Vigilante

Cast View all

	Robert Forster	Eddie Marino
	Fred Williamson	Nick
	Richard Bright	Burke
	Rutanya Alda	Vickie Marino
	Don Blakely	Prago
	Joseph Carberry	Ramon
	Willie Colon	Rico
	Joe Spinell	Eisenberg
	Carol Lynley	Assistant D.A. Mary Fletcher
	Woody Strode	Rake
	Vincent Beck	Judge Sinclair
	Bo Rucker	Horace
	Frank Pesce	Blueboy
	Steve James	Ptl. Gibbons
	Randy Jurgensen	Det. Russo
	Henry Judd Baker	Quinn
	Dante Joseph	Scott Marino
	Vincent Russo	Rubin
	Donna Patti	Rape Victim
	Peter Savage	Thomas 'Mr. T.' Stokes
	Mike Miller	Dr. Fallon
	Hyla Marrow	Rosie
	Frank Gio	Ptl. Shore
	Raymond Serra	Court Officer
	Sal Carollo	Mr. Nulty

Crew View all

Director	William Lustig
Writer	Richard Vetere
Producer	Andrew W. Garroni, Randy Jurgensen, William Lustig, Jerry Masucci, Edward L. Montoro, John Packard, Kenneth Pavia
Musician	Jay Chattaway
Photography	James Lemmo

Trailer

Edition details

Personal

Notes

My quick rating - 5.8/10. This is one of those flix I recall watching on our "Showtime" box when I was around 10 years old. Out of curiosity, I'll have to check it out and see if it was any good since it happened to pop up. AH, the early 80s and having the balls to blast a 5-year-old kid with a shotgun. New York City factory worker Eddie Marino (Robert Forster) is a solid citizen and regular guy, until the day a sadistic street gang brutally assaults his wife and murders his child. When a corrupt judge sets the thugs free, Eddie goes berserk and vows revenge. Clearly, the highlight, at least for me, was Fred Williamson who always plays the "I don't take shit from anyone" role so damn well. It had a feel similar to the 70s Italian police flix I have seen. Except the brutal cops were replaced with vigilantes dispensing their form of justice. All the bases were touched upon including the more suggestive than visual rape scene, the hint at the old attack in the shower shots, and some brains splattered on the sidewalk. I found the fight scenes pretty poor though including one during an interrogation that was almost confusing due to the lack of what the combatants were doing. It is refreshing to go back to car chases that are completely done with cars on actual roads even if they are very dated vehicles. Each time there is contact, you know fully well that metal has been bent and damaged not pixels. This film even includes a scene that felt like early parkour on some rooftops. For the time it may have been a true contender for its violent nature and straight, to the point, revenge story. I found it dated in both good and bad ways but still was entertained until the end. I did find it to resemble the excellent Death Wish films quite a bit and I am sure it owes at least some mention to them. At this point, I would say it is catering to a limited audience but if you fit into it, I think you'll enjoy seeing a piece of cinema that leads the way for other revenge flix that arose for years to follow.

Audio issues, can be replaced if it ever pops back up.

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