Philadelphia Security

Here's an almost criminally forgotten post Death Wish gem from director Lewis Teague.

Whilst perhaps not as violent, nor as rewarding purely entertainment wise as the aforementioned pinnacle of the vigilante/revenge genre, this film approaches the issue of taking the law into one's own hands in a very different (and perhaps more realistic) manner and succeeds in delivering a solid ninety or so minutes of highly gripping viewing.

The always superb Tom Skerrit headlines as Michael D'Angelo, a humble greengrocer who is pushed too far by a series of brutal events and who subsequently decides to fight back by setting up a citizens patrol force in order to clean up the area in which he lives. Not giving too much away, but fuelled by his anger at the both the suffering of those around him and additionally the blatant inefficiency of the police force to tidy up the neighbourhood, Michael's methods are very hands on, leading to a number of violent altercations with the criminal denizens in the district.

Despite the nature of the subject material (perfect exploitation fodder), the director and cast performances manage to instill a far deeper sentiment into this than that usually found in a typical vigilante/revenge flick of the era. In fact, far from a simple tale of one mans war on crime, this serves in effect as a fascinating study of the social degeneration and general feeling of hopelessness, powerlessness and despair so prevalent in today's society at the escalating crime statistics and inefficacy of the law system to punish those responsible. The simple message is that together, as communities we can unite and turn the tide against this abject unhappiness for both ourselves and indeed future generations.

Rousing stuff indeed and highly recommended.

Fighting Back was unknown to me until recently. I just grabbed the Blu Ray from Arrow Films. This differs greatly from the Death Wish movies(especially past the second movie). This looks at vigilantism in a realistic and intelligent way. This is also more blue collar/working class. An Italian American deli owner (Tom Skeritt) gets fed up with the rampant crime wave that is ruining his neighborhood. He gets a neighborhood group together and they start cracking heads. Their critics accuse them of racism as the majority of the people they go after are black. This is not a shoot em up action piece, most of the violence are brawls and are very gritty and realistic in their depiction. He ends up getting media attention and is drawn into politics. Skerit's neighborhood action group often goes beyond the law and this film looks at how a man changes from the beginning of the movie, to the end. The film has a lot to say about politics and American society at this time. I thought Fighting Back was a very good movie and it was well scripted, acted and directed.

I have this film on VHS, and a dubbed DVD, when I received a like on Facebook from Tom Skerritt on a comment from a birthday message a year earlier, it made me think about this film and seeing if there's been an official release since the last time I looked.

I was surprised that Arrow Video released it on Blu-Ray. I always loved this film, and thought it was a good print. The only thing keeping me from a perfect 10 rating, was the ending, I recall it having a message on their saying what happened to DeAngelo, and how crime continues to decline in his district. I don't know why this was omitted from the print. Any answers welcomed.

Also the racism element is blown out of proportion, has several of the criminals they went after were non-black. Like the bar they introduced themselves in, the school drug dealer, and the arsonists. The Yaphet Kotto character blew it out of proportion.

The movie seems to relate to current events.

Set in South Philadelphia, Italian-American John D'Angelo (Tom Skerritt) runs a family owned deli with his pregnant wife Lisa (Patti LuPone.)

The neighbourhood is going to the dogs. His wife wants to move. Then his best friend is shot, his mother is attacked with her fingers are amputated and his wife loses the baby.

John organises a vigilante group with best friend Vince Morelli (Michael Sarrazin) a cop to make the streets safe. They form the People's Neighborhood Patrol.

Only they stir up violence and are accused of being racially motivated by Ivanhoe Washington (Yaphet Kotto) a black activist.

John has a particular grudge against a black pimp. His success though has the local politicians worried. They think John might run for the council.

The film has mixed signals about vigilante justice. The issue being who polices their excesses and it is clear that John is targeting the local blacks.

Fighting Back is supposed to be a more cerebral version of Death Wish. In the end it is just another exploitation movie but with better actors.

Why this has never been released on DVD I'll never know, especially when so much grade-z rubbish has been given the lavish 'Special Edition' treatment. This is, quite simply, one of the finest 'revenge' genre films made and far more intelligent than most of it's type. I mean, just take a look at the cast: Tom Skerrit, Michael Sarrazin. These a class actors.

What makes Death Vengeance so strong are the well developed characters. You identify with them more than anything. Paul Kersey was someone who appealed to the lowest common denominator, those who liked to cheer violent characters responding in a totally over the top fashion. John D'Angelo seemed to be grounded more in reality, reacting in a way we can understand. While not always sympathetic, Skerrit's performance made him believable.

The film was marketed in a fairly deceptive way. This is more than just another shoot-em-up no-brainer and deserves to be recognised as such. Director Lewis Teague could have taken the easy option, thrown in lots of action set-pieces and had a sky-high bodycount. Instead, he decided to engage our brains instead of our base instincts. He, and the film need to be recognised for this. Shame this doesn't happen more often. See it and you will find an underrated and surprisingly thought provoking film.