Vigilante (1982)

When his wife and son are brutalized by thugs and a corrupt criminal justice system puts the perpetrators back on the street, a New York City factory worker turns vigilante to find some measure of bloody justice.

Director:

William Lustig

Writer:

Richard Vetere

Stars:

Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, Richard Bright

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Forster	...	Eddie Marino
Fred Williamson	...	Nick
Richard Bright	...	Burke
Rutanya Alda	...	Vickie Marino
Don Blakely	...	Prago
Joseph Carberry	...	Ramon
Willie Colón	...	Rico (as Willie Colon)
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

Storyline

Eddie Marino is a factory worker in New York City. He has a wife named Vickie and a son named Scott. Eddie's friend and co-worker Nick and some of the factory's other workers have formed a vigilante group because Nick and the group are fed up with the pimps, gangs, and drug dealers who keep taking over the neighborhoods. Nick and his group are also sick and tired of the police, because the police always fail to protect people who become victims. Eddie goes home from work one night, only to discover that Vickie has been stabbed, and Scott has been shot dead. Frederico "Rico" Melendez, the leader of a Puerto Rican street gang, is arrested for Vickie's stabbing and Scott's murder. Assistant District Attorney Mary Fletcher plans to put Rico away for as long as possible, since New York doesn't have the death penalty. Nick tries to convince Eddie to join the vigilante group, but Eddie turns Nick down, preferring to let the courts handle Rico. Nick makes it clear that he has no faith ...

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Plot Keywords:

new york | male objectification | nudity | showering together | shared shower | 

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Taglines:

If the law won't get them... we will!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 March 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Street Gang

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Magnum Motion Pictures Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (4 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Train sound effects were added in the scene where Fred Williamson is interrogating Horace the pimp because the scene was actually shot in the parking lot of the swimming pool area and according to William Lustig "wanted the scene to have the feeling of being under an elevated train"

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Goofs

Prago's stunt driving double during the car chase is Caucasian but Prago is African-American.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Nick: Hey, I don't know about you guys, but me... I've had it up to here. There are some 40-odd homicides a day on our streets. There are over two million illegal guns in this city. Man, that's enough guns to invade a whole damn country with. They shoot a cop in our city without thinking twice about it. Aw, come on. You guys ride the subway. How much more of this grief are we gonna stand for? How many more locks we gotta put on our goddamn doors? Now, we ain't got the police, the ...

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Connections

Featured in Assassin(s) (1997)

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Soundtracks

Juanito alimana
(C. Curet Alonso (as Curet Alonso))
Arranged by Luis Cruz (as Luiz Cruz)
Sung by Hector Lavoe (as Hector Levoe)
Produced by Willie Colón (as Willie Colon)
Executive Producer Jerry Masucci
Music Available on Fania Records
Published by FAF Publ./BMI

User Reviews

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.