Fighting Back

I love these 1970s and early 80s gritty movies, and in this regard, the film delivers. The large old American cars, the street scenery, the police, etc. all has that feel that you don't get in today's movie. But overall, the film fails to deliver. By the middle of the movie I was starting to get bored waiting for something more interesting to happen. Much of the movie is also unrealistic. The police seem virtually non-existent, which is not genuine (even if the point is that a neighborhood watch is needed). The rivalry with the pimp also made no sense, there were a series of meetings which just did not flow with the plot. Overall, you are unlikely to be very satisfied with this film, although it is reasonably watchable. This is why the rating is in the 5-6 range and the film remains obscure. The few reviewers who gave it an 8 to 10 rating are waaaaaaay over-rating the movie and do not know what a true 9 or 10 movie is (in my view, only 4-6 movies a year can really be called a 9 or 10).

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.

After his mother is brutally mugged in his own neighborhood and the Philadelphia police are unable to resolve the increasing rate of crime there, a delicatessen owner by the name of "John D'Angelo" (Tom Skerritt) decides to do something about it. So, to that effect, he manages to convince a number of his neighbors to help him form a neighborhood watch group to alert the local police whenever they see something suspicious or illegal taking place. What he doesn't count on, however, is the resistance to their group by, not only the criminals, but the local politicians as well. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I saw this movie when it first came out and I was as impressed by it then as I am with it today. And, although the main character was a bit too hot-headed at times, I still thought Tom Skerritt's added just the right amount of anger and passion to make this movie seem pretty realistic and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

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.

First of all I concur with all my fellow reviewers who can't seem to fathom that "Death Vengeance" is still so underrated, unknown and unavailable on DVD. This is a cult movie in the purest definition of the term, for crying out loud, with an acclaimed director and cast and a harshly realist subject that is applicable to all times and all big cities! Even more so, there were most vigilante thrillers all too easily revert to crowd-pleasing violence (Charlie Bronson's "Death Wish" being the best example of this), at least "Death Vengeance" attempts to remain more rational, with ordinary characters, dramatic sub plots, politically engaged and socially relevant. Tom Skerritt, in one of his best performances ever, stars as the Italian-American John D'Angelo who owns a deli shop in the roughest and most crime-infested neighborhood in Philadelphia. Following a couple of dramatic incidents where his wife lost their unborn baby and his mother her ring finger, John mobilizes his fellow petrified neighbors into founding the People's Neighbourhood Patrol. In a relatively short time, they free the park and streets around their houses of muggers, drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes and organized crime. Even though John's family life suffers under his obsession and he often has difficulties of drawing the line between what's legal and what's not, his achievements grow increasingly important. So important even, that the current mayor fears John to become an unbeatable rival in the next elections. "Death Vengeance" is a strong and compelling revenge/vigilante thriller with the emphasis on character development and grim atmosphere. The sequences where John D'Angelo confronts Ivanhoe Washington (a black volunteer who tries to keep petty criminals off the streets) are equally important as the sequences where the vigilantes battle hardcore thugs in the park. For the real die-hard fanatics of grisly early 80's cult cinema, "Death Vengeance" has quite a lot of brutal images to offer as well, like the drug store hold-up, but the violence never becomes gratuitous or overly exploitative. That alone is a remarkable accomplishment of director Lewis Teague ("Alligator", "Cujo"). The supportive cast is excellent as well, with Michael Sarrazin ("The Reincarnation of Peter Proud"), Yaphet Kotto ("Across 110th Street") and David "Sledge Hammer" Rasche! Is there an online petition anywhere to release this gem on DVD that I can sign?