White Fire had all the hallmarks of being one of those good-bad action movies from the 1980s and while it had its moments, Ginty fights off some goons with a chainsaw, but the last two-thirds were rather dull.
White Fire
(1984)
Genre(s): Action, Suspense/Thriller
Arrow Video | NR – 102 min. – $39.95 | May 26, 2020
Date Published: 11/03/2020 | Author: The Movieman
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Arrow Video provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Bo (ROBERT GINTY) and Inga (BELINDA MAYNE) are brother and sister jewel thieves who target the legendary “White Fire” diamond – a priceless rock so hot it actually burns those who try to lay their hands on it. When tragedy strikes, Bo undertakes an outrageous plan involving plastic surgery and explosives to infiltrate the mine where the diamond awaits. Bo’s plan hits an unexpected snag with the arrival of smooth-talking badass Noah Barclay (FRED WILLIAMSON). Noah’s hunting for a missing prostitute – and he thinks Bo and Inga hold the key to her disappearance. Quick Hit Review: I’ve actually, at least in small parts, already saw White Fire, thanks to the guys over on Red Letter Media where it was one of three films in their “Best of the Worst” series. Now seeing it in full… while there are some genuinely funny good bad moments, especially early on, much of the remainder of the film was either a bit of a snooze-fest or downright creepy with an incestuous relationship between the brother and sister, one scene has him teasing her while she’s buck naked (mind you, she’s in her mid-20s, he’s in his early 30s) and later, with a potential love interest, gets plastic surgery to make the women look like his deceased sister. Bizarre especially when the surgery doesn’t really play all that much into the plot when you think about it. In any case, there’s really not a whole lot to White Fire. The acting is I suppose serviceable, or perhaps a solid step up compared with an Andy Sidaris film, with Fred Williamson being the charismatic mo-fo that he usually is, just a shame he’s more of an enforcer than the primary antagonist, plus his character is kind of forced into the movie in a hackneyed way. Meanwhile Robert Ginty and Belinda Mayne were okay, not exactly main character material but fine considering what they’re given. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover and the interior sleeve is reversible with the film’s original poster artwork. Also includes a nice booklet. Both the slip cover and booklet are for initial printings. Audio Commentary – Critic Kat Ellinger sits down to break down this gem (no pun intended) of an action-thriller. In all seriousness, she does give some background on the director and production, providing some interesting tid-bits. Interview:
All three of these were newly produced for this Arrow Video release and each discussing their respective roles. 2020 Re-Issue Trailer (2:12) |
VIDEO – 3½/5 |
| Arrow Video releases White Fire onto Blu-ray where it’s presented in its original 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. Since the accompanied booklet makes no mention of any sort of restoration, and in fairness this isn’t a movie that should be spent a whole lot on anyway, I assume the transfer is whatever the production company had on hand. As such, as 35+ year old, low budget foreign movies go, it’s not too bad. Detail is a bit inconsistent with some shots appearing sharp with the natural film grain and noise on display, others were a bit softer. In addition colors are fairly washed out and there some minor specs here and there. |
AUDIO – 3½/5 |
| The disc comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track and for the most part it’s effective enough. Dialogue, much of it dubbed, comes through with some gusto and some of the action elements were decent for a singular channel. I also didn’t notice much distortion, no pops, hisses or other flaws. |
OVERALL – 2¼/5 |
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White Fire had all the hallmarks of being one of those good-bad action movies from the 1980s and while it had its moments, Ginty fights off some goons with a chainsaw, but the last two-thirds were rather dull and often creepy with relationship between brother and sister, mostly on the former. In any event, the Blu-ray release by Arrow Video has adequate if not also flawed video and audio transfers and an okay selection of bonus features. |