Wanted: Dead or Alive

Summary

“This is a flashpoint situation, Nick. We need the best!”

Kino Lorber recently released the action film Wanted: Dead or Alive on their Studio Classics line. Directed by Gary Sherman, the film stars Rutger Hauer and a surprisingly excellent Gene Simmons. Wanted: Dead or Alive is exactly the type of fun macho action film that seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur. I was happy to sit back and watch a pure popcorn movie from my favorite era of action films.

A terrorist named Malak al Rahim (Gene Simmons) arrives in Los Angeles disguised as a rabbi. Across town, bounty hunter Nick Randall (Rutger Hauer) captures a racist hillbilly as he tries to hold up an Asian-owned convenience store. He drops the robber off with his officer pal, Danny. Danny offers to settle up with Nick at his office. Nick’s office has motorcycles, gym equipment, classic cars to tinker on, a basketball goal, a foosball table, and a room full of different weapons. Danny and Nick chat for a while and Nick informs him that he has a girlfriend named Terry (Mel Harris) that he has been seeing for three months. She is a flight attendant and has no idea what he does. He doesn’t plan to tell her anytime soon. That night, Nick meets up with Terry on his houseboat and they have a romantic evening. Across town, Malak goes to the Fox Cinema with a female henchman. Malak places a bomb in the theater near a gas line and his female friend plants another bomb. Malak casually walks across the street to place a phone call. He lets authorities know what he is about to do in order to claim the attack. He detonates the bomb. He makes sure to leave the phone off the hook and a handprint on the glass to identify himself. The next morning, Nick wakes up on his boat and sees the news of the bombing on his television. His old friend Walker (Robert Guillaume) arrives at his door and offers Nick $200,000 to bring Malak in dead or alive. If he brings him in alive he can receive a $50,000 bonus. Nick takes on the case, but he is also tailed by certain members of the company.

Wanted: Dead or Alive was exactly what I was in the mood for. I wanted an action movie where I could basically turn my brain off and watch a bounty hunter kill people with impunity. I had recently watched Vice Squad from director Gary Sherman and had been very impressed, and the thought of Rutger Hauer carrying an assault rifle was appealing to me. While the movie can not compete with the gritty nightlife madness of Vice Squad, it is a fun action film with some enjoyable acting. Rutger Hauer does well to hide his Belgian accent and slips into the role of Nick easily. Hauer is a strong leading man and carries the film easily. Robert Guillaume is well cast as the company man looking out for Nick’s interests. The most interesting acting in the film is done by Gene Simmons. The lead guitarist from KISS absolutely crushes his role as Malak. In the special features, Gary Sherman discusses how Gene Simmons approached him to play the role after reading and enjoying the script. While Gary was skeptical at first, he became impressed when he found out that Gene had spent some time in Israel as a youth and spoke both Hebrew and some Arabic. Simmons honestly should have been cast as a villain in more films. 

It is worth noting that it would be difficult to make Wanted: Dead or Alive today because it prominently features Islamic terrorists. In the Eighties and Nineties, it was not at all uncommon to have a terrorist with a specific cultural agenda. Now it would be seen as culturally insensitive and taboo. For myself, I didn’t find the film racist or disparaging because I did not see the film as some sort of treatise against a type of person. 

If you are itching for more Eighties action, this is well worth checking out.

Video

Presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio with an MPEG-4 AVC Encoded image, the 1080p presentation looks nice. The new 2K scan has been capably done and captures the cinematography by Alex Nepomniaschy. I watched the film on my large UHD screen and the image looked good but not quite as defined as some reviews led me to believe. There is a fine level of grain, but the film uses  softer focus for portions of the film. The cinematography in the film is enjoyable, but it is a step down from the work John Alcott had done for Sherman. As mentioned in the special features, the film was shot using 35-55mm lenses so that it matches up well with what our eyes would actually see. This lends Sherman’s films a subtle realism that might not be there on the page. I think it is safe to say that this is the best the film has ever looked, so fans should be happy with the presentation.

Audio

The DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo track is a solid action track for the time period. While listening in my man cave, the film was notably well balanced without a lot of jumps in volume that required playing with my remote to keep my family asleep. Obviously, as an action film, the surrounds would be beneficial during some of the more explosive sequences, but the stereo presentation has been given good attention. The audio is crisp and clear. 

Supplements:

• Nuclear Winter: Interview with Gary Sherman – in this extensive interview Sherman gives an excellent breakdown of how the film was put together, how the script was re-written, how Gene Simmons landed the role, and the people that were considered for various roles. He reveals that Mel Gibson and James Cann we’re both considered for the role of Nick. Sherman discusses his use of 35mm and 55mm lenses and his sadness over the death of cinematographer John Alcott. I really enjoyed this interview.
• Life Before Thirtysomething: Interview with Co-Star Mel Harris – Mel Harris discusses how she landed the role of Terry and her recollections of working on the film. She also discusses how the casting agent for Thirtysomething went to the theater to see her in the film, but managed to miss her scenes. He cast her anyway.
• Audio Commentary by Gary Sherman and executive producer Arthur M. Sarkissian 
• Two trailers for the film

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 3.5/5

Overall – 4/5

Wanted: Dead or Alive is a fun action film from the Eighties. Gary Sherman directs the film with skill and both Rutger Hauer and Gene Simmons are great in their roles. The supplemental package features an excellent interview and commentary track with the director. Fans of the film will be pleased with the new 2K scan that Kino Lorber has used. Recommended.