I violenti di Borrow Street

For me, DEFIANCE was/is a film that delivered. Is it 'high art'?--I dunno. But it sure held my interest. JMV is our reluctant hero, 'Tom'. A merchant seaman, stranded in New York because of a beef on the job, near penniless Tom is forced to seek cheap digs in a slum rental while he waits for another ship assignment. He quickly crosses paths with 'The Souls', the Latino gang that holds the neighborhood in a grip of terror.

Tom is no white knight or crusader. A world weary pragmatist, he's just a guy trying to keep to himself until he can catch that much-needed next freighter out to sea. Though not an immediate champion of justice, neither is Tom indifferent to the suffering of others and gradually he finds himself being drawn into the lives of several of the local residents.

It is the leader of the Souls gang, 'Angel', with his determination to maintain his grip on his turf, and interloper Tom, with his stubborn refusal to abandon his newly made friends, who ignite the inevitable final--and highly satisfying--confrontation.

Is DEFIANCE a film filled with startling plot twists and dazzling production value? No. But I found it to be highly entertaining with real sincerity--and it continues to please me after repeated viewings. All hands involved in this production deserve praise for working within their limited budget to craft a tough, tender and edgy action/drama where an average fella, who cannot ignore his heart, takes a huge risk to correct a great injustice.

Is it SHANE?--Naw. (But what is?) I will tell you this: this flick delivers a whole fist-full of solid scenes. Fer instance: the moment when Tom draws his 'line in the sand'. Waiting until cover of darkness, Tom strides out of the shadows, club in hand, and begins to demolish Angel's beloved 'low rider' as an invitation to the gang--"Come and get me."

That scene works on EVERY level: script, direction, photography, JMV's smoldering fury, the startling, hot musical score that punctuates the moment--IT ALL WORKS! It gave me goose bumps the first time and it still gives me a kick to this day. DEFIANCE had me in it's grip: "Yeah, Tom! Screw the consequences! Let's take it to these vicious punks."

This flick never had anywhere near the budget or status of say, a DIE HARD, but it sure has the heart. In the early '80s, as I lived in my tiny apartment in Hollywood and struggled to write, I kept a tattered DEFIANCE poster tacked to my wall for inspiration.

DEFIANCE: a solid, commendable script, in the hands of a no-nonsense, focused director, who's leading a sincere and supportive cast--all in pursuit of a simple, but meaningful, action/morality tale that can't help but touch you on some level if you believe in justice and decency. Not too shabby, folks. Not too shabby at all.

Now I just wish somebody would get DEFIANCE onto a proper DVD (and throw in a few extras like cast/crew interviews, a trailer, maybe even some out-takes). I'd buy a copy in a heartbeat. And five more for some friends.

Back when Jan Michael Vincent could be recognized, physically and vocally, and he had so much going for him he slipped this smallish cheesy cult classic into his filmography. Tommy Gamble is a sea merchant suspended for fighting. He gets stuck in a tough rundown New York neighborhood while he waits to get reinstated so he can catch a ship out of the scummy rough neighborhood overrun by the hoods and thugs (laughable & absurd 'Cholo' gang stereotypes) known as the 'Souls'. During his stay he has multiple run-ins with the Souls and stands up to their antics and bullying, showing the neighborhood that fighting back may be the answer to their problems. The plot is a tad thin but, like screenwriter Walter Hill's other efforts, there is a surreal atmosphere that is a lot harder to find in films these days. The acting is good and you don't feel like these actors are surrounded by cameras like most films today. The supporting cast includes actors Danny Aiello and Art Carney but there are few others who are memorable. It's a very hard film to find but it's a good watch if you have nothing else to do on a very late Saturday night.

Jan-Michael Vincent who usually stars in rural setting films either western or modern goes to the mean streets of the Lower East Side of New York for Defiance. But the plot for Defiance could have come from any number of B westerns back in the day.

Vincent is a seaman who's suspended from the union and anxious to get back to sea. While adrift on land, he takes an apartment on the Lower East Side where he gets involved in the local neighborhood struggles with a gang that's terrorizing the place.

The film plays like the James Stewart western, The Far Country where the new town of Klondike miners look to him for leadership against the gang headed by John McIntire. Vincent of course sees himself as an outsider and in point of fact he really is. In fact with his All American boy looks, he's definitely an outsider in the very ethnic Lower East Side.

Most of all until the end Vincent disappoints Theresa Saldana who's a nice Jewish girl who'd like to get a little something going with him, but not if he won't protect the neighborhood.

Art Carney plays the local delicatessen owner and Danny Aiello is a neighborhood tough from bygone days. The gang leader, truly a despicable character is played by Rudy Ramos, his is the grittiest and best part in the film.

This 'western' was shot on the Lower East Side, I recognized some of the area myself. It does give it a nice feel and a lot more realistic than the Lower East Side of Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall. Still it's really an average western on the mean streets of New York.

John Flynn was remembered for making gritty realistic dramas, and you'll see by his impressive inventory, the projects he chose. This well made and absorbing drama is no different, and by the end, has become quite impactful movie. Out of work, merchant seaman (Jan Michael Vincent) gets dealt a really bad hand, where he has to tough it out in a derelict apartment, in the more lower class, crime ridden New York. A real scary black gang called The Souls, who get more scary as the movie progresses, run this lower part of New York, where we have tough man (Vincent) as the first to go up against these bastards, first enduring a bit of bruising for his troubles. Befriending a boy and an old man, once a prize fighter, both now squatting in the tenenment, they form a friendship, as he does with some others, real New Yorker (Aiello) and some other familiar faces, from other mob films, here all good guys. They have all had enough of The Souls s..t, where Vincent could be the one that takes them down and makes one of the great likable hero's out there. It was a great casting choice. This gang really lets you know, they're not one to be messed with, especially if you squeal about their activities, the leader, a very fearful face, one merging with that of Ice T, and Mario Van Peebles. Art Carney is great as a convenient store owner, not of the not so lucky ones. Theresa Saldana is the other great standout one, Vincent's neighbor and romantic interest. She's very good and has the most memorable, such believable performance, but There's good acting by all, and Vincent does the role justice. This is one of those well made, search out 80's movies, a heroic urban tale of will and steel defiance, where the ending, that comes accompanied with a great victorious and inspiring music score, we walk away proud. This is a movie to be proud, a defiant tale that defies, two scenes featuring some heavy impactful violence, but that goes with the territory of this film.

Defiance is one of those films that you can find once in awhile on cable TV at some odd hour. Jan-Michael Vincent portrays a merchant marine who makes his home in a rundown tenament that's undersiege by a local street gang. Highly enjoyable film with a depressing aura of realism. Many of the films stars are veterans of this genre. Sadly, this film has been over looked for years and it's deserves a release in the future on DVD. The movie has the markings of a cult classic.

Highly recommended if you can find it.

B.