Last Man Standing (1987)

Director:

Damian Lee

Writers:

Damian Lee (writer)
David Mitchell (writer)

Release Date:

5 December 1990 (France)

Plot Keywords:

Ultimate Fighting | Cage Match | Obscene Finger Gesture | Bare Knuckle Fighting | Female Boxer

Cast

Vernon Wells	...	Roo Marcus
William Sanderson	...	Casper
Michael Copeman	...	Napoleon
Sonja Belliveau	...	Charlie
Frank Moore	...	Tenny
Réal Andrews	...	Razor
Pete Dempster	...	Cannon (as Peter Dempster)
Franco Columbu	...	Batty
Danny Burnes	...	Gus
George Chuvalo	...	Maxx
Zack Neals	...	Danny Fox
Lawrence King-Phillips	...	Tall Tim
Dave Schaler	...	Patch
Jason Harris	...	Referee #1
Brian Grant	...	Referee #2
Durango Coy	...	Guard #1
Louis Negin	...	Cyril
Paul Gordon	...	Business Man
Robert O'Ree	...	Ralph
Kim Coates	...	Mr. Regan
Jennie Dean	...	Secretary
Steve Mousseau	...	Plainclothes Cop
Brian Morgan	...	Warden
Donny Peterson	...	Inmate #1
Mary Ethel Phelan	...	Woman
Lolita Davidovich	...	Groupie (as Lolita David)
John Dee	...	Old Fight Man #1
Daddy Ray	...	Old Fight Man #2
Stephen Graham	...	Yes Man #1
Andre Mayers	...	Yes Man #2
Tex Konig	...	Bouncer
Damian Lee	...	Sully
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tim Burd	...	Angry Man
Jason Logan	...	Boxing Referee
Jaap Broeker	...	Thug (uncredited)

Directed by
Damian Lee

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Damian Lee		writer
David Mitchell		writer

Produced by
Steve Ippolito	....	executive producer
Damian Lee	....	producer
David Mitchell	....	producer
Lawrence Nesis	....	executive producer
John E. Patterson	....	associate producer
Curtis Petersen	....	associate producer (as Curt Petersen)
John Ryan	....	line producer
Andrew Silvestri	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Charlie Barnett

Cinematography by
Ludek Bogner		(as Ludvik Bogner)

Film Editing by
Gary Zubeck

Casting by
Lucinda Sill

Art Direction by
Ron Dickey		(as Ron Dickie)

Set Decoration by
Brendan Smith

Costume Design by
Jane Fieber

Makeup Department
Cheree Van Dyk	....	makeup department head
Leon Van Dyk	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Nancy Wilson	....	production manager: second unit

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sarah Cutts-Rosen	....	second assistant director (as Sarah Cutts)
Armand Leo	....	first assistant director: second unit
Robert Malenfant	....	first assistant director (as Rob Malenfant)
Lorne Monti	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Theresa Buckley	....	art director: second unit (as Theres Buckley-Ayres)
Theresa Buckley	....	assistant set dresser (as Theres Buckley-Ayres)
Greg Chown	....	art department production assistant
Penny Gay	....	property master

Sound Department
Paul Coombe	....	sound re-recording mixer
Chaim Gilad	....	sound mixer
Mike Hoogenboom	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Weston	....	boom operator

Stunts
Marco Bianco	....	stunts
Lex Byrd	....	stunts
John Goar	....	stunts
Ted Hanlan	....	stunts
Ken Kirzinger	....	stunts
Dennis Lundin	....	stunts (as Dennis Christensen)
David Rigby	....	stunts
T.J. Scott	....	stunt coordinator
John Walsh	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Auger	....	best boy
David Mitchell	....	director of photography: second unit
Susan Shaw	....	still photographer

Other crew
Armand Leo	....	location manager
Ada Morris	....	continuity supervisor
Regina Robb	....	production secretary
Nancy Wilson	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• Rose and Ruby Productions

Distributors

• Cineplex-Odeon Films (1988) (Canada) (theatrical) (As Circle Man)
• Academy Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Cineplex-Odeon Home Video (1988) (Canada) (VHS) (As Circle Man)
• Deal CPF
• MCA (1988) (Canada) (VHS) (As Circle Man)

Also Known As:

Circle Man (USA) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated R for constant violence, strong language and some sexuality.

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:(Banned) | USA:R | Finland:K-16 (1991) (cut version)

Company:

Rose and Ruby Productions

Movie Connections:

References Rocky III (1982)

The Films of Damian Lee: Circle Man (1987). The Last Place You'd Expect to Find a Hero.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

After constant viewings of Damian Lee's "Abraxas: Guardian of the Universe", I became more interested in his other works. The first movie from Damian that I saw after "Abraxas" was "Busted Up." I also had been wanting to see "Circle Man", also known as "Last Man Standing", for some time. I got a copy of this movie on eBay for $10, and it was $10 well spent. Though I think "Circle Man" is a better title for this movie.

The movie is about a man named Roo Marcus (Played by Vernon Wells from Fortress, The Road Warrior, and King of the Ants) who had just spent 8 years in a mental institution, and takes up bare-knuckle boxing and gets a job fighting in a gym run by Napoleon (Played by Michael Copeman, who played Sheriff Sharp in Abraxas.) Roo is often tormented by memories of shock treatment and inhumane conditions. His friends, Capser (Played by William Sanderson from Savage Weekend, Blade Runner, and Newhart) and Ratty (Played by Franco Columbo from The Terminator) help him along the way, until he gets brutally beaten up by one of Napoleon's fighters and ends up in the hospital, and Ratty, after trying to fight his friend, commits suicide by jumping off a roof. Marcus meets up with a girl named Charlie (Played by Sonja Belliveau.), whose father is in debt and owes Napoleon money. Marcus channels up his pent-up aggression and becomes a bare-knuckled street fighter. Eventually, Marcus goes up against the champ, Razor (Played by Real Andrews.) Overall, "Circle Man" has to be Damian's second best, in my opinion, the first, of course, being "Abraxas". Vernon Wells seems to have played mainly villains, but in the case of "Circle Man", he does a swell good guy character. This movie seems to be very similar to "Busted Up", which is another movie Lee wrote, and is also about boxing. Charlie Barnett, who did "Busted Up." This movie is pure fun. The director makes a quick cameo as Sully at the beginning, and he doesn't appear in the rest of the movie, which was the only letdown. Producer David Mitchell's daughter, Jackie, has a small role at the end.

Highly recommended.