Eye of the Tiger (1986)

Returning home from prison, a Vietnam War veteran sets out to clean up his hometown which has come under the control of a violent motorcycle gang.

Director:

Richard C. Sarafian

Writer:

Michael Thomas Montgomery (as Michael Montgomery)

Stars:

Gary Busey, Yaphet Kotto, Seymour Cassel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gary Busey	...	Buck Matthews
Yaphet Kotto	...	J.B. Deveraux
Seymour Cassel	...	Sheriff
Bert Remsen	...	Father Healey
Denise Galik	...	Christie Matthews
William Smith	...	Blade
Kimberlin Brown	...	Dawn
Judith Barsi	...	Jennifer Matthews
Eric Boles	...	Doctor (as Eric Bolles)
Joe Brooks	...	Jake
Douglas Dirkson	...	Jimmy
Kathryn Fuller	...	Bingo Lady
Jorge Gil	...	Jamie
Amelia Haas	...	Melody / Mini-Cam Reporter
Ray Habercorn	...	Police Officer

Storyline

Buck Matthews (Gary Busey) is a former Vietnam veteran/ex-con recently released from the state prison. He returns to the small Midwest town where he grew up only to discover the place overrun by a large motorcycle gang bent on causing trouble. When the bikers murder his wife and traumatize his young daughter, Buck finds himself all alone. The corrupt town sheriff (Seymour Cassel) is unsympathetic and unwilling to help Buck (because the sheriff is under control of the biker gang leader Blade (William Smith). So, Buck decides to take matters into his own hands, With the help from a fellow Vietnam vet, Deputy J.B. Deveraux (Yaphet Kotto), as well as Buck's former cell-mate, a drug kingpin living in Miami, Buck arms himself to the teeth and wages a one-man war against the motorcyclists to destroy them once and for all.

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Plot Keywords:

crop duster | hospital | revenge | nurse | small town | 

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Taglines:

'Nam was hell... Prison unbearable... But coming home meant murder.

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Yaphet Kotto's red bi-plane has an M-16 with a 30 round clip tied to each wing strut, with no visible means of activating them from the cockpit.

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Goofs

In the scene with the dead paramedics, the bottom paramedic clearly blinks right before the camera passes by him.

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Quotes

Buck Matthews: I'm praying for vengeance.

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Connections

Referenced in Zeg 'ns Aaa: Opgeruimd staat netjes (1987)

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Soundtracks

Eye of the Tiger
Written by Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan
Performed by Survivor
Courtesy of Scotti Brothers Records and Tapes

User Reviews

Decent 80's action movie

I had never heard of this movie before, but it had Gary Busey, a decent plot, a great cover, and most importantly: It's an 80's movie. So I decided to check it out, and I don't regret it. Although not overloaded with action, it has enough to make the fans happy. The action scenes were great, lots of explosions and over the top stuff in general. Busey is good in this, even though he is better as a bad guy. When he is a good guy, he's an anti-hero at best. The story is nothing special, it has been done before and will be done again at a later time. But the action scenes and some great characters (e.g. the main bad guy, plus Busey's buddy ) made it interesting. Sitting through this is not a waste of time.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eye of the Tiger

Filming Locations:

Piru, Ventura County, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Scotti Brothers Pictures (I), International Video Entertainment (IVE), Action Brothers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1