Philadelphia security

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 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).

In a crime ridden area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Italian-American delicatessen owner John D'Angelo (Tom Skerritt) is a family man with an expectant wife, Lisa (Patti LuPone), and young son Danny (Jonathan Adam Sherman). Following an incident where a pimp attacks them causing Lisa to suffer a miscarriage and another incident where John's mother Vera (Gina DeAngelis) is mugged in a drugstore, John organizes other citizens of his area to form a neighborhood watch called The People's Neighborhood Patrol (PNP) which takes direct action on criminals in the areas through citizen's arrests. While John attains respect and prestige in the community because of his actions, he is also looked upon unfavorably by elements of City Hall and prominent members of the black community such as Ivanhoe Washington (Yaphet Kotto) who runs a group similar to John's.

During the Dino De Laurentis' sale of the rights to the Brian Garfield novel Death Wish and its characters to Cannon Films, De Laurentis briefly discussed with director Michael Winner the prospect of him directing the Death Wish sequel under him instead of Golan and Globus, when Winter refused De Laurentis proceeded with the sale of the rights but also produced his own vigilante film as a direct clone of Death Wish. The end result was Fighting Back which was released about three months after Death Wish II, and despite coming from Paramount, a larger studio than Cannon, and sporting the writers of films such as Straw Dogs and Monte Walsh, Fighting Back didn't even manage to recoup its $9 million budget in the United States with Death Wish II bringing in three times its gross. The moviehas fallen into obscurity in the years since and critical reception was rather tepid upon initial release (though somewhat better than Death Wish II if not by much). Despite the movie being made purely out of Dino De Laurentis regretting selling the Death Wish rights, Fighting Back is less ugly and reprehensible than Death Wish II.

Like every other vigilante movie that followed on from Death Wish the movie hits all the marks to a "t". Everyman suffers a wrong or wrongs that motivates him to take justice into his own hands? Check. Police are inept giving excuses like "we don't have the manpower" but become mobilized as an antagonistic force against our protagonist? Check. Man on the Street/News reports paying lip service to a "debate" about pros and cons of vigilantism? Kind of. The one point in Fighting Back's favor is that it does at least seem aware of the inherent racism of the wish fulfillment aspect of vigilante stories and Yaphet Kotto's Ivanhoe Washington does serve as something of a counterpoint to John's Anthony Imperiale-esque antics so at least it is addressing some of the beneath the surface problems that give rise to urban blight rather than boiling it down to "good guy with gun takes down bad guys with guns". I also commend the film for not including any of the lurid sexual violence Death Wish II used such as the prolonged rape scene where I character who vocally believed in "the system" is violently stripped nude and assaulted as the camera lingered on every part of her anatomy. Fighting Back largely avoids the more lurid traps of this genre so I also have to commend it on that point. Aside from that though, it's just another vigilante movie. Despite the movie trying to add some semblance of credibility by showing stock footage of the Reagan and Pope John Paul II assignation attempts or Yaphet Kotto being a foil to Skerritt's John D'Angelo the way the movie ends does feel like it celebrates John's actions down to the over the top happy scene at the now cleaned up park where children are having a snowball fight.

There's nothing all that much to Fighting Back other than to say "it's not hateful like Death Wish II". It still celebrates vigilantism and makes excuses for it and it follows most of the major points established by Death Wish even if it doesn't go into as much gory detail with it. It's violent stupid wish fulfillment, but at least it's somewhat aware of it and does have some amusing moments that aren't drowned in excessive sadism.

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.

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.