Philadelphia security

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.

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.

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.

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 an Italian neighborhood of Philadelphia "Fighting Back" tells the story of a storekeeper(Tom Skerritt),who is outraged by an incident on the streets that results in his pregnant wife losing the baby and by a robbery in which his mother's ring finger is cut off.He organizes the local people into a security patrol.The patrol does wipe out crime but operates beyond the law with our vigilante carrying on more of a personal vendetta than a campaign to establish law and order."Fighting Back" by Lewis Teague is a taut and exciting revenge thriller obviously influenced by "Death Wish" movies.The film is well-acted and looks surprisingly authentic.There is not much violence on display,however if you are a fan of thought-provoking cinema you can't miss this gritty flick.8 out of 10.