{"id":15382,"date":"2017-02-11T12:20:21","date_gmt":"2017-02-11T17:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=15382"},"modified":"2017-02-11T20:33:18","modified_gmt":"2017-02-12T01:33:18","slug":"br-band-of-the-hand-1986","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=15382","title":{"rendered":"BR: Band of the Hand (1986)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Film<\/strong>:\u00a0Good<\/p>\n

Transfer<\/strong>: \u00a0Excellent<\/p>\n

Extras<\/strong>:\u00a0n\/a<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Mill Creek<\/p>\n

Region:<\/strong>\u00a0A, B<\/p>\n

Released:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0January 10, 2017<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Action<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong>\u00a0Five troubled youths are given a second chance to earn respect and save a local block from drug lords.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/strong>\u00a0 (none)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Miami Vice<\/strong> (1984-1990) became a hit on TV, executive producer Michael Mann realized there were assorted opportunities to exploit the specific visual and aural style of the show in other series (Crime Story<\/strong><\/a>), mini-series (Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel<\/strong>, L.A. Takedown<\/strong>), and feature films, regardless of the period setting (the WWII supernatural shocker The Keep<\/strong>), but while Band of the Hand<\/strong> isn\u2019t tied to any characters of Vice<\/strong>, it\u2019s very much a separate story that could\u2019ve taken place within the show\u2019s world, largely because almost everyone packed into the production had done time on Vice<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The original TV trailer consisted of a giant palm print advancing towards the camera, wiping into another fast-cut action scene, making it hard to figure out the core story, but Band<\/strong> is ostensibly a familiar tale of a rebel do-gooder \u2013 vague Native American Joe (Crime Story<\/strong>\u2019s Stephen Lang) \u2013 who hand-picks troubled youths and puts them through a grueling ordeal in the Florida Everglades; those who fail die (making the whole \u2018programme\u2019 ridiculous, and thoroughly illegal), and graduates get a chance to prove their new kinship by rebuilding troubled communities house by house, then block by block.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s Joe\u2019s plan for the five punks (John Cameron Mitchell, Danny Quinn, Leon Robinson, and Vice<\/strong>\u2019s Michael Carmine and Al Shannon), but when funding is cut by superiors (represented by Crime Story<\/strong>\u2019s Bill Smitrovich and Vice<\/strong>\u2019s Paul Calderone) because some kids did<\/em> die, he\u2019s forced to pull the plug, pronounce his new quintet as free to apply their rebuilding \/ bonding skills elsewhere, and enjoy their second chance and new freedom. Naturally, they choose to finish Joe\u2019s mission and fight for their block against a drug dealer (Laurence Fishburne, sporting one bad haircut), himself just a foot soldier to local cartel leader \/ silent shadow Nestor (James Remar), a classic Mann archetype who speaks little, walks softly, and threatens with widening eyes and silence.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s philosophy stems from his time in \u2018Nam, where he formed \u2018a band\u2019 among his buddies, each holding out their palms in an old photo. As he tells the boys, each man is a finger, and together they form a hand.<\/p>\n

FINGERS of a HAND!<\/p><\/div>\n

Get it?<\/p>\n

When the boys are forced to fight solo, they too hold out their palms, but never touch, because the mantra isn\u2019t about machismo; it\u2019s spiritual; noble; empowering, based on friendship, respect, and self-worth.<\/p>\n

Only show HANDS – NO TOUCHING!<\/p><\/div>\n

Leo Garen and Jack Baran\u2019s script is nothing out of the ordinary. Band<\/strong> is just a slick-looking B-movie elevated by the Vice<\/strong> style, peppered with familiar faces from series casting agent Bonnie Timmerman (Martin Ferrero, often cast for comedic relief, appears unbilled as a pest control merchant), use of Miami\u2019s beautiful Art Deco buildings, and for Nestor, a classic 1980s industrial estate that\u2019s all white-painted steel, glass blocks, and each storey decorated with modern, highly uncomfortable furniture, glass and steel art, and paintings with geometric shapes.<\/p>\n

Whether or not it was overtly decreed by Mann, Band<\/strong> is part of the Vice<\/strong> universe, and Paul Michael Glaser\u2019s direction is as slick and punchy as his own Vice<\/strong> episodes, which include fan favourites \u201cThe Prodigal Son\u201d and \u201cSmuggler\u2019s Blues\u201d (both 1985). He knew the requirements of the house style, and doesn\u2019t disappoint with the same imagery and colours, ludicrous clothes and hairstyles, and every character pulsing attitude even when they\u2019re asleep.<\/p>\n

Mann also tasked Manhunter<\/strong> (1986) composer Michael Rubini to pen the handful or original cues (some of which seem patterned after Tangerine Dream\u2019s Flashpoint<\/strong>, of which that score\u2019s main title was tracked into the TV spot), and the film bears the same care for song selection as the series: contemporary hits and new material (like Manhunter<\/strong>, Shriekback music is prominently used in a key scene) where the lyrics and tone are perfect matches for screen action, character subtext, and scene rhythms. Newly commissioned is a title song by Bob Dylan which is played thrice to help push the soundtrack album (which was packed with songs and one Rubini cue).<\/p>\n