Vigilante (1983)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

William Lustig

Writer:

Richard Vetere (writer)

Release Date:

16 September 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Action

Tagline:

You're not safe anymore...

Plot:

Eddie Marino is a factory worker in New York City. He has a wife named Vickie and a son named Scott...

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Judge | Vigilante | New York | Jail

Cast

Robert Forster	...	Eddie Marino
Fred Williamson	...	Nick
Richard Bright	...	Burke
Rutanya Alda	...	Vickie Marino
Don Blakely	...	Prago
Joseph Carberry	...	Ramon
Willie Colón	...	Frederico 'Rico' Melendez
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 (as Steve W. James)
Randy Jurgensen	...	Det. Russo

Also Known As:

Street Gang

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:(Banned) (1983) (1989) | Norway:15 (uncut) (2007) (DVD) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Australia:MA | France:-16 | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Magnum Motion Pictures Inc.

Trivia:

Tony Musante was originally cast in the part of Eddie Marino. When Musante dropped out, director Lustig remembered Robert Forster's performance in "Alligator," and offered him the part.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Soundtrack:

Vigilante

Lean, mean and nasty revenge thriller.

First off, yes, 'Vigilante' does bear some superficial resemblances to 'Death Wish'. But in other ways it is a different kind of animal, tougher, more realistic and believable. Directed by William Lustig in between his trash classic 'Maniac' and 'Maniac Cop', the movie greatly benefits from the strong performances of Robert Forster ('Medium Cool', 'Jackie Brown') and Fred Williamson ('Black Caesar'), two actors who unfortunately have generally been wasted in dull action movies and awful straight to video dreck. Forster displays dignity and depth of character as a working class Joe pushed to his limit, and Fred Williamson gives possibly his most impressive performance ever, as his buddy who shows him a way to get closure. Both Forster and Williamson are supported by an above average cast of character actors including Richard Bright and Joe Spinell (both of 'The Godfather' as well as countless other roles), and veteran Woody Strode. This is a lean, mean and nasty revenge thriller worth tracking down.