Cobra (1986 film)

''Cobra'' is a 1986 American action film directed by George P. Cosmatos and written by Sylvester Stallone, who also starred in the title role. The film co-stars Reni Santoni, Brigitte Nielsen and Andrew Robinson. It is the first film in which Brian Thompson plays a prominent role. The film was loosely based on the novel ''Fair Game'' by Paula Gosling, which was later filmed under that title in 1995. However, Stallone's screenplay was originally conceived from ideas he had during pre-production of ''Beverly Hills Cop'', whose screenplay he heavily revised. He had wanted to make ''Beverly Hills Cop'' a less comedic and more action-oriented film, which the studio rejected as being far too expensive. When he left that project, Eddie Murphy was brought in to play the lead role.

The film received generally negative reviews, with much criticism focused on the overuse of genre tropes and excessive violence. It debuted at the number one spot on the U.S. box office, and earned $49 million in the US and a total of $160 million worldwide. It has come to be considered a cult classic.

Plot

After a failure of negotiations between a lone armed gunman and law enforcement during a hostage crisis at a Los Angeles supermarket, the LAPD summons Lieutenant Marion Cobretti ( Stallone), a member of its elite division known as the "Zombie Squad". Cobretti, addressed by his codename "Cobra", infiltrates the store, locates, and negotiates with the gunman, who threatens him by speaking of a vague and unknown organization known as "The New World", a supremacist group of social darwinist radicals that despise modern society and believe in killing the weak, leaving only the strongest and smartest to rule the world. Cobretti then kills the gunman by throwing a knife at his abdomen and then shooting him dead.

As the hostages and bodies are removed from the store, Cobretti is admonished by Detective Monte (Robinson) for his seeming disregard for police procedures and protocols. Harassed by reporters, Cobretti admonishes them for failing to prioritize the safety of potential victims. Little does everyone realize at the time that the supermarket hostage crisis is only one of a string of recent and seemingly unconnected acts of violence and murder that have broken loose in Los Angeles, perpetrated by the same supremacist group the supermarket gunman mentioned.

Model and businesswoman Ingrid Knudsen ( Nielsen) later becomes the New World's priority target after witnessing their members and their leader, only identified as "The Night Slasher" (Thompson), going on a killing spree. She is placed under the protective custody of Cobretti and his partner, Sergeant Tony Gonzales (Santoni) after a failed attempt on her. When several more failed attempts are made on their lives by various people connected to the New World, Cobretti theorizes that there is an entire army of killers operating with the same ''modus operandi'' rather than a lone serial killer with some associates, but his suggestion is rebuffed by his superiors. However, the LAPD agrees with Cobretti that it will be safest if he and Knudsen relocate from the city.

Cobretti becomes romantically involved with Ingrid shortly after venturing out into the countryside, but Nancy Stalk ( Garlington), the New World's second-in-command and right-hand infiltrates the police team escorting the Cobretti party and compromises their whereabouts. Despite Cobretti's suspicions and mistrust of Nancy, he does nothing and the party spends the night in a motel complex. The organization moves in at dawn and besieges the small town. With barely enough time to react, the attackers storm the motel complex, wounding Gonzales in the process. Killing several members but with more swarming into the town, Cobretti and Ingrid escape in a pickup truck. When the truck is severely damaged from the chase, the duo cut through a grapefruit plantation to escape into a nearby factory.

Cobretti has defeated most of the New World by this point, with the few remaining members following them into the building. Cobretti eliminates every member and the Night Slasher accidentally shoots Nancy, leaving just himself. Cobretti and the Night Slasher engage in a vicious melee combat inside the steel mill, ending with the latter being impaled in the back by a large roaming hook, which transports him into a furnace that burns him alive.

In the aftermath, Cobretti's department arrives and begins clean-up of the town, rendering medical aid to Gonzales. Detective Monte appears apologetic but confronts Cobretti again about his lack of regard to police protocols, offering to discuss the issue over a long dinner. Cobretti punches Monte instead, before he and Ingrid ride away on one of the motorcycles left by the New World.

Cast

Production

Development and writing

When Sylvester Stallone was signed to play the lead in ''Beverly Hills Cop'', he decided to rewrite the script almost completely, removing nearly all the comedic aspects and turning it into an action movie that he felt was better suited to him. The studio read his revised script and rejected it. The proposed action scenes would have increased the budget far beyond what they planned. Stallone later channeled his ideas for it into an original script.

The novel ''Fair Game'' by Paula Gosling was cited as source material, enough so that she received a screen credit. When ''Cobra'' was released, Sylvester Stallone allegedly wanted the novel to be reissued with himself credited as co-author. Gosling declined the offer. The 1995 movie '' Fair Game'' was also based on the same novel by Gosling.

Sylvester Stallone's earlier draft of the script contained many differences from later drafts and the final film. These include: the opening shootout taking place in a movie theater (instead of a grocery store), during which many more people are killed; Cobra mentioning how he had a girlfriend who was killed by a psychopath he was trying to catch; an additional big nighttime action sequence on a boat where Cobra and Ingrid are hiding and are attacked by the Night Slasher's cult members, with Cobra and Gonzalez managing to kill them all; and a different ending, in which it's revealed that Monte was the actual leader of the New World cult and when he tries to kill Ingrid he is shot and killed by Cobra.

The line, "This is where the law stops and I start, sucker!", was inspired by a line spoken by Steve McQueen in '' The Reivers''.

''Cobra'' needed much additional editing because the film was so graphically violent that, at first, it received an X-rating from the MPAA. Warner Bros. also did not like the level of gore and violence of the first rough cut, which is why they would not release the film until most of those scenes were deleted and it received an R-rating.

Casting

Brian Thompson auditioned seven times before he was hired. On the fourth audition he met Stallone, who thought that Thompson was too nice to play the Night Slasher. But after a screen test, he immediately got the job. Also, in the original script, the Night Slasher was called Abaddon, possibly after the "angel of the abyss" from the Bible.

Thompson repeatedly sought Stallone's advice about how to play the Night Slasher, including questions about his background and personal motivations, but Stallone showed no interest in the subject and told Thompson that the character was simply evil. In an unfortunate surprise for Thompson, after filming was completed, director Cosmatos unexpectedly told him: "You could have been good if you had listened to me."

Stallone acknowledge ''Dirty Harry'' as an influence and ''Cobra'' reunited two actors from the film: Reni Santoni and Andy Robinson.

Brigitte Nielsen, Stallone's then-wife who he had met filming ''Rocky IV'', was cast as Ingrid Knudsen.

Filming

Originally, ''Cobra'' was supposed to be filmed in Seattle, climaxing with a motorcycle chase scene on a ferry between the islands. Even though everything was prepared to start filming the final theatrical version of the scene at night, Stallone demanded the ending be changed because of the mosquito problem at that time, which would have made night time filming very difficult to endure.

The supporting cast and extras were forbidden from talking to Stallone on set.

At one point during filming, Stallone complained to cinematographer Ric Waite that they were falling behind and that he needed to push his crew to work harder. Waite responded by telling Stallone that the delays were due to his fooling around with Brigitte Nielsen and showing off for his bodyguards. Although Stallone was shocked that somebody would talk to him that way, he cleaned up his act and behaved more professionally, although he returned to his old egocentric behavior a few weeks later. Waite later said in an interview that, despite his huge ego, Stallone had a great sense of humor. He said George P. Cosmatos would have made a great producer, but he was a terrible director.

For the Night Slasher's monologue in the lead-up to the final fight, Brian Thompson did the scene with the script supervisor standing in for Stallone, who was busy watching a basketball game on TV.

The custom 1950 Mercury driven by Cobretti was actually owned by Sylvester Stallone. The studio produced stunt doubles of the car for use in some of the action sequences, such as the jump from the second floor of the parking garage. The production built three "Cobra cars" for stunt work. Although they were identical on the outside, their moving parts were designed for specific sequences, involving high-speed swipes with other vehicles, 180-degree turns, jumps, and 360-degree spins.

The knife used by the Night Slasher was made for the film by knife designer Herman Schneider. Sylvester Stallone asked Schneider to create a knife that audiences would never forget.

Cobretti uses a custom Colt Gold Cup National Match 1911 chambered in 9mm. The 9mm variant was made specifically for the film (normally it fires .45 ACP). Later in the film, he uses a Jati-Matic submachine gun.

Music

An audio cassette and vinyl version were released on September 21, 1986, followed by a CD which was released in 1992 as the ''Original Motion Picture Soundtrack''.

Stan Bush's song "The Touch", heard in '' Transformers: The Movie'' (1986), was originally written for ''Cobra''.
The song "Feel The Heat" was overheard during the filming of the video by Jean Beauvoir when they were editing in the same building complex that the video was being filmed. Stallone loved the song, and the rest is history.

Release

Versions

The first rough cut was over two hours long (the closest estimated original running time is 130 minutes). It was then shortened to a roughly two-hour director's cut which was intended to be released in theaters. However, after ''Top Gun'' became a smash hit, Stallone and Warner Bros. were worried that ''Cobra'' - which would premiere the following week - would be overshadowed, so in order to ensure at least one extra screening each day the movie was heavily re-edited. Stallone removed much of the plot and scenes involving characters other than his own. Warner Bros. also demanded that the more graphic scenes be cut down or removed entirely because they were "too intense," and that some action scenes be cut for pacing. The extended television version of the film is approximately 6 minutes longer than the theatrical release.

When first submitted to the MPAA the film received an X rating, necessitating even more cuts. The full extent of the censorship is unknown, but based on director Cosmatos's commentary and several other sources, some of the cut scenes include:
* The first murder victim having her throat cut and hands severed;
* An Asian American child delivers a wrapped present to the LAPD office as instructed by one of the members of the New World. As the officer tells the child to stay, he proceeds to unwrap the present only to discover traces of blood coming from the box. The officer answers a phone call from one of the members of the New World, who speaks a cryptic message of the murder victim's hands inside the box;
* More dead bodies in the autopsy scene, including lingering shots of naked and mutilated bodies of murdered women;
* The New World's day jobs as welders, carpenters and fish market employees and cleaners, which were originally part of the "Angel of the City" sequences. These were cut and replaced with the scenes of the New World doing a routine workout ritual as seen in the film's opening;
* An extended death scene for Ingrid's photographer Dan, in which he is hit several more times with axes and attempts to escape, only to slip on his own blood and fall down in a puddle of it before being finished off with even more hits;
* The scene in which the Night Slasher tries to kill Ingrid in the hospital was cut down for pacing and content. The deaths of the janitor and nurse were originally shown onscreen and a scene where a police guard outside Ingrid's room is killed by the Night Slasher was also cut. A later scene where Cobretti mentions the officer's death to Monte was cut to maintain continuity, which as a result made the editing of that scene choppy;
* More scenes of the townspeople (including the motel owner and diner waitress) being killed during the climax, including a scene in which one is hit in the face with axe; two of these death scenes appeared in 1990's TV versions of the film, but with most of the more graphic shots removed;
* Graphic close-ups of the Night Slasher's wound after he is impaled on the hook; Cobretti repeatedly forces the hook deeper into the Night Slasher as he screams in pain;
* After the demise of the Night Slasher, Cobretti and Ingrid leave the factory but before they can exit, countryside police intervene wherein the sheriff demands from them of what took place in the factory.

Besides these cuts, a few scenes in which the Night Slasher and his gang are killing people were slowed down (for continuity reasons since demanded cuts made the editing of the scenes look choppy), while some of the shootouts which were originally in slow-motion were instead played at normal speed (in order to cut prolonged death scenes of gang members, plus close ups of many bullet holes which were also cut).

Eventually, the movie received an R rating and was released in theaters with a running time of 84 minutes, approximately 50 minutes shorter than the first assembly cut and 30 to 40 minutes shorter than the director's cut.

Much of David Rasche's role was cut. In the behind-the-scenes making of documentary available on DVD/Blu-ray, an additional (deleted) scene with him and Brigitte Nielsen is shown being filmed.

The car chase between Cobretti and the Night Slasher was originally longer and ended differently. In the theatrical version the Night Slasher shoots at Cobretti's car and causes him to crash into the boat. In the original version the Night Slasher and his driver are the first ones who crash into the boat; Cobretti fails to stop his car in time and crashes into them. Shots of the Night Slasher's car turning around and him breathing in relief after Cobra crashes his car were taken from an earlier part of the chase and the shot of Cobretti seeing the boat before he crashes into it was actually taken from the Night Slasher's car crash. In the theatrical version, the Night Slasher's crashed car is still visible in scene where Cobretti crashes into the boat.

The first cut of the film featured a slightly different version of the climactic confrontation between the Night Slasher and Cobretti. Where the final version features a longer exchange between the two, in the earlier version Cobretti appears right after the Night Slasher screams "We are the future!" and reiterates his line from the opening scene: "You're the disease, and I'm the cure." Nightstalker's monologue about the law and Cobretti's duty as a policeman is omitted; instead, they stare at each other before Stalk attacks Cobretti. There is a noticeable continuity mistake in the final version: when Stalk jumps on Cobra there is a fire behind him, which isn't visible during the preceding conversation. This is because Stallone's closeups were shot later in a different location.

The official soundtrack release includes a track called "Skyline" which is not heard anywhere in the movie. This is because scenes in which this track was used were cut during the re-editing. Originally there was a scene in which Cobretti is sitting in his home, looking at the sunset (there is a similar scene in the beginning of theatrical version in which he is cleaning up his gun and then looks out the window) and soon, right after the Night Slasher and his gang members have killed the second victim and cops show up at the scene, Cobretti gets a call to go and meet with them. "Skyline" was also originally used in some other scenes, including the ending, but it was removed and replaced with "Voice of America's Sons" by John Cafferty.

Although no uncut version or director's cut has ever seen an official release, a timecoded workprint sourced from poor quality VHS copies exists as a bootleg. It contains all of the X rated scenes and uncut action sequences, along with scenes explaining the motives of the New Order gang, focusing on characters such as the Night Slasher and Stalk, alternate lines of dialogue and a temporary score which contains some of the songs and music from the theatrical version and pieces of scores from other movies.

While ''Cobra'' was not connected in any story ways with the 1989 Stallone-starring Warner Bros. release ''Tango & Cash'', it did influence the filming and editing of that project. Because both Stallone and Warner Bros. did not want to go through another brutal fight to get an R rating with the MPAA like it had 3 years earlier, ''Tango & Cash'' was deliberately filmed to blunt the impact of any scenes with violence and potential gore. The strategy worked, as ''Tango & Cash'' got the R rating it sought immediately after its 1st MPAA screening.

Reception

Box office

''Cobra'' opened the widest for a Warner Bros. release at the time opening on 2,131 screens and debuted at number one at the U.S. box office with a Memorial Day weekend debut of $15.7 million. It eventually went on to gross $160 million, over six times its estimated $25 million budget. According to ''The New York Times'', the film was still considered a disappointment because its $48 million at the box office in the US did not live up to the success of Rambo.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 18% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 3.40/10. The website's consensus reads, "A disengaged Sylvester Stallone plays the titular ''Cobra'' with no bite in this leaden action thriller, queasily fixated on wanton carnage and nothing else." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 25 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B" on scale of A to F.

''TV Guide'' stated that "Stallone's character is an empty hulk...the few attempts to provide us with little insights into his character are downright laughable." Nina Darnton of ''The New York Times'' opined that the film "pretends to be against the wanton violence of a disintegrating society, but it's really the apotheosis of that violence.... tshows such contempt for the most basic American values", and Vincent Canby called it "disturbing for the violence it portrays, the ideas it represents and the large number of people who will undoubtedly go to see it and cheer on its dangerous hero." Sheila Benson of the ''Los Angeles Times'' panned the film, saying "''Cobra'''s pretentious emptiness, its dumbness, its two-faced morality make it a movie that begs to be laughed off."

''Variety'' called it "a sleek, extremely violent and exciting police thriller" and compared Cobra favorably to Rocky and Rambo.

Gene Siskel of the ''Chicago Tribune'' compared Cobra to Dirty Harry when giving the film 2 and 1/2 stars and summarizing it as "Filthy Harry". He wrote: "Whereas Clint Eastwood simply would have squinted at Robinson, Stallone takes a more violent approach. Maybe that's the difference between actors--Eastwood can be droll; Stallone more often crosses the border to primeval." Siskel and Roger Ebert did not give the film a feature review on their TV show, but both gave it negative attention during a late-1986 segment on new video releases, in which Siskel noted that the film had a great opening sequence (the supermarket hostage scene) and couldn't maintain the momentum. Ebert lamented that Stallone was squandering his talent and vast potential.

Then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan viewed this film at Camp David on June 6, 1986.

Accolades

''Cobra'' was nominated for six Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Sylvester Stallone), Worst Actress (Brigitte Nielsen), Worst Supporting Actor and Worst New Star (both for Brian Thompson) and Worst Screenplay.

Director Nicolas Winding Refn is a huge fan of ''Cobra''. In Refn's cult film ''Drive'' the main character has a toothpick in his mouth in some scenes; this is Refn's homage to the opening scene where Stallone has a matchstick in his mouth. The main star of the film, Ryan Gosling, also said in interview that he is a fan of Stallone and ''Cobra'' which is why he "borrowed" his character's toothpick habit from Cobra.

Other media

Video game

In 1986, the film was made into a video game by Ocean Software for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC.

Aborted sequel and remake

In 1987, Cannon Films, along with Warner Bros. attempted to make a sequel, ''Cobra Part II'', but the film never materialized.

In May 2019 at the Cannes Film Festival, Stallone discussed that a remake is in development in the form of a television series. By September of the same year, he confirmed the project is moving forward with Robert Rodriguez serving as director/creator. The studios involved have not-yet decided whether it will be a film or television adaptation.

See also

* List of American films of 1986
* 1986 in film
* Sylvester Stallone filmography

References

External links

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{{Sylvester Stallone

1986 films
1986 action films
American action thriller films
1980s chase films
1980s English-language films
Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department
Films based on American novels
Films directed by George P. Cosmatos
Films set in Los Angeles
American Christmas films
Films shot in California
Golan-Globus films
American police detective films
Films with screenplays by Sylvester Stallone
American serial killer films
American slasher films
Warner Bros. films
Films scored by Sylvester Levay
1980s slasher films
Films about witness protection
Films produced by Menahem Golan
Films produced by Yoram Globus
1980s American films