According to Prime Video, Night Vision (1997) was listed as a recommendation for me. Googled it and assessed a film starring Fred Williamson, Cynthia Rothrock and Bushwick Bill was more than worthy of my time. Sadly, it was anything but great and left me feeling the need to erase the sight of a drunk Williamson in his Y-fronts from my memory. Now is a good time than any other to gush over William Lustig's film, Vigilante (1982). While Michael Winner's infamous Death Wish (1974) arguably set the precedent of common folk taking the law into their own hands, the wave of vigilante thrillers really reached its apex in the early eighties with films like The Exterminator (1980), Death Wish II (1982) and Sudden Impact (1983).
Fred Williamson's opening monologue is a classic stand-out scene in the vigilante subgenre. It also happens to be the film where I first discovered the cigar chompin' actor; way before his blaxploitation and Italian sci-fi films. That might explain my nostalgic bias for Vigilante over many of his other films. Even though he plays a supporting role to Robert Forster's everyman lead, that incredible monologue speaks volumes and still feels very poignant today. The rest of the film is equally on par with its classic intro and comes more credibly recommended from me than any internet based algorithm.
Really kicking myself for forgeting Jay Chattaway's Vigilante score in my faves Electronic Soundtracks list.
Where does Rolling Thunder rank in the Spartacus vigilante movie canon?
ReplyDeleteProbably this lot: Top 10.
ReplyDeleteNice. The Spartchive!
ReplyDeleteIn hindsight, I should have put Ms. 45. Also, I still haven't seen Defiance (1980).
ReplyDelete