Disc Type

"On the day America remembers its dead, a special salute today for the war dead in Vietnam. An American serviceman who died there took his place today in a place of honor, The Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier. Almost 10 years after the last American left Saigon, the men who fought in Vietnam got their parade. Muffled drums and dirges. A coffin and a flag wrapped in plastic to protect it from the rain. Families of the men still missing in Vietnam waited for the coffin and remembered. They wonder if their sons are still alive and why the world sits back and allows the Vietnamese government to flagrantly violate the Geneva Convention. Rumors of physical and mental torture have made the wait more agonizing."

If the story sounds somewhat familiar, there are two reasons for that. The first Missing In Action film was released in 1984, so you've had about 40 years of imitations and knock-offs along the way. The other is that the film shares more than a little history with the Sylvester Stallone film Rambo: First Blood Part II. When Sly was shopping around his original ideas, Cannon Film Group was one of the places that listened to the pitch. So it's not a complete coincidence that the films went into production at the same time, with Missing In Action beating the Stallone vehicle to the box office by a few months. Both films did well, and they started a genre of war films that involved rescuing Americans still missing in Vietnam. It was in the early 1990's that the plight of missing servicemen in Vietnam was brought to the public's attention. Ronald Reagan gave it a bigger voice than had been given earlier, and he made it a point to address the issue. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Hollywood was on it as fast as they were. The franchise would become one of Chuck Norris's more iconic franchises, and the rest is, shall we say, history. Now Kino Studio Classics have brought the original three films together in a much deserved Blu-ray collection.

I get it. At first glance Ghost Warrior seems like a movie that is easy to disregard, but if you are looking to step outside the mainstream and dip your toe into the murky waters that is B cinema, Ghost Warrior is a heck of a fun place to start. The film is produced by Charles Band. He’s pretty much royalty when it comes to B cinema. His biggest claim to fame is the creation of Full Moon Features, and if you were around in the mom and pop video store days, you more than likely passed plenty of his work on the video store shelves. Movies like Puppet Master and little gems like Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama were Band’s bread and butter, and he’s been successful enough to produce well over 350 films. When it comes to Ghost Warrior, this is before Full Moon became notorious for low-budget horror, but this film does show that he could produce a quality film on a thin budget and have a running time of only 81 minutes.

The film opens up in Japan with Yoshi (Hiroshi Fujioka) as a samurai attempting to protect the woman he loves, but in the process he falls from a cliff and into a frozen lake where he remains frozen for 400 years until he is discovered by a pair of hikers. This opening sequence is a good looking sequence, and that is thanks to the cinematography from horror great Mac Ahlberg. Let me take a moment to just say that it is criminal that Mac Ahlberg isn’t a household name with horror fans, Just to name a few of the great horror films he shot: Hell Night, Re-Animator (personally my all time favorite horror film), House, From Beyond, and countless others. The look of this film elevates it to the point where it can hold its own with bigger 80s films released at the same time, and seeing the image cleaned up for this release, it looks really good.

A possibly innocent military man facing treason and war crime charges, a devoted wife who finds herself drawn to a man who is not her husband, and a prosecutor who is beginning to doubt the conviction of a lifetime. I can honestly say that Sergeant Ryker piqued my interest with this dynamic. And for me what was the key component to my successful viewing of the film, Lee Marvin of The Dirty Dozen fame embodies Sergeant Paul Ryker, an American solder charged with treason for allegedly aiding the enemy following a failed raid during the Korean War. Bradford Dillman plays Captain Young, the JAG officer who prosecutes Ryker for treason, who comes to doubt the conviction that could launch his career. Then there is Vera Miles of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho fame as Sgt. Ryker’s neglected wife, who begins to have eyes for the young captain. What can I say, I dig the drama.

Traitor or hero? That is the main question and theme that is explored in the film. Was Sergeant Ryker really aiding the enemy? On the surface he appears guilty as sin, and it seems like a no-brainer that he will hang for his crimes. However, there are discrepancies when it comes to his defense. Enough so that Captain Young begins to question if the Sergeant received an adequate defense. Or is it Mrs. Ryker who brings him around to the way of thinking? It’s hard to say. There is clearly chemistry between the two, and it is evident from their first exchange that while they care for one another, Mr. and Mrs. Ryker are far from a picturesque married couple. When she comes to see him, he is cold and distant, but in the next minute he expresses tender need. It was a fine line to walk, but Lee Marvin did a fairly decent job walking it. In the case of Capt. Young and Mrs. Ryker, the two find themselves bonded when they risk life and limb to get to the truth of what happened during that failed raid.

One the worst things that can happen to a cop is to be forced to do a shooting in the line of duty. All the training in the word does not make living with action any easier, especially if it results in a fatality. It is among the most traumatic events that can occur for a police officer. No matter what, that officer is likely to second guess every decision that led to that point. Could they have found another way to resolve? Did they have to shoot? Could they have talked the person down? Did the person have to die? Those are just a few of the question that are likely to arise. What makes that situation even worse is if person is found to have been at fault. And herein lies the premise for Warning Shot. David Janssen of TV’s The Fugitive fame plays LAPD Sergeant Tom Valens in this crime drama where he finds himself in that exact situation. During a routine stakeout, Valens fatally shoots what he perceives to be an armed suspect. However, upon a comprehensive investigation, the purported weapon is nowhere to be found. This premise alone was enough to intrigue me, but while watching the film, I became more engrossed in the crime drama with every passing detail. Rounding out the cast are Ed Begley and Joan Collins, as well as the “First Lady of American Cinema,” herself, Lillian Gish.

As mentioned earlier, Valens is living every cop's nightmare as additional details come out about his allege armed suspect. For one, his status as a prominent doctor and humanitarian. Adament about his account, but with no evidence to back up his claim, Valens finds himself charged with manslaughter, suspended from the police force, and demonized by the public, who call for the book to be thrown at him. With very few allies, the disgraced officer sets out to prove his account and regain his reputation. But a lingering question remains, “did the doctor really have a gun, or did he imagine the whole thing?