Vigilante

Summary

“You got a moral obligation, the right of self preservation.”

One of the labels truly leading the pack on the UHD format is Blue Underground. Blue Underground is a film distribution label that has been around since 2002. They specialize in foreign, horror, and exploitation films. The quality control on their recent 4K releases is truly impressive. For fans of the cult film genres that they feature on their label, their foray into UHD has been amazing to behold. I was extremely excited to see that the 1982 film Vigilante would receive the 4K treatment. I am a fan of the “urban warfare” genre of film that was prominent in the Seventies and Eighties which owe a lot to Charles Bronson and his Death Wish series, so I knew Vigilante would be right up my alley. I am happy to report that fans of that genre will be right at home watching Vigilante.

As the film begins, factory worker Nick (Fred Wilkinson) talks to a group of people about the massive amount of crime in the city. He says they have a moral obligation to take their city back from the thugs and criminals that have been permitted by the justice system to persist. Across town, a woman steps into an elevator. A seedy character holds the elevator door and enters. When she arrives at her floor and begins to step out, he holds her at knifepoint and takes her to the roof and rapes her. Nick and some other factory workers talk to an eyewitness who points out the perp. They pull up in a van and grab the perp as he talks to his cronies about how he will beat the rap. They assault him and throw him in the van. Across town on another day, factory worker Eddie Marino (Robert Forster) plays with his wife Vickie (Rutanya Alda) and their young son in a park. He talks about how he plans to take them on a vacation when he puts some dough away. At work he sees his friends Burt and Nick. While Eddie is at work, Vickie sees a gas station attendant being accosted by a Puerto Rican man named Rico (Willie Colon.) While his friends watch on in their green car, Rico pours gasoline on the attendant and refuses to pay. Vickie threatens Rico and his two friends Prago (Don Blakely) and Rosie with police action. When a cruiser passes by, they drive away. When Vickie arrives home, she sees the green car outside her house. Despite calling the police, she is unable to fend off the ruthless horde of gang members. In the attack she is severely injured and the child is viciously murdered by the sadistic Prago. After the funeral, Eddie meets with Assistant D.A. Mary Fletcher (Carol Lynley.) She fills him in on Federico Melendez. He has a long wrap sheet but has been set free by the inadequate justice system numerous times. She plans to prosecute on the assault charge at the gas station because there were witnesses. Nick and Eddie meet up and Nick tries to sell Eddie on getting justice outside the courts, but Eddie refuses the offer. Eddie trusts that justice will be served. At the courthouse, the gang members pay a lawyer (Joe Spinelli) well to help get them out of trouble. With the assistance of the corrupt Judge Sinclair (Vincent Beck,) it becomes obvious that justice will be averted. When Eddie sees that the gangs members will simply walk away after killing his child and assaulting his wife, he is mortified. He is held in contempt for thirty days for speaking out in rage to the judge. To achieve justice Eddie will need to survive his prison stint (with the help of Willy Strode!) and then pair up with Nick to take matters in his own hands.

Vigilante is exactly what you want it to be. It’s a no-nonsense pissed off indictment of the laisse-faire justice system that let criminals run wild in the big cities in the Seventies and early Eighties. Facing a drug epidemic and the widespread disappearance of family values, crime was at its worst point at that time. People were scared by what they saw happening to their communities. Throughout the Eighties and Nineties lawmakers pushed through harsher and harsher penalties for criminals in response to the widespread violence that had gripped our nation in urban areas. Since that time, violent crime has consistently fallen (aside from some uptick in Trump’s era) while our incarceration rates for young African Americans has skyrocketed. The statistics are beyond troubling. Films like Death Wish and Vigilante were essentially revenge fantasies for people that felt helpless to the dramatic changes occurring to their urban areas, and they show a lot about what the mentality and fears of that era looked like. For myself, these types of films are incredibly entertaining. Vigilante is definitely in the upper echelon of the urban justice films.

Vigilante was directed by independent filmmaker William Lustig. Lustig is best known for his films Maniac and the Maniac Cop trilogy. Lustig worked off of a screenplay by Richard Vetere that tries to find every possibility to make the audience furious. If you were to believe that the film was accurate in its portrayals, you would never come close to living in a city. It’s a really well constructed and brutally effective screenplay. Lustig doesn’t shy away from the violence in the film, but the film doesn’t revel in unnecessary gore. Lustig draws some really good performances out of his cast and achieves a lot in the film on a shoestring budget (they literally ran out of funding while making the film numerous times.) Their goal of making a “blue collar Death Wish” is certainly realized by the final product.

Robert Forster is perfectly cast as Eddie. Forster was an amazing actor that finally received accolades in the Nineties when he played Max Cherry in Jackie Brown. Forster had an unmistakable face – almost like Humphrey Bogart’s – and a truly relatable everyman quality. He died in 2019 and even at the age of seventy eight, it felt too soon. Fred Williamson is also great in the film as Nick. When the film opens on his stirring speech, it becomes obvious to the viewer that this is going to be a gritty and tough action film. Williamson is still going strong in films at eighty two, recently appearing in the film VFW. Willie Colon is appropriately menacing as Rico. Rutanya Alda does well as Vickie. The most memorable performance in the film is by Don Blakely as the sadistic and nihilistic Prago. He seems to revel in wanton destruction and have no care for anything but his desire to hurt others. He nails the role. I also enjoyed Joe Spinelli in his small role as a despicable attorney.

The movie is helped by a great score by composer Jay Chattaway. In the special features, it is lamented that the original masters (prior to blending in effects and dialogue) have not been located in order to release a soundtrack. The songs are synth driven and reminiscent of some of the great John Carpenter/Allan Howarth collaborations from that era. Hearing the score blast out of my speakers in Dolby Atmos was definitely a cool experience.

Overall – Vigilante is tough-as-nails revenge action done very well. It is not for the faint of heart due to the brutality present in the film, but it sure is an entertaining and effective thriller. Highly recommended.

Video

Blue Underground had released a 2K version of this film a few years ago on Blu-ray, but I did not purchase that release, so I will only be able to talk about the technical specs of their new 4K release. The new release looks absolutely phenomenal and stands as one of the best looking releases yet by Blue Underground. The 2.39:1 aspect ratio is sufficiently wide to allow fine detail to fill the screen. There is a fine level of grain over the film. Cinematographer James Lemmo did an excellent job behind the camera and captured panoramic views of the urban environments where the action played out. The HDR is used effectively to bring to life flashes of color and the occasional lens flare. It really looks great and stands as one of the better looking catalog titles on the 4K format. Fans will want to upgrade immediately.

Audio

Blue Underground have provided numerous audio options including Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD 7.1, DTS-HD MA 5.1, and 2.0 tracks for the film. I watched the film with the Atmos track and thought it sounded absolutely fantastic. The dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The score by Jay Chattaway is very well composed and gives a driving force to the film. This is another well done track from Blue Underground.

Supplements:

• Blue Collar Death Wish – director William Lustig, writer Richard Vitere, producer Randy Jorgensen, actress Rutanya Alda, and consultant/stunt man Frank Pesce discuss the production of the film as a truly independent picture. Fans of the film will enjoy hearing the numerous stories supplied here.
• Urban Western – composer Jay Chattaway gives a lengthy and enjoyable discussion of his work on Vigilante.
• Archival audio commentary with Bill Lustig and co-producer Andrew Garroni. This is an extremely informative track.
• Archival audio commentary with Bill Lustig and stars Robert Forster, Fred Williamson and Frank Pesce. This is not to be missed for fans of Forster!
• New audio commentary with film scholars Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson. As is usually the case, Troy and Nathaniel are a lot of fun to hear discuss the film and place it historically in its era.
• Trailers 
• TV Spots
• Radio Spots 
• Promotional Reel 
• Galleries

Overall Scores:

Video – 5/5

Audio – 5/5

Supplements – 4.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Vigilante is a tough-as-nails revenge film that perfectly exemplifies the feeling of despair that America felt as it watched its cities fall into violence and corruption in the Seventies and Eighties. I love the “urban warfare/justice” film genre, and this is one of the better examples of that genre. The actors are perfectly cast, the script is tightly written, and the score and cinematography are both top notch (especially for a shoestring independent production.) Blue Underground has once again proven that they are one of the best labels in the 4K UHD market with this beautifully executed release. Video and Audio specs are about as good as I have seen for a catalog title. The new supplemental materials include a chat with composer Jay Chattaway, a new piece on the film with numerous interviews (including director Bill Lustig and more,) and a brand new commentary by film scholars Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson. If you are a fan of this genre, this release is not to be missed. Highly recommended.