"RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVE"

BY ERNIE MAGNOTTA

There's nothing I like better than getting hold of a movie that I've been searching over three decades for and adding it to my collection. At my age, there aren't many vintage films left that I don't own in one format or another, so when I very pleased when I heard that the 1976 cult classic Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw was getting a Blu-ray release. This movie has somehow always managed to elude me. It never seemed to play on any of my cable stations in the early 80s, we never had a copy of it at the video store I worked at in the mid-80s and I was still never able to find a copy of it anywhere throughout the 90s. To be honest, by the time the 21^st century hit, I completely forgot about this movie, so I was pretty surprised and even more excited to find out that it was not only being released on Blu-ray, but also with quite a few special features. Why? To begin with, I'm a tremendous fan of the director; not to mention the entire cast and, last, but not least, I just love fun, action/crime/drama exploitation films from the 1970s.

Produced and directed by Mark Lester (Truck Stop Women, Roller Boogie, Class of 1984), written by Vernon Zimmerman (Unholy Rollers, Fade to Black) and released by American International Pictures, modern western Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw tells the tale of quick-draw expert and Billy the Kid enthusiast Lyle Wheeler (Marjoe Gortner, Earthquake, Food of the Gods, Viva Knievel!, Starcrash) who, together with waitress and aspiring country singer Bobbi Jo Baker (TV’s one and only Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter) experiences a dangerous cross country adventure filled with love, robbery and murder.

So, was the movie worth the wait? I certainly think so. It may not be in the same league as, say, Bonnie and Clyde (1967), but it's still an extremely enjoyable, well-directed, written and acted low-budget feature that definitely deserves to be seen. To begin with, Mark Lester's direction is not only solid, but he is just at home directing the quiet, more character-driven and dramatic/romantic scenes as he is directing a sequence involving heavy action and stunts. Next up, Vernon Zimmerman's wonderful writing not only creates an engaging story, but interesting and likeable three-dimensional characters as well. Lyle Wheeler aka the Outlaw, seems to live by his own code and has definite ideas of good and evil; right and wrong. Marjoe Gortner effortlessly and believably gets all this across and makes his character quite likeable. (This may be my favorite Gortner performance.) The stunning Lynda Carter gets to show a bit more range then she did as Wonder Woman and is extremely convincing as the hopeful and somewhat naive Bobbi Jo. The rest of the outrageously talented cast not only add immensely to the film, but clearly came to play. Jesse Vint (Chinatown, Forbidden World) perfectly plays Slick Callahan; a wild, not too bright cocaine fiend and boyfriend of Bobbi Jo's sister, Pearl. Gorgeous Merrie Lynn Ross (Class of 1984, TVs General Hospital), who also co-produced the film, brings a hardened heart quality to slightly ditzy stripper Pearl, and the always welcome Belinda Balaski (Piranha, The Howling) shines as hippie waitress Essie Beaumont. Rounding out the top-notch cast is Gene Drew (Truck Stop Women) as a no-nonsense sheriff, B-movie legend Gerrit Graham (Beware! The Blob, Phantom of the Paradise, The Annihilators, C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.) as a helpful hippie, Virgil Frye (Graduation Day), who replaced Dennis Hopper, as a macho gas station attendant with something to prove, Peggy Stewart (Alias Billy the Kid, Beyond Evil) as Bobbi Jo's alcoholic mom, and James Gammon (Major League) as a fast talking salesman.

The New Mexico-lensed, low-budget feature also benefits from some nice Albuquerque locations, Grammy winner Barry De Vorzonâ's (The Young and the Restless, Dillinger, Rolling Thunder) memorable score, Stanley Wright's lovely cinematography, and "Those City Lights", a catchy country song by Bobby Bare (Tremors). A lot of people believe that the only reason to see this film is for Lynda Carter's brief nude scene. While Lynda looks absolutely beautiful and made both my eyes very happy, the movie itself has more going for it than just that. All in all, it's an extremely solid and fun piece of 1970s exploitation cinema that fans of this lost era of filmmaking are sure to enjoy.

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw has been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. The Region 1 disc presents the movie in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Although the gorgeous transfer is slightly grainy-looking at times (mostly in a few of the nighttime scenes), it never detracts from the story, and the images are otherwise extremely clear making the HD movie beautiful to look at. The disc also contains quite a few wonderful special features including the original trailer, interviews with Mark Lester (who mentions various aspects of the film such as casting, directing, budget and the fact that the concept of the film was inspired by the classic Eagles hit "Desperado"), Merrie Lynn Ross (who goes into detail about being both an actor and a producer) and Belinda Balaski (who talks about how she got cast, how she developed her character, and her recollection of working with Lynda Carter) as well as a very interesting and informative audio commentary by director Lester. If, like me, you're a fan of 70s action/crime cinema, I recommend checking out Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw.

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By Ernie Magnotta

In the late 1970s and up until the mid-80s, six-time, undefeated world karate champion Chuck Norris was making quite a name for himself as a martial arts cinema superstar. By 1985, he would begin to tone down the amount of karate used in his films and he soon became known simply as an action movie hero. One of the films which helped this transition was the successful and exciting 1986 action flick with an all-star 70s disaster movie-like cast called The Delta Force in which he starred as Scott McCoy. Norris then went on to make three more enjoyable films before finally returning to the role of McCoy in 1990’s Delta Force 2.

When the brilliant, wealthy and ruthless drug kingpin Ramon Cota (Billy Drago, Pale Rider, 1987’s The Untouchables) captures a group of undercover American DEA agents and makes them prisoners at his South American drug compound where he eventually plans to execute them, Colonel Scott McCoy (Norris) and his fearless Delta Force spring into action and attempt to free the hostages as well as put an end to Cota’s lucrative drug cartel before any more of its cocaine shipments can reach the United States.

Shot in the Philippines, directed by Chuck’s brother, Aaron Norris (Braddock: Missing in Action III), and written by Lee Reynolds (Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold), Delta Force 2, which continued Chuck’s association with now legendary film studio The Cannon Group, has, over the years, been labelled a bit of a misstep in Chuck’s filmography. First of all, it has been said that the film isn’t really a sequel to the original Delta Force. It just uses the title and Chuck’s character name from the first movie, but that’s about it. I guess that’s true. Next, the script usually comes under fire for containing many predictable scenes/action movie clichés. These include the overly-happy partner with the perfect (and pregnant) wife who we just know will both meet a bad end early on as well as re-working scenes and ideas from not only other films, but from other Norris adventures as well (part of the plot seems to be taken from Chuck’s 1984 hit Missing in Action and there are also slightly re-worked scenes from 1987’s The Untouchables and 1979’s Moonraker). While all of this is also true, these sequences and ideas are done with just enough variation that we let them slide and still thoroughly enjoy the film. The man responsible for making these scenes work is director Aaron Norris who films many well-directed and exciting action sequences and keeps the movie engaging and fun. The last bit of criticism this movie gets usually has to do with the acting which has been labeled sub-par. This is just another critique I disagree with. While no one’s performance in this film would be considered for an Academy Award (it’s not that type of film, critics), the amazingly talented cast does very well with the material given to them.

Of course, the main reason any self-respecting action aficionado would spend almost two hours watching this film is due to the presence of the man himself, Chuck Norris. What more can really be said about Chuck? He’s low-key, likeable, sometimes humorous, yet believably deadly when necessary. As usual, he’s perfect for this type of film and his enormous fan base will not be disappointed.

A cinematic action hero is only as good as his nefarious adversary and when it comes to vile villains; it’s tough to top Billy Drago. The extremely talented Drago, who also acted alongside Chuck in both Invasion U.S.A. and Hero and the Terror, plays amoral drug dealer Cota in a totally convincing way and, throughout the film, exudes ice-cold, creepy evil. Drago really makes you hate his character which works all the more once Chuck’s Colonel McCoy gets the upper hand on him.

The impressive acting doesn’t stop there, as the enjoyable film is loaded with even more top-notch talent. To begin with, the always welcome John P. Ryan (It’s Alive, Runaway Train) gives an extremely likeable and humorous performance as a US General who just loves to kick ass. Fans of 60s and 70s cinema will be happy to see the great Richard Jaeckel (The Dirty Dozen, The Devil’s Brigade, Grizzly, Day of the Animals) as a tough-as-nails DEA agent. Next up, is Paul Perri (Manhunter) as Chuck’s ill-fated partner; not to mention the highly recognizable Mark Margolis (Scarface, Breaking Bad) as evil General Olmedo. Last, but not least, legendary actor/stuntman Dick Warlock (Jaws, 1981’s Halloween II) shows up briefly (blink and you’ll miss him) as a DEA agent on stakeout.

During filming, a helicopter crash killed four crew members and the pilot. The movie is dedicated to their memory.

Delta Force 2 (which is also known as Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection and Delta Force 2: Operation Stranglehold) has been released on a region one Blu-ray by Kino Lorber and is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The beautiful HD transfer boasts sharp, crystal clear images as well as just as clear audio. Other than the original theatrical trailer along with trailers for Chuck’s extremely entertaining actioners An Eye for an Eye and Hero and the Terror (which are both available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber), the disc contains no special features. However, if you’re in the mood to sit back, relax, not think too hard and just watch our man Chuck almost singlehandedly mop up the floor with the bad guys, then Delta Force 2 certainly delivers the goods.

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