cult film freak: vigilante

Showing posts with label vigilante. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 1/14/2024 / No comments / action , barbara bach , crime , enzo g. castellari , franco nero , italian , neo noir , seventies , vigilante

ENZO G. CASTELLARI DIRECTS FRANCO NERO IN 'STREET LAW'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiev5J0lrsc06ceo6zzAVq_ufPeLSorDqIkMTf2tFViBpNXZNA7b2Ekd4tv_mVs-fDHG6QROStV9bMrxmK2dHkHuYug5D-GUu5LKvklgn5ZP2bO1z8pfGQ9CBg9ADJNQKBiDfeIBgyH-nmUuNDQYsMQLK2S3X2kQ6vJF8x4NSNYC7P3i5Fmjjm8KwtRx8oq/s1104/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-14%20at%206.58.44%20PM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiev5J0lrsc06ceo6zzAVq_ufPeLSorDqIkMTf2tFViBpNXZNA7b2Ekd4tv_mVs-fDHG6QROStV9bMrxmK2dHkHuYug5D-GUu5LKvklgn5ZP2bO1z8pfGQ9CBg9ADJNQKBiDfeIBgyH-nmUuNDQYsMQLK2S3X2kQ6vJF8x4NSNYC7P3i5Fmjjm8KwtRx8oq/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-14%20at%206.58.44%20PM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Franco Nero in STREET LAW Year: 1974 Grade: C—</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1974, Italy, the same year the vigilante theme had ignited Hollywood from the result of DEATH WISH, Enzo G. Castellari's STREET LAW... unlike Michael Winner's Charles Bronson vehicle where a perfect wife is brutally murdered... has an extremely weak reason/motivation for the main character — successful engineer Franco Nero — to seek revenge (which is actually the opposite of random-strike vigilantism)...</p><p>After having been kidnapped during a bank robbery and taken for what's the most exciting sequence during a rip-roaring, action-packed car-chase, something your average, typical guy probably would have talked about for years (and while he was beaten, he made incredibly stupid decisions at the bank to warrant such pummeling)...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, barbara bach, crime, enzo g. castellari, franco nero, italian, neo noir, seventies, vigilante

ENZO G. CASTELLARI DIRECTS FRANCO NERO IN 'STREET LAW'

Franco Nero in STREET LAW Year: 1974 Grade: C— In 1974, Italy, the same year the vigilante theme had ignited Hollywood from the result of DE...

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT FIGHTS BACK IN JOHN FLYNN'S 'DEFIANCE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oZNOzMIVfno_yjpxIbHJgy0PU8ymWVZ3DnNuqQc8uuS254hNVnjMql3VTuTnzdblUkOE7brZhBVrp2yzvfs3LfnL7wR9z5Ym3izFrkZacZtl5Y7v9mBAG8CyZDb5QBW5u0DWjIIE6iBN7TUUZrrnGPWnr3NHwnWud5p2IcNol-faFxmA27d2FcffQA1l/s1864/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-16%20at%201.32.08%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1864" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oZNOzMIVfno_yjpxIbHJgy0PU8ymWVZ3DnNuqQc8uuS254hNVnjMql3VTuTnzdblUkOE7brZhBVrp2yzvfs3LfnL7wR9z5Ym3izFrkZacZtl5Y7v9mBAG8CyZDb5QBW5u0DWjIIE6iBN7TUUZrrnGPWnr3NHwnWud5p2IcNol-faFxmA27d2FcffQA1l/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-16%20at%201.32.08%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: DEFIANCE Year: 1980 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Both lead actors from <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/BW2-MECH.html">THE MECHANIC</a> would get the vigilante bug, especially Charles Bronson, two years later inadvertently igniting the DEATH WISH franchise; and right before the second of five features, Jan-Michael Vincent waged DEFIANCE directed by the always capable John Flynn, who does his best work with low budget b-flicks with big budget intensity... wherein Vincent plays a merchant seaman on leave and doesn't want to be... stuck in New York where the usual bullying gang rears from the woodwork, led by Rudy Ramos, looking a kind of stylish Zoot Suit throwback... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Soon enough this villain's hateful eyes lock on Vincent, about to enter his shabby apartment in a shabbier building that includes the token young mentored boy and gorgeous ingenue, here played with Spanish zest by zesty Italian beauty Theresa Saldana, throwing herself at Vincent's tough silent type... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, church ortiz, danny aiello, don blakely, eighties, frank pesce, jan-michael vincent, john flynn, lenny montana, rudy ramos, theresa saldano, vigilante

JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT FIGHTS BACK IN JOHN FLYNN'S 'DEFIANCE'

Title: DEFIANCE Year: 1980 Rating: ***1/2 Both lead actors from THE MECHANIC would get the vigilante bug, especially Charles Bronson, two y...

ELYSSA DAVALOS IN 'HAWAII FIVE-O: THOUGH THE HEAVENS FALL'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Elyssa Davalos and William Smith on Hawaii Five-0 episode THOUGH THE HEAVENS FALL Year: 1979</u></td></tr>
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The best episode of the maligned final season of HAWAII FIVE-0, when Jack Lord had stopped saying "Book 'em, Danno" for two reasons. First, there was no more Danno as James McCarther had left the series the year before...<br>
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Second, the cement-haired Lord took more of a backseat... perhaps because of his underling's departure, replaced twofold by female detective Sharon Farrell, whose cop husband died on the third episode, and William Smith, who'd made waves as the villain's villain Falconetti in RICH MAN POOR MAN, as 
            Det. James 'Kimo' Carew...
                  
          <br>

crime, dennis patrick, elyssa davalos, jack lord, revenge, robert reed, seventies, sharon farrell, TV, vigilante, william smith

ELYSSA DAVALOS IN 'HAWAII FIVE-O: THOUGH THE HEAVENS FALL'

Elyssa Davalos and William Smith on Hawaii Five-0 episode THOUGH THE HEAVENS FALL Year: 1979 The best episode of the maligned final seas...

PERRY KING FIGHTS IN 'SEARCH AND DESTORY' WITH DON STROUD

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1979 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr>
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In Vietnam a company of American soldiers try saving a South Vietnamese 
man from "Charlie" and fail. He is captured by the enemy and now we cut 
five years later and the Vietnamese man is back in the States for 
revenge...<br>
<br>
He kills one of the vets and this peaks the attention of Perry 
King, an auto shop worker, as he is next in line...<br>
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Along with fellow vet 
Don Stroud, a happy-go-unlucky drunkard boat captain in Niagara Falls inspired by Hemingway Noir tales, 
they try first finding who the killer is, and then stopping him. But 
he's trained in killing and is almost unstoppable. Great action scenes 
all set in the gorgeous Niagara Falls area, and lots of violence makes 
this a real treat: a fun ride that never derails. George Kennedy adds a 
little something as a small town cop who winds up allowing Perry King to
 take care of matters his own way.<br>

actopm. don stroud, george kennedy, neo noir, perry king, seventies, vigilante

PERRY KING FIGHTS IN 'SEARCH AND DESTORY' WITH DON STROUD

Year: 1979 Rates: ***1/2 In Vietnam a company of American soldiers try saving a South Vietnamese man from "Charlie" and fail....

ROBERT FORSTER TURNS 'VIGILANTE' WITH FRED WILLIAMSON

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Fred Williamson in VIGILANTE aka STREET GANG Year: 1982</u></td></tr>
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During the eighties, the decade-old DEATH WISH template was alive and kicking ass. Not like the Charles Bronson classic invented the revenge theme, but when it came to law without order and giving the streets back to the people, for VIGILANTE it was the more, the merrier...<br>
<br>
Robert Forster stars as, like Bronson, an average family man who winds up seeking revenge, but unlike Chuck he's far from alone. Fred Williamson leads a group of working class tough guys including THE GODFATHER bodyguard Richard Bright and SHORT EYES scene-stealer Joe Carberry, who were beating up muggers/rapists before our hero got into the swing of things....<br>

action, crime, don blakely, eighties, exploitation, frank pesce, fred williamson, joe carberry, joe spinell, revenge, richard bright, robert forster, rutanya alda, vigilante, william lustig, woody strode

ROBERT FORSTER TURNS 'VIGILANTE' WITH FRED WILLIAMSON

Fred Williamson in VIGILANTE aka STREET GANG Year: 1982 During the eighties, the decade-old DEATH WISH template was alive and kicking as...

LIAM NEESON & LARRY DRAKE IN DARKMAN

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Rest in Peace to Character-Actor Larry Drake who made the best uses out of his character Durant in DARKMAN</u></td></tr>
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There are a few connections right off the bat concerning DARKMAN, which seems like a morbid, twisted vigilante movie but is more a chilling gangster/noir as the very opening mirrors a scene in director Sam Raimi's good friends and sometimes partners, Joel and Ethan Coen and their crime masterpiece, MILLER'S CROSSING, as a line-up of...<br>

gangster, larry drake, liam neeson, neo noir, revenge, sam raimi, superhero, vigilante

LIAM NEESON & LARRY DRAKE IN DARKMAN

Rest in Peace to Character-Actor Larry Drake who made the best uses out of his character Durant in DARKMAN There are a few connections r...

ARCHIVE SUMMARY REVIEW OF 'VIGILANTE' WITH FRED WILLIAMSON

<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM322Tyv9ezB6Z1eXBk1HmV8tCA5DqvxszuxZSF2SYqsi38KndKo88CEw2FzHLPLOnNmaaT16is6FIaDJ9p8ZjDzWQyB4n__m1ef_o6RVYxt54WNAdmSQ1vsmIOdjeNgEo-EDEspKxKCGJFC_9Zpdvnww3LRMbAuc0_n6eeHg8klWG-aFcNsbnlhxH3A/s1050/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-05%20at%2011.40.22%20PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="962" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM322Tyv9ezB6Z1eXBk1HmV8tCA5DqvxszuxZSF2SYqsi38KndKo88CEw2FzHLPLOnNmaaT16is6FIaDJ9p8ZjDzWQyB4n__m1ef_o6RVYxt54WNAdmSQ1vsmIOdjeNgEo-EDEspKxKCGJFC_9Zpdvnww3LRMbAuc0_n6eeHg8klWG-aFcNsbnlhxH3A/w183-h200/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-05%20at%2011.40.22%20PM.jpeg" width="183" /></a></div>title:</b> VIGILANTE  <b>year:</b> 1983<b> cast:</b> Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, Richard Bright, Joe Carberry, Richard Bright, Willie Colon, Joe Spinell, Frank Pesce, Vincent Beck<br />
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<b>rating:</b> ****</div>
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The trio of vigilantes, sort of a neighborhood watch that kicks ass, are Fred Williamson, Richard Bright, and Joseph Carberry (SHORT EYES). The gang of vicious cold-blooded blood-thirsty thugs include shit-talkin' leader Willie Colin and henchman Don Blakley. And everyman machinist father/husband Robert Forster, friends with the (secret) vigilante group, is in denial about how bad society is until his child and wife are attacked by the gang. Everything collides wonderfully in this exploitation-DEATH WISH that delivers on every level, including street fights, prison survival, and an awesome guitar-driven soundtrack. Too classy for grindhouse and too gritty for mainstream, this is the perfect synergy of blood, guts, guns, and best of all, sweet revenge. </div>