COP KILLERS (1977)
Label: MVD Classics
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 92 Minutes 48 Seconds
Audio: English PCM 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Walter R. Cichy
Cast: Jason Williams, Bill Osco, Diane Keller, Michael D. White, Donna Stubbert
First, lets address how the synopsis for this film is completely wrong, as the Blu-ray wrap advertises this...
"In 1970s New York City, two escaped convicts plunge into a rampage of crime and violence, evading capture and plunging the city into chaos. Starring Jason Williams, this gritty exploitation thriller is a cult-classic known for it's intense action and raw portrayal of urban decay."
Um, what fucking movie synopsis is this? This flick takes place exclusively in and around Tucson, Arizona, which is where I live, so let's give Tucson some fucking respect! Anyway, the rest of it about a pair criminals unleashing a wave of violence is more or less accurate, but "urban decay" might be stretching where Tucson was at in the mid-70's.
The flick stars Ray (Jason Williams, Flesh Gordon) and Alex (Bill Osco, The Being) as a pair of miscreant long-hair hippie types gone bad, who at the start of the film come into possession of five kilos of cocaine, which they looking to flip for a profit. As soon as they make the score they encounter four cops in the desert, outside of Tucson, and we get what I think is the film's best scene, a plenty action-packed shootout takes place, and the pair of long-hairs come out unscathed, having now become the titular cop killers. Driving into town they ditch their car and kidnap and kill the driver of an Eegee's Frozen Lemonade lunch-truck, and while driving around the desert they catch the attention of a motorcycle cop that Jason blasts with as shotgun. Not long after that stop of at a gas station looking for a less conspicuous pair of wheels, in the process funning down the hapless gas station attendant and killing another guy for his car, holding his cute girlfriend Karen (Diane Keller) hostage before taking up residence in the Frontier Hotel, which is was another now defunct Tucson landmark.
The flick stars Ray (Jason Williams, Flesh Gordon) and Alex (Bill Osco, The Being) as a pair of miscreant long-hair hippie types gone bad, who at the start of the film come into possession of five kilos of cocaine, which they looking to flip for a profit. As soon as they make the score they encounter four cops in the desert, outside of Tucson, and we get what I think is the film's best scene, a plenty action-packed shootout takes place, and the pair of long-hairs come out unscathed, having now become the titular cop killers. Driving into town they ditch their car and kidnap and kill the driver of an Eegee's Frozen Lemonade lunch-truck, and while driving around the desert they catch the attention of a motorcycle cop that Jason blasts with as shotgun. Not long after that stop of at a gas station looking for a less conspicuous pair of wheels, in the process funning down the hapless gas station attendant and killing another guy for his car, holding his cute girlfriend Karen (Diane Keller) hostage before taking up residence in the Frontier Hotel, which is was another now defunct Tucson landmark.
It becomes evident that Ray and Alex are not seeing eye to eye, Ray is a deranged cutthroat, cold-bloodedly killing cops and innocents left and right, while Alex is more easy going, but keeps tight with Ray to cash-in on this lucrative drug deal in the making, and Karen causes even more of a rift between them, with Alex getting a bit soft on her at the hotel, plying her with cocaine to calm her down (!!!) and bedim her, much to the chagrin of his partner.
After Ray kills yet another cop at a convenience store while buying beer and smokes the trio end up at the desert den of their hippie drug connection Collins (Michael D. White) and his two horny hippie babes Becky (Donna Stubbert) and Lena (Judy Ross). There they get paid for their drug haul, and make plans to take a helicopter trip across the border to Mexico, till the cops show up and things get Bonnie & Clyde-ish.
After Ray kills yet another cop at a convenience store while buying beer and smokes the trio end up at the desert den of their hippie drug connection Collins (Michael D. White) and his two horny hippie babes Becky (Donna Stubbert) and Lena (Judy Ross). There they get paid for their drug haul, and make plans to take a helicopter trip across the border to Mexico, till the cops show up and things get Bonnie & Clyde-ish.
Not a great flick, it's pretty ramshackle and poorly made but as a meanspirited slice of seedy 70s exploitation with a decent body county it's entertaining, but low-grade. Shot on Super 16mm then blow-up to 35mm this is chock full of film grain, grit and seediness, it's got some decent rough atmosphere to it, but the acting is not great. The leads are chewing up the scenery left and right, but have little presence to back it up, though the deranged Ray as played by Williams fares the best of the bunch. The film is probably most notable as coming from the team that brought us the softcore Flesh Gordon (1974) skin-flick, and for featuring some decently bloody make-up effects from the legendary Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London), which are pretty gruesome. The flick is also hampered by a very dull score that meanders between easy going folk-pop and meandering guitar noodling that not once seems to compliment what's happening onscreen. Also, while there are some decently exciting bit of violence the film is very flatly directed by Walter R. Cichy, and unsurprisingly this was his sole directing credit. If you're in the mood for some low-rent 70's cinema chock full of pointlessly sadistic violence this low-grade slice of exploitation will certainly scratch that itch.
Audio/Video: Cop Killers (1977) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from MVD Classics in 1080p HD widescreen (1.78:1). The source looks plenty beat-up with vertical lines, speckling, emulsion scratches and occasional missing frames, but it quite watchable. The film was shot on super 16mm and then blown-up to 35mm, and I would assume this is coming from a well-worn theatrical print. It has the 16mm fuzziness to it, some of the colors are faded, depth, clarity and contrast are generally poor, but it has a nice filmic, grindhouse patina to it that I enjoyed just the same. Audio comes by way of English LPCM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is narrow in it's range, there's some muffled dialogue and the track cracks at certain points, as well as hiss and pops, but dialogue is intelligible, and while it ain't great it does seem to be an accurate representation of this quick and dirty low-rent production.
Extras include a pair of archival extras that I believe first popped-up on the Media Blasters DVD, starting off with an Audio Commentary with star Jason Williams and moderator Adam Trash, plus a 16-min Confessions of a Killer: Interview with actor Jason Williams who talks about how this flick came together after the negatives from Flesh Gordon were seized, giving some background on director Walter R. Cichy, how this was a very early film for make-up effects maestro Rick Baker worked on the film, and memories of the shoot in and around Tucson We also get the 2-min Original Theatrical Trailer, and a selection of MVD Trailers, including L.A. Wars, Kill Zone, Lionheart, Mean Guns, and Sabotage. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork,
Extras:
Special Features:
- High Definition (1080p) presentation of the main feature in 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
-English LPCM 2.0 Mono Audio
- Optional English Subtitles
- Audio Commentary with star Jason Williams and moderator Adam Trash
-Interview with actor Jason Williams (15:59)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1:44)
- High Definition (1080p) presentation of the main feature in 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
-English LPCM 2.0 Mono Audio
- Optional English Subtitles
- Audio Commentary with star Jason Williams and moderator Adam Trash
-Interview with actor Jason Williams (15:59)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1:44)
- MVD Trailers: L.A. Wars (3:04), Kill Zone (3:04), Lionheart (2:07), Mean Guns (1:28), Sabotage (1:45), Knock Off (1:54)
Buy it!
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Screenshots from the MVD Blu-ray:
Extras:
