under fire

In the ‘80s movies were bit like top-40 radio, you got a little of everything. Oscar bait such as Gandhi and Out of Africa existed in a comfortable box-office balance with escapist summer fare like Return of the Jedi…much the same way Casey Kasem could play Lionel Richie and Men At Work back to back without missing a beat. But even in this glorious melting pot of an environment, a film like Under Fire was probably out of touch with what audience’s were willing to pay for. With CNN broadcasting about the chaos and corruption in Central America 24 hours a day, the story of a trio of journalists caught up in those same explosions and petty politics probably felt more like “bad news” than a good time at the movies.

In the film’s defense, Under Fire does a fine job of making the situation understandable and personal. Nick Nolte, whose disheveled-look was working in his favor here, plays Russell Price, a hardcore news photographer who specializes in getting the shots no one else can. He finds a kindred spirit in Claire (Joanna Cassidy), a fellow journalist who enjoys living out of a suitcase as much as he does. Their budding romance is complicated by their relationship with future network news anchor Alex (Gene Hackman), to whom both of them owe personal and professional debts.

But this love triangle, which seems like it will control the plot early on, is set aside for most of the film, taking a backseat to Russell and Claire’s attempt to track down Rafael, the elusive leader of the Nicaraguan rebel army. Brought into the fold, they’re faced with a moral and ethical dilemma, which may actually change the course of the war and decide the fate of an entire country.

Ron Shelton and Clayton Frohman’s script cleverly inserts its characters into a position where they actually matter. That the politics behind their choices swing noticeably to the left might be a turn-off to some (personally, I find the anti-politics of James Woods in Salvador, also available from Twilight Time, more appealing), but it’s hard to deny that Under Fire finds a way to make a messy war into a logical and linear love story of sorts.

Director Roger Spottiswoode (whose resume ranges from Bond films to pop-culture punch lines like Turner & Hooch) does his best to create a more expansive visual canvas than the small-screen news his film was inspired by. He’s aided admirably by composer Jerry Goldsmith, whose collaboration with guitarist Pat Methany earned the film an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score. But the film’s secret weapon is a recurring role by Ed Harris as a soldier-of-fortune whose moral compass swings whichever way the wind blows. His three short exchanges with Nolte almost convince you the movie was following the wrong guy the whole time.

Twilight Time’s 3000-copy limited edition Blu-ray comes with two commentaries, an interview with Cassidy, excerpts from the Matthew Naythons Photo Archive, theatrical trailer and an isolated score track. It’s available exclusively at while supplies last.