Raw Deal (1986) - 1986 HBO Cannon Video VHS

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I gotta watch this one again, but remember it as Schwarzenegger's trashiest '80s flick. Brainless action so clichéd that the film is literally composed of nothing--or at least the hardest to recall and relate to others. Red Sonya was like Conan, Commando is that one with a fay Vernon Wells, Red Heat is the Russian one with Belushi, and The Running Man is well, The Running Man. Raw Deal is...? Dunno, but the Stones's Satisfaction plays over one of the shootouts. I'm always surprised that track has stayed with the film, given the tendency for such high profile artists to have crazy license renewals on film use, and Microsoft having to pay millions for the use of Start Me Up. I also love the badass-sounding Italian title, "Codice Magnum".

Raw Deal has been put through the ringer more than a middle-aged Thai whore on home video. This HBO/Cannon clamshell is the first with just HBO Video later releasing a "regular" slipcover version. Video Treasures released a shit EP-mode version while Anchor Bay had a bareboned widescreen "Collector's Edition" tape in their usual black rounded clamshell. Anchor Bay also released a DVD, but both of their releases are incorrectly framed at 1.85:1 instead of 2.35:1. Fox then released two discs and paired it in a double feature with Maximum Overdrive. Given all that came after it, this first tape is the one you don't come across often and matches the other white clam Thorn EMI/HBO tapes of the era.

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