Who is Nick Nolte

Dan Millman, author of The Way of the Peaceful Warrior about the movie:

Who exactly was Socrates? What can you tell us about the actual person he's based on? And how did Nick Nolte come into this role?
Way of the Peaceful Warrior provides a glimpse of life's bigger picture through a story that blends autobiographical material and fictional elements. I did meet an old service station mechanic about three a.m. on a starry morning. And I did call him "Socrates." He impacted my life not only with his words, but with the light in his eyes and the way he carried himself - and he became the archetypal Mentor described in my book. As to how Nick Nolte came to play the role (quite brilliantly) -- that was simply a conjunction of the stars, of timing and fortune, along with the good casting sense of the director and producers. I'm glad it turned out that way.

What are your thoughts on the final cut of the movie?
When my wife and I saw an early screening of the film, I was both moved and relieved. It was not an easy adaptation. The screenwriter, director and producers made some choices different from mine, but I enjoyed the result. Every film, like every person, has both flaws and virtues. In my view, the virtues of Peaceful Warrior outweigh any flaws. Although the movie covers only the first two-thirds of the book -- leaving out the most important part of the story -- it still manages to capture the spirit of the book, and to offer wisdom that can impact the lives of those who view it. Peaceful Warrior reflects a new genre -- "cinema with substance" -- transformational film..

This is being billed as "a movie that changes lives." What are five movies you would recommend that, in your opinion, change lives?
The subtitle of the book, based on reader feedback, is "A book that changes lives." Universal Pictures adapted this for the film as well. If any film can change lives, it does so by providing stories and role models that expand perspectives about what is important in our lives, and about the human spirit. Although others might come up with quite a different list, here are a few films that I consider examples of transformational film: It's a Wonderful Life; Groundhog Day; Rudy; Contact; To Kill a Mockingbird; Twelve Angry Men. There are many more; hundreds more. But these films in some way call us to living with a peaceful heart and a warrior spirit - to live with courage and love, to stand tall even when we stand alone, to do what is right and speak and live our truth. This is what the peaceful warrior's way is all about.

"Extreme Prejudice" is one of those special films that should have worked like gangbusters with the action thriller crowd. Thanks to director Walter Hill (the same guy who later did "48 Hours"), this ultra violent shoot 'em up picture boasts an amazing cast, over the top performances, stark atmosphere, high testosterone, and lots of firepower all wrapped up in a style that would make Sam Peckinpah cry with joy. With all of the positives going for it the film failed to draw great box office receipts. Why? Several reasons, actually. As great as the pieces of "Extreme Prejudice" are independently, director Hill failed to integrate the parts into the sort of seamless whole film critics appreciate. Some movies wildly succeed despite traveling down a road pitted with plot holes. Others manage to just squeak by despite their difficulties, and this is the case with Hill's film. It doesn't quite have what it takes to become a cult classic, can't totally overcome its numerous failings, but this movie survives because it accomplishes exactly what it set out to do, namely entertain its target audience.

Texas Ranger Jack Benteen (Nick Nolte) is a cop's cop and a man's man. Working the beat down in on the Texas-Mexico border, Benteen regularly puts his man down when the time comes for killing. Often operating in tandem with feisty and foul-mouthed local sheriff Hank Pearson, Benteen's biggest problem in the heat blasted climes of Southern Texas is curbing narcotics trafficking. When he isn't out killing local boys gone bad Jack argues incessantly with his live in lover Sarita Cisneros (Maria Conchita Alonso), a woman who works as a singer at the local watering hole and who just happens to be the former girlfriend of ex-cop and now big time drug dealer Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe). Benteen and Bailey get along with each other despite their differences largely due to an unspoken agreement the two have about staying out of each other's way, but that's all about to change after Pearson dies in a violent shootout with some local drug dealers ostensibly working for Bailey's outfit. Now it's personal for Benteen (shouldn't it have been before?), and nothing will get in his way as he prepares to bring down Bailey once and for all.

Then a problem materializes. The federal government, hoping to stem the flow of narcotics into the country, orchestrates a black operation composed of elite ex-military specialists and sends them into Benteen's stomping grounds to wipe out Cash Bailey. These guys are highly trained killers operating under such heavy secrecy that the feds faked the soldiers' deaths in order to protect their identities. Headed up by a thug named Paul Hackett--a man who has his own dirty little secrets--the team plans to rob a bank so they can steal Bailey's files. Perceiving Benteen as a potential problem, Hackett plays the part of a sympathetic DEA agent and feeds the Texas Ranger false information to keep him out of the picture until the operatives can finish the mission. Predictably, the robbery goes horribly awry, a couple of the team members end up in Benteen's jail, and out comes the dirty laundry. Jack teams up with Hackett's team as they head to Bailey's hideout in Mexico, still determined to do in Bailey and liberate the hapless Sarita while he's at it (You didn't think the girl would stay safely behind in Texas for the entire film, did you?). The conclusion is pure Peckinpah as the entire compound erupts into total gunfire riddled chaos.

For all its flaws, I still like watching "Extreme Prejudice" whenever I get the chance because the performances are so much fun. Nick Nolte is at his sweaty, scene chewing best as the relentless cop Jack Benteen. Rip Torn plays Sheriff Hank Pearson so over the top that he is a wonder to watch. Maria Conchita Alonso serves mainly as eye candy in her scenes, and Powers Boothe doesn't start rocking and rolling until the end of the film. The real show stealers here is Hackett's gang. Check out the actors involved in these roles: Michael Ironsides, William Forsythe, Clancy Brown, Matt Mulhern, Larry B.Scott, and Dan Tullis Jr. all play critical parts. If you aren't familiar with low budget cinema, you might not recognize these names or faces, but the rest of us who follow these types of movies know this list represents a goldmine of talent. If you've ever wondered how these guys would work together in a single film, "Extreme Prejudice" is your movie. Heck, even Tom "Tiny" Lister turns up here in a small role as one of Bailey's main henchmen. About the only guy missing from the roster is Randall "Tex" Cobb. Throw these actors into a plot loaded with gunfire, the heat blasted plains of Texas and Mexico, and a script that isn't afraid to punch up the testosterone laden dialogue to unheard of levels, and you have the makings for an entertaining couple of hours.

Sadly, plot holes abound. I still cannot figure out how Benteen could run a computer check on two of Hackett's men and discover that they are supposedly dead. Wouldn't the government cover its tracks with loads of high tech wizardry to prevent some backwoods cop from finding out who these guys are? Moreover, some of the scenes in the film are laughably ridiculous. For example, Bailey blows some guy's head off because of a drug dispute, and then promptly cozies up to Sarita as though nothing happened. In what universe would a woman readily accept with open arms a man who just committed a grisly murder IN FRONT OF HER just seconds before? Only a guy could write such nonsense into a script and think it would work. Give "Extreme Prejudice" a look if you like movies like "Roadhouse." If not, skip it. -- Jeffrey Leach (Omaha, NE USA)