Bullet Points: Death Before Dishonor

The 1980s were a time of unparalleled patriotic, and some may claim jingoistic, American action films. Movies like The Delta Force, Rocky IV and Red Dawn are all entertaining, but do nothing to stop the narrative that America is always the good guy and the foreigner is always the bad guy. You have to remember that America needed a pick me up after the malaise of the late 70s and the energy crisis, low economic growth and the poor handling of the Iran Hostage Affair by President Jimmy Carter. President Ronald Reagan used these facts to bring together Americans during his campaign which led to a prolonged period of American patriotism which led to some patriotic action films. One such film that has been largely forgotten is the 1987 film Death Before Dishonor, and while it doesn’t shine a good light on some in the Middle East, it is a non-stop action ride that is definitely worth watching. Luckily for you I can separate political and societal viewpoints when watching action movies and I conveniently happen to have some Bullet Points for Death Before Dishonor.

• Life – Death Before Dishonor is a rare chance to see Fred Dryer, best known from his police television show Hunter, play the lead in feature film. Before acting, Dryer was a defensive end in the NFL mostly with the L.A. Rams, and Dryer brought his large presence (6 ft 6 in, 1.98 m) to the screen in all of his roles. That size made Dryer perfect for the role of United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Jack Burns in Death Before Dishonor. We first me Burns as he is training some new Force Recon Marines and then celebrating after the training is complete with the sweet elixir that is beer. The new members include Ruggieri played by Sasha Mitchell of the Kickboxer sequels in one of his first roles, and James played by Peter Parros whom I always remember as RC3 in the fourth season of Knight Rider. Colonel Halloran (Brian Keith) is the commanding officer of Burns and when he gets transferred to the embassy in Jemal he takes Burns with him as his security detail.

• After – The Jemalis are not big fans of the American presence in their country. The head of a terrorist group that is particularly upset is led by Jihad played by Rockne Tarkington. First of all, that is a strong name and second of all, the 6 ft 5 in (1.98 m) Rockne is one of the few actors who can measure up to Fred Dryer and you better believe we get a mano a mano match up during the climax. The terrorist group uses photojournalist Elli (Joanna Pacula) to document their exploits and garner good favor with the public, but Elli might have some ulterior motives in getting close with the terrorists. Jihad brings in two terrorism gurus, Gavril and Maude Winter, a male and female duo who are all about bringing down the Zionists as proven by the opening scene where not only the Israeli ambassador is assassinated, but his entire family is murdered. You might think a wife and two kids getting killed is hard core, but Death Before Dishonor has a top notch torture scene after Col. Halloran and another Marine are kidnapped. You might want to skip the torture if you are squeamish and all I can say is that Winter is pretty handy with a drill.

• Glory – The action is where Death Before Dishonor really shines. Whether it is the opening assassination scene, an attack on a weapons truck in Jemal or Burns, Ruggieri and James trying to rescue Halloran, you are guaranteed to see stuff blowing up and more than likely Burns driving a Jeep in places not meant for cars. However, once Burns teams up with some Mossad members to finally stop the terrorists and rescue Halloran we are finally treated to the superior action set piece in Death Before Dishonor. It features the unlimited ammo bulletproof (but not grenade proof) heroes that you expect from an 80s action movie, but holy crapola the way Burns takes out Gavril and Winter is nothing short of epic… U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

Death Before Dishonor is one of those action films that you would only find from the 80s. It is not that we don’t see quality Middle Eastern terrorist movies and TV shows today, the first season of the Jack Ryan Amazon Prime show is proof of that, but they usually are more nuanced with the terrorist portrayal. For all that get upset about the portrayal of Middle Eastern terrorists in film, there is an equal number that laud the heroism of U.S. Marines and soldiers shown in said action movies. For me it boils down to sometimes you just want to sit back and watch stuff blow up and a Jeep driving down stairs and Death Before Dishonor gives it all to you in spades. Sometimes if you just sit back and read Death Before Dishonor Bullet Points you will get Bonus Bullet Points!

• Time to Shine – Fred Dryer wasn’t the only individual given a chance to lead a film. Director Terry Leonard has had a long career as stunt performer and coordinator (including 26 episodes of Hunter) with tons of second unit directing credits, but only has one directing credit to his name… Death Before Dishonor.
• If You Ever – wanted to hear Brian Keith call Fred Dryer a butthole than Death Before Dishonor is for you.
• Familiar Face – The American ambassador to Jemal is played by Paul Winfield of The Terminator fame, but I will never forget him for that earring in Original Gangstas.
• True to Life – Death Before Dishonor takes place in the fictional country of Jemal, but that doesn’t mean there were’t plenty of embassy bombings before 1987 to pull from, and sadly there are seemingly new embassy bombings every couple of years.
• Best Quote to Give It to the Terrorists – “Go f**k yourself.”