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I first encountered Joshua Tree at the tender age of 14. I had taped it off Sky Movies and expected it to be just another action film, and would have enjoyed it had it been just that. But there is a very quiet tongue-in-cheek feel and a slightly ironic edge to the film that really appeals to me. Unfortunately the version I saw was sanitized by the BBFC to the point of ridiculousness.
Dolph Lundgren stars as Wellman Anthony Santee (yeah, you read that correctly) a race-car driver who is sent down for a 20-35 year stretch in the funhouse for the murder of a highway patrolman. Only he didn't do it and escapes custody in order to trap the real culprit. Along the way he kidnaps Rita Mareck (Kristian Alfonso) an off-duty police officer for the sole purpose of using her 4x4 as an escape vehicle. But Rita's natural detective abilities and curiosity make her stick around and observe the plot as it unfolds. It's fun watching her being manhandled (just as she secretly likes) by Santee, who is just the kind of genuine straight-up tough guy she's been looking for.
George Segal (doing a Groucho Marx impersonation) and Beau Starr are the crooked cops out to get Santee and spare no effort lying and sleazing their way across the desert before he exposes their corruption. The odds are against Santee, but behind the wheel of a fast car he can hit the dirt and disappear without a trace.
The action in Joshua Tree is incredible. The centerpiece scene in which Santee massacres half of China in a desert chop-shop has to be seen to be believed. It goes beyond violence and into an orgy of blood and death that very few movies manage to reach. There are also a few references to other films, most notably the "I need a shotgun" scene from The Getaway as well as the rather Hitchcockian "wrong man on the run" theme.
Joel Goldsmith provides a lovely musical score too, full of melodic atmosphere and pounding rhythms. It's never been available on CD, which is a shame.
The film itself has had a truly shocking release history. The long defunct Live Entertainment had the video rights back in the day but they changed the title to avoid confusion with the U2 music video. When the time came to release a DVD they just ported the video transfer to disc instead of giving us a proper 2.35:1 version. The rights have since been lost and the film will no doubt fall into obscurity, which is a shame. Vic Armstrong (probably THE top action man in Hollywood) never got to do a definitive Director's Cut of the film and for his maiden voyage (and so far only) as a stand-alone film director it's probably heartbreaking and very frustrating for him.
I can't say the film is perfect though. There are far too many shots of generic police cars driving through the desert. Cutting out all this dead weight would have tightened the pace considerably. I can't help but grimace every time one of these pointless cutaways pops up.
It's nearly impossible to find Joshua Tree these days, but if you do happen upon it (preferably with the shorter ending and not the horrible extended version) then it is well worth the time and money.
score 10/10
CuriosityKilledShawn 23 December 1998
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0318344/ |
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18-2-2021 05:00:06