals, who are awoken and goes out robbing severals banks and jewlery stores, all over the city, in order to get a hold on some easy money, then to come back and hand over the loot to their boss, right before they just melt into a huge pile of slime on the floor. But when Roger Mortis ends up as one of these creatures, the police suddenly gets the perfect "insider", who could infiltrate and take down the bad guys business, and who is more than capable of surviving almost anything, expect the sad news, that is that within 10-12 hours, he would also soon be sharing the same slimy fate, that of all the other undead guys from the Dante Laboratorium. Dead Heat comes along with a great mix of action, comedy, hilarious one-liners, great, great special effect and awesome looking make-up as well, and also a few unpredictable scenes too, which for me, is all in on why this movie was such as hit when I first saw it on late night cable, many years ago. For fans of Stuart Gordon or John Carpenter, this really is a must see, not saying it is all up with their work, but it sure do have lots of that crazy and silly charm going, and yeah, I really enjoyed it very much. Speaking of make-up, I think it was really interesting to see how Roger had to start trying to take in the facts of what he was soon gonna turn into, and I loved how Treat Williams played out the more serious momements, as he sure handled that part so well. Also, horror and movie legend Vincent Price shows up in a small but rather fun part, and delivers a pretty cool speech as well. All in all, this one I think deserves a far better reputation, and if not, well screw the critics.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on May 13, 2020 13:22:24 GMT
The last ditch attempt to make Joe Piscopo a movie star. I remember really liking this movie though.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on May 13, 2020 13:29:05 GMT
I think I have only seen Joe in this and earlier along with Danny DeVito in the hilarious mafia-themed comedy that was Wiseguys (1986). Not sure what made it not work for him, but I sure thought he handled himself very well, against probably far better actors such as DeVito and Treat Williams.
Anyway, I am glad I am not the "only one" who likes Dead Heat, as it seems to have a bit of cult-following, but still one that seems a little "lost", and maybe not as well known as other 80s horror-comedies.
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Post by petrolino on May 13, 2020 18:45:33 GMT
Great movie.
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Post by fangirl1975 on May 15, 2020 1:11:47 GMT
Where can I find this flick? Sounds like it's right up my alley.
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Reynard
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Post by Reynard on May 16, 2020 17:04:03 GMT
Never heard of Dead Heat before 88 Films released it on Blu-ray in the UK. No doubt one of the best horror comedies of the 80s - should enjoy the kind of cult following that The Hidden or Night of the Creeps have. It's not really that people don't like Dead Heat - it's that even those who are into 80s action & horror simply have never heard of it. Also, Treat Williams looks so damn good in this. I wonder why he never because a bigger star. He had both the looks and the skills.
The Punisher is also great and probably Dolph Lundgren's best starring role. Rented it on VHS back in the day, and despite heavy censorship of that version ended up loving it. The Punisher was very hard to find uncut for the longest time, by the way. I had three different tape releases, each one cut in a different way. At least now the unrated version is easily available on Blu-ray.
I did not enjoy Eli Roth's Death Wish remake, but when watching it I kept noticing how well it was edited, staying away from annoying modern flash cutting techniques and doing things the 80s way. I did not know before watching the end credits that it was Goldblatt doing the editing. Great job.
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Post by petrolino on May 16, 2020 18:41:19 GMT
Where can I find this flick? Sounds like it's right up my alley. I purchased the Special Edition Divimax dvd about 15 years ago. A great pink-up as among the extras is the deleted 'Happy Death Day' sequence which was puppeteered by Linnea Quigley.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on May 17, 2020 8:15:55 GMT
Never heard of Dead Heat before 88 Films released it on Blu-ray in the UK. No doubt one of the best horror comedies of the 80s - should enjoy the kind of cult following that The Hidden or Night of the Creeps have. It's not really that people don't like Dead Heat - it's that even those who are into 80s action & horror simply have never heard of it. Also, Treat Williams looks so damn good in this. I wonder why he never because a bigger star. He had both the looks and the skills. The Punisher is also great and probably Dolph Lundgren's best starring role. Rented it on VHS back in the day, and despite heavy censorship of that version ended up loving it. The Punisher was very hard to find uncut for the longest time, by the way. I had three different tape releases, each one cut in a different way. At least now the unrated version is easily available on Blu-ray. I did not enjoy Eli Roth's Death Wish remake, but when watching it I kept noticing how well it was edited, staying away from annoying modern flash cutting techniques and doing things the 80s way. I did not know before watching the end credits that it was Goldblatt doing the editing. Great job. Yeah, I took notice of the 88 Films Blu-ray release a while ago, I quite enjoy their rather exciting and varied movie library, specially that of cult movies from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Might have to try and upgrade my old Anchor bay DVD copy (the Divimax release) as I have been meaning to do so for a while now. I am glad you enjoyed this great combination of horror, comedy and action, as it sure was something else. Very much agree with you on Treat Williams, he seemed to have something going on during the late 70s and early 80s, I mean he was in some very solid and powerful movies, but also could deliver more "goofy" slapstick kind of roles, as very cleary he demonstrated so well in Dead Heat. I guess personal problems, maybe a few "wrong" choices in life and so, ended up taking away a promising career, but he did have a bit of a "comeback" in the mid 90s, of course no huge Travolta kind of role but I quite enjoyed seeing him as the very sick and still hilarious individual that was Critical Bill, in the rather overlooked crime-gangster movie Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1996), that featured one hell of a cast, and some very funny and brutal scenes, and of all these well known character actors, I thought Williams stood out as the most memorable one. Also great to hear such praise for The Punisher (1989), as it seems like one of those "hate or love it" kind of releases, but yeah, it really was a hard hitting action-thriller, with a solid cast and probably my favorite role that of Lundgren. I mean, he just seems "dead" inside, for most of the part, and beside his famous Ivan Drago part, I do not think he has played such a cold and minimalistic charactor in a film, as he later on seemed to go for the more upbeat or typical action-hero with funny one-liners routine and all, but as Frank Castle he just, well I think the part where his old partner and best friends visits him in jail, trying to reach out for him, that was quite "heavy" for a Lundgren movie. I have two copies of it on DVD (one region 1 and the other a nordic region 2) which seems like the same version, uncut and all, but on the region 1 version, I do notice at least 1 or two pictures on the backside of the DVD, and there are photos or pictures from scenes that surely are not in the film version I have seen, but I have often heard very interesting things about a "workprint" edition, that is supposedly better than the theatrical one, but the picture and sound quality seems not that impressive. I did not "hate" the Death Wish remake as much as I kind of "expected" it, somehow Bruce Willis is just, well, he went from one of the coolest action guys to, well, a bad joke who just "sleeps" through most of his films, but at least in Death Wish he kind of seemed more lively than what I have seen of him, for many years now. I did actually not take notice that it was Goldblatt who did the editing, but again, great talent and surely one just keep on delivering the goods, a shame his two directing films did not get better reputation at the time of their release, but I think both have achieved quite a cult following over the years, and rightfully so.
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Reynard
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Post by Reynard on May 17, 2020 17:09:21 GMT
I have two copies of it on DVD (one region 1 and the other a nordic region 2) which seems like the same version, uncut and all, but on the region 1 version, I do notice at least 1 or two pictures on the backside of the DVD, and there are photos or pictures from scenes that surely are not in the film version I have seen, but I have often heard very interesting things about a "workprint" edition, that is supposedly better than the theatrical one, but the picture and sound quality seems not that impressive. Region 1 and Nordic releases are the "uncut" R-rated version, however there were many cuts made to get that rating, mostly 1 second here and there to remove bloody bullet wounds but also few bigger cuts. The unrated version is available Blu-ray. The workprint version is another thing entirely, remarkably different from the theatrical version. Only available in poor quality (well below average vhs quality) since no film source is known to exist. I have German Blu-ray + DVD combo which includes both the unrated version (blu-ray) and the workprint (dvd). dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=22900R-rated vs Unrated www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4918Unrated vs Workprint www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=3235 I did not "hate" the Death Wish remake as much as I kind of "expected" it, somehow Bruce Willis is just, well, he went from one of the coolest action guys to, well, a bad joke who just "sleeps" through most of his films, but at least in Death Wish he kind of seemed more lively than what I have seen of him, for many years now. I did actually not take notice that it was Goldblatt who did the editing, but again, great talent and surely one just keep on delivering the goods, a shame his two directing films did not get better reputation at the time of their release, but I think both have achieved quite a cult following over the years, and rightfully so. I haven't seen any of Willis' new "straight to rental" kind of stuff. Maybe he was better than usually these days in Death Wish remake, but that's not saying much, since I though he sleepwalked through his role and honestly was quite terrible. Lundgren is doing smaller films these days too, but at least he still seems to care and puts effort into them. Goldblatt seems to be editing big mainstream movies these days. Good for him, no doubt it pays well. Still, I wish he would find time to direct or at least edit some old-fashioned action movies since it is were he really shines. There were some plans to do Dead Heat 2 right after the first one, Goldblatt talks about it on his commentary track. I don't remember why it was cancelled.
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Post by Prime etc. on May 17, 2020 17:35:03 GMT
Yeah I remember this came out during the spate of odd buddy cop pictures like Red Heat and Outer Heat (which became Alien Nation). It sure slipped off the radar fast. Maybe it was too morbid and Piscopo too much of an acquired taste.
I watched it again recently-during a chase scene we see that some of those LA houses have neat mini swimming pools in their back yard for one person.
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Reynard
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Post by Reynard on May 17, 2020 18:04:37 GMT
I watched it again recently-during a chase scene we see that some of those LA houses have neat mini swimming pools in their back yard for one person. Hah, I remember that too. Lovely looking mini swimming pools indeed. Another great scene is when Treat puts on lipstick. The butcher shop scene feels like something straight out of Big Trouble in Little China.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on May 18, 2020 9:40:39 GMT
I haven't seen any of Willis' new "straight to rental" kind of stuff. Maybe he was better than usually these days in Death Wish remake, but that's not saying much, since I though he sleepwalked through his role and honestly was quite terrible. Lundgren is doing smaller films these days too, but at least he still seems to care and puts effort into them. Goldblatt seems to be editing big mainstream movies these days. Good for him, no doubt it pays well. Still, I wish he would find time to direct or at least edit some old-fashioned action movies since it is were he really shines. There were some plans to do Dead Heat 2 right after the first one, Goldblatt talks about it on his commentary track. I don't remember why it was cancelled. The last two or three of Willis' typical DTV films of his that I have sadly wasted time on, have him plastered all over the DVD but with no mention of any of his co-workers, who usually are just a bunch of "random" people. Anyway, he has the same look and "attitude" in everyone of them, could not give a damn, looks bored out of his mind and usually is in the film of a total of 10-12 minutes. At least the trashy DTV stuff of Steven Seagal often ends up as laughable and cheesy, while the ones with Bruce Willis are just, well, bad. Also agree on Lundgren, he knows he is not making great classics, but still he seems to have lots of fun and also shows up in his movies, while Willis most "intense" work was probably back in one of his 30 seconds tv-commercials, and where he seemed to force a little smile upon his face, along with a bit of running up some stairs towards a beautiful young woman, the end. Dead Heat 2, now that I would have loved to see, but I guess it just did not make enough money or interest back then to stand much of a chance of getting a second one made.
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