An Eye for an Eye (1981)

Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail... See full summary »

Director:

Steve Carver

Writers:

James Bruner (screenplay), James Bruner (story)

Stars:

Chuck Norris, Christopher Lee, Richard Roundtree

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chuck Norris	...	Sean Kane
Christopher Lee	...	Morgan Canfield
Richard Roundtree	...	Capt. Stevens
Matt Clark	...	Tom McCoy
Mako	...	James Chan
Maggie Cooper	...	Heather Sullivan
Rosalind Chao	...	Linda Chan
Professor Toru Tanaka	...	The Professor
Stuart Pankin	...	Nicky LaBelle
Terry Kiser	...	Dave Pierce
Mel Novak	...	Tony Montoya
Dorothy Dells	...	Cab Driver
Dov Gottesfeld	...	Doctor
Rick Prieto	...	Stark
Sam Hiona	...	Ambler

Storyline

Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places.

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Plot Keywords:

murder of an asian woman | lifting a female into the air | lifting someone into the air | murder of a reporter | partner | 

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Taglines:

What makes an ex-cop take the law in his own hands?

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Oko za oko

Filming Locations:

Alcatraz Prison, Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$7,680,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Adams Apple Film Company,Major Studio Partners,South Street Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 97 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The producers originally wanted to cast André the Giant in the role played by former professional wrestler Professor Toru Tanaka because they felt Tanaka wasn't tall enough. They were eventually convinced that Tanaka would be more believable (as demonstrated in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964) in which Harold Sakata was cast as Oddjob), as well as cheaper and with less scheduling conflicts, so they agreed to cast him. In order to overcome his height "disadvantage" they had him wear platform shoes to make him appear taller than his 6'2 frame.

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Goofs

When Heather views the tape to Kane in the TV studio, she keeps on running the control/effects panel by pushing buttons in a random way that makes no actual sense.

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Quotes

Tow Truck Dude: [Sean Kane is leaving a house, finds that his car is being towed, moves past the tow truck driver and unhooks the hook] Hey, pal, that car is gone!
Sean Kane: You wanna bet.
[Kane stares at the driver grimly]
Tow Truck Dude: [meekly] Ok, have it your own way.

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Connections

Referenced in Adjust Your Tracking (2013)

User Reviews

"They killed my partner-now I'll get revenge!"

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

San Francisco Police Officer Sean Kane (Chuck Norris) is on a stakeout with his partner to bust some heroin traffickers.A shoot out later ensues and his partner is killed which sets him on a course for revenge.

"I have so much hate in me" his widow wails to Norris at his funeral."And so much anger.I want these people to feel what I'm feeling."Believe you me,love,not half as much as he does."They're not going to get away with this."Oooooooh,you'd better believe it.

The plot is really as simple,unimaginative and formulaic as that.But,hey,this is not a problem.You want Shakespeare,you can always go to the theatre.

What shoots An Eye for an Eye in the foot is what a decidedly dull affair it ironically ends up being for something so undemanding,with thrilling action sequences few and far between and a running time that's about ten minutes too long.

The supporting cast is surprisingly lively,with Richard 'Shaft' Roundtree as Norris's typically sore-headed captain and none other than Christopher 'Dracula' Lee,as another reviewer already stated,terribly wasted as the main bad guy.On the smaller end of the scale,we have Professor Toru Tanaka as one of the main heavies,although his main purpose is really just to lumber around and grunt a lot as is his standard specialty in every movie he's ever been in and Mako in an uneven role as Norris's sidekick.

An Eye for an Eye is a film that sets out to accomplish a simple task but falls rather short of it's mark.However,it has a pleasant soundtrack and when the action sequences do roll by,they can be rather impressive.Also,if nothing else,it proves Chuck is no sell out,as he claims nowaday to have used a Total Gym for 23 years,and in one of the early scenes in his apartment,we see him using what appears to be one.**