During the first Lollapalooza, the highlight of the show came early when Henry Rollins (formerly of Black Flag) walked onto the stage during Ice-T’s set with his new band Body Count. The rapper and the hardcore legend did a duet on the not yet released “Cop Killer.” It was the exact opposite of Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder’s “Ebony and Ivory.” The local police working the concert weren’t happy at the chorus. I’m wondering if back in 1970s if the cops were upset when Cop Killers appeared on the Drive-In marquee?
Ray (Flesh Gordon‘s Jason Williams) and Alex (Night Patrol‘s Bill Osco) are about to get loaded. The two pals score a major amount of cocaine through a rather complicated pick up/drop off with a single engine airplane. They’re on their way to sell their stash for serious bucks when they encounter a police roadblock. Ray and Alex pull out their guns and keep firing until they become the title characters. They flee the scene and head to the nearest town. After dumping their fancy car, they hijack an ice cream truck and head out into the desert with the elderly employee as their hostage. They have to get ahold of their underworld connections to make them get over the border safely. They also have to grab a new hostage when the ice cream guy proves to be soft serve.
Cop Killers plays like a disturbing remake of Easy Rider. Two guys who are hoping to make a drug deal and go cross country. Except instead of motorcycles and groovy soundtrack, we’re given two guys who have no problem murdering anyone who gets in their way. You don’t get the same feeling at the end of this film. This is prime ’70s drive-in rawness as Ray and Alex go on their cross-country crime spree. There’s plenty of blood oozing out of their victims. The paranoia oozes from the cocaine freaks who think the white powder will calm them down. Cop Killers has Ray and Alex give a duet of destruction as they race around Arizona.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. There’s a grainy feel to the movie since it was shot super 16mm. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 Mono. It’s got that speedy filmmaking film in the mix. The gunshots are loud. The movie is subtitled.
Audio Commentary with star Jason Williams and moderator Adam Trash has him recount going 8 months without a legit job. Saw a listing in Variety for a Buster Crab. He was a college football player and landed the title character in Flesh Gordon. Cop Killers came out when they found a theater owner who wanted to back an R-rated movie. They shot the film for $50,000 on Super 16mm reversal stock before getting it blown up to 35mm. They shot around Tuscon, Arizona.
Interview with actor Jason Williams (15:32) has him talk about his early days in Hollywood when he got cast in Mannix and The Nanny and the Professor. But he ended up making Flesh Gordon. He gets into how the LAPD confiscated Flesh Gordon. While it was on “hold,” the producers cranked out Cop Killers. He talks about how X-rated films worked in that they sold the prints to the theater owners instead of a rental. He admits that Rick Baker (American Werewolf in London) did the gore special effects. Officially, Cop Killers features and Oscar winner!
Original Theatrical Trailer (1:44) lets us know the killers have a message for cops.
MVD Classics present Cop Killers. Directed by Walter R. Cichy. Screenplay by Walter R. Cichy, Howard Ziehm & Bill Osco. Starring Jason Williams, Bill Osco, Diane Keller, Michael D. White, Donna Stubbert, Judy Ross, James Nite, Ted Ellison & Larry Langela. Running Time: 93 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: December 17, 2024.
