On and on goes the debate. Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? I have always come down on the no side. It appears like such an odd thing, but there have literally been books about the subject, and Bruce Willis himself has gone from no to yes over the years. If that kind of debate is of interest to you, then you should enjoy playing the same game with Cold Steel. It’s a bloody action movie that also takes place at that jolly time of the year. Of course, not so jolly for the characters in the film. The original story for Cold Steel was developed and written by Dorothy Ann Puzo. You might not recognize her, but I’m sure you are familiar with the last name. Her father is the celebrated author and screenwriter for The Godfather movies. And if the Godfather movies have taught me anything (I mean, beyond not letting anyone outside the family know what you’re thinking), it’s that daughters don’t necessarily inherit the abilities of the father. The casting of Sofia Coppola by her father in that franchise’s third film made that very point. But Dorothy Ann Puzo isn’t quite the dramatic drop in talent that Coppola was, and the film certainly has its moments. Coppola also directs, and this is her first and last feature film as either writer or director, so I think we can safely say this film didn’t set any box office records, and this is actually the first time I’ve seen it.
Brad Davis plays Johnny Modine. He’s a cop who plays it a little loose with the rules, and we discover that right out of the gate when he’s flying in his police cruiser with sirens and lights and even jumping over a moving train. Just what kind of bad guys was he chasing? He wasn’t. He was trying to set a record delivering quality booze to the police Christmas Eve party at their favorite watering hole. So we know exactly the kind of cop Johnny happens to be. Jay Acovone plays his suffering partner Cookie. After all of the cheers for his death-defying stunt to deliver the goods, he begs off early to go to his parents’ house for a Christmas Eve meal. What he doesn’t know yet, but we know, is that his father Sam (Lanteau) was shot and killed at his store by a ruthless killer with an English accent and “charm” who calls himself Mick, played by music’s Adam Ant. Mick is part of a gang of bad guys that is led by a guy they call Iceman, played by Jonathan Banks. This wasn’t his first shot at an iconic bad guy. He went up against Eddie Murphy three years earlier in Beverly Hills Cop, and that same year he would be a regular on the television series Wiseguy by Stephen J. Cannell, best known for The Rockford Files. When Johnny finds out about his father he goes a little crazy, and so much so that he gets suspended. We’ve heard that tune enough times before to know that isn’t going to stop him from tracking down the gang.
Enter Sharon Stone in one of her first feature films after spending some time on the television-guest-star circuit. She plays Kathy Connors, who happens to show up at Johnny’s bar a bit lost and looking for direction. The predictable relationship and steamy sex scene follows, and for now no one is trying to arrest Kathy for smoking in a police station … at least not yet. The story goes through the violent journey to get to the bad guy, and we discover that while it might have been Mick who killed his dad, it’s Iceman who has the grudge against the cop. The story allows for the familiar twists and reveals, and the good guys win. Or at least come out on top.
It’s always interesting to see future stars in roles before they get that big break. Stone really isn’t that much different than she always was, and this might be the first time she got to be that femme fatale that she became so famous for. I really think she was born in the wrong time. Stone would have been an even bigger smash in the 30’s and 40’s film noir years. I can see her starring next to Bogart or Montgomery Clift. I think she could have been bigger.
The debate here doesn’t matter, because if you bring it up, most folks won’t know what you’re talking about. The film couldn’t even break $300,000 at the box office, and it kind of disappeared before now. The film is actually more violent than you might expect. They pushed the envelope of the time, and action junkies are going to want to see it just on that alone. It’s not a bad film at all; it’s just a bit too predictable, and there are not a lot of dynamic performances here, with the exception of Banks, who plays the main bad guy who has lost his larynx so he speaks with a creepy, metallic voice. He is truly menacing here, and he alone might be what makes this film something to consider adding to your collection.
It’s being released along with a few other films from the 1980’s on Blu-ray, but with cases that look like VHS cases to pour a little nostalgia in the home video market. Mill Creek has done these kinds of collections before, and we’ve taken a look at a few over the years. There are going to be a handful of these released in June, so keep your eyes here for some other titles from the era. As for Cold Steel overall? “It has its moments.”
