Blind Fury (1989)

A blind Vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to America and helps to rescue the son of a fellow soldier.

Director:

Phillip Noyce

Writers:

Ryôzô Kasahara (earlier screenplay), Charles Robert Carner (screen story)

Stars:

Rutger Hauer, Terry O'Quinn, Brandon Call

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rutger Hauer	...	Nick Parker
Terry O'Quinn	...	Frank Devereaux (as Terrance O'Quinn)
Brandon Call	...	Billy Devereaux
Noble Willingham	...	MacCready
Lisa Blount	...	Annie Winchester
Nick Cassavetes	...	Lyle Pike
Rick Overton	...	Tector Pike
Randall 'Tex' Cobb	...	Slag
Charles Cooper	...	Cobb
Meg Foster	...	Lynn Devereaux
Shô Kosugi	...	The Assassin (as Sho Kosugi)
Paul James Vasquez	...	Gang Leader
Julia Gonzalez	...	Latin Girl
Woody Watson	...	Crooked Miami Cop #1
Alex Morris	...	Crooked Miami Cop #2

Storyline

Nick Parker (Rutger Hauer) is a Vietnam vet who was blinded during the war. He was found by one of the local tribes, who taught him to enhance his remaining senses and to expertly wield a sword. On his return to the United States, he goes to visit an old Army buddy, Frank Devereaux (Terrance O'Quinn), but discovers that he and his wife, Lynn (Meg Foster) are divorced, and Frank no longer lives there. What they don't know is that Devereaux was playing in a crooked casino in Reno, Nevada and accumulated a large debt. Casino boss MacCready (Noble Willingham) is willing to forgive his debt if he does something for him: Devereaux is a chemist, and they want him to make designer drugs. In order to make sure he does it, they try to kidnap his son, Billy (Brandon Call). But Nick is there, and Nick saves the boy. Thus begins a road trip to Las Vegas, Nevada to protect the boy and save his friend, with the boss' henchmen in pursuit.

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Plot Keywords:

child gagged | vietnam war | vietnam war veteran | ninjitsu | remake of japanese film | 

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Taglines:

Master of the sword. Avenger of the truth. Blind as a bat.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

18+

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tim Matheson was introduced to Producer Daniel Grodnik by Screenwriter Charles Robert Carner. Matheson was interested in learning how to produce. Grodnik said to him if you ever bring me a piece of material that I like, you can be a producer on it with me. Two weeks later Matheson screened Zatoichi Challenged (1967) for Grodnik to develop as an American remake. It took two directors, three studios, seven years, and eleven drafts of the screenplay, to finally get the movie about a blind samurai in America made. Grodnik sold it to Jeff Sagansky, the president of TriStar Pictures, by pitching him two ad lines: "He don't need no dog" and "Pray you see him before he hears you". The main tagline in the end used on American movie posters was similarly: "He may be blind, but he don't need no dog."

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Goofs

During the van chase when Nick is driving, Billy accidentally tells Nick to turn right onto supposedly a one-way street, however as they drive down the street, you can see traffic lights on both directions. One-way streets would never have traffic lights facing both directions, and this particular street was obviously a two-way street re-painted to look like a one-way.

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Quotes

MacCready: I don't wanna hear about this blind man! What are you doing? Taking the stuff we're supposed to be selling?
Cobb: No, I...
MacCready: Oh, shut up, Ed! If you can't handle it, get me somebody who can! Get me Bruce Lee!
Cobb: Bruce Lee is dead.
MacCready: Then get his brother!

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Crazy Credits

As the credits roll, we see Nick Parker continuing his stroll along the highway until he is lost from view

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Alternate Versions

When Blind Fury was being prepared for TV in the early 90s, many changes were made to the finished film, adding short extensions here and there, as well as alternate "TV friendly" takes of various lines. Here's the full list of changes: 1. Alternate take: Billy sticks his tongue out at Nick to "test" his blindness, rather than giving him the finger as in the theatrical cut. 2. Deleted shot: Billy runs outside along his backyard pool, with a tracking shot revealing more of his dinosaur sculptures 3. Extended scene: Lynn mentions Frank not discussing the war, prior to Nick pouring the tea (thus, the "he never even talked about the war" line is removed later on). She later further expresses the difficulties of divorce. 4. Extended shot: After the cop at the bus station checks on Nick and Billy, the shot continues well after they leave, with the cop still staring. Due to a deleted scene later, the "I get the window seat..." line is removed. 5. Deleted scene: Nick goes to the cashier at the bus station to buy two tickets to Reno, only for the cashier (realizing Nick is blind) to try to trick him by giving him less change. Nick, aware of this, points out the mistake, and also knocks off the cashier's toupee onto a Slurpee. It's at the end of this scene where we actually see Billy say the "I get the window seat..." line. 6. Deleted scene: When Nick and Billy first begin their bus trip, it initially begins with Billy using his inhaler, later to use it to wake Nick up. Billy then continually complains that he can't sleep on the bus, with Nick bluntly replying with "then don't". This scene takes place prior to Annie visiting Frank, and temporarily replaces the scene with Billy flopping around and hitting Nick on the bus as he sleeps. This latter scene instead is placed after the Annie/Frank scene in the TV cut. 7. Deleted shot: Prior to the bus scene with Nick telling Billy about his father, there's an extra shot of the bus driving into Graceland, complete with a "Home of Elvis Presley" sign. 8. Deleted scene: In the middle of Nick's chase after Billy in the cornfield, he actually manages to stop him at one point, with Billy exclaiming the fact that his mother's dead and his father doesn't want him. 9. Extended scene: At the end of the scene with Nick and Billy by the campfire, when Billy attempts to "see" what Nick's life is like by closing his eyes, he hears footsteps, only to discover a nearby deer. Nick asks Billy to describe it, and he responds saying it's "like a real deer... not like in a zoo." And that it also looks "free." 10. Extended scene: When Nick and Billy are trapped in the back of Lyle and Tector's van, there's an additional segment in which Billy looks around saying "It's so dark in here". Nick, sarcastically, simply replies "I thought it was just me." 11. Alternate take: After Lyle and Tector steal the car from the two old women and shoot out the back window, the TV cut uses a take of Lyle exclaiming "What the?" as opposed to the theatrical cut's "Jesus H. Christ!" 12. Deleted shot: After the alternate "What the?" take, the film cuts back to the two old women, with the unarmed woman saying to the armed one "You always forget to reload!" 13. Alternate take: When the driver that Nick nearly runs off the road realizes the Nick is blind, he exclaims "Holy cow!" rather than the theatrical cut's "Holy shit!" 14. Deleted shot: When Annie sees Nick off to find Frank, she tells him that she thinks Frank was set up by MacReady. 15. Extended scene: After Nick leaves Billy and Annie to find Frank, Annie asks Billy "What did he say to you?" Billy says "To hold down the fort and protect the women." Annie responds with "It's good to know we're in such capable hands Billy. In as deep a voice as he can muster, Billy says "It's Bill." 16. Deleted scene: After Nick escapes from the casino riot to the elevator, there's an additional scene in which he starts eating the food off of the room service tray, as well as dropping his cigar into the coffee pot. 17. Alternate take: When Nick disables the elevator that Lyle and Tector are riding in, rather than the theatrical cut's "Shit! Fuck! Shit fuck!", the TV cut uses a far more tame "Dog! Gone! Dog gone!" 18. Alternate take: When Nick asks Cobb where Frank is, the theatrical cut has Cobb respond with "F.O., Errol Flynn. Do you know what that means? Fuck off!". However, the TV cut dubs in the line "G.T.H., Errol Flynn." in the same two-shot used in the theatrical cut, but uses new footage on the close up on Cobb, with his alternate response of "Do you know what that means? Go to Hell!" 19. Deleted scene: After Nick knocks out Cobb and takes the key, the TV cut jumps to an extra short scene in which the Casino guards try to push Lyle into the elevator shaft, only for him to crash back down. Tector then asks "You okay?" 20. Extended scene: When Nick and Frank try to find Annie and Billy, there's a long take of Frank asking "anybody home?" before searching the inside of the modified bus. This cuts to a longer POV shot of Frank walking through the bus. 21. Deleted shot: After Frank makes the deal on the phone with MacReady, there's an additional shot of Frank exclaiming "What I wouldn't give!" and then calming down to say to Nick "I guess you don't get any second chances, though, do you?" 22. Alternate take: At the end of the Winterhaven ambush scene, an alternate angle/take of Nick stabbing Cobb is used, in which the bloodied blade and the final stab aren't as prominent as they are in the theatrical cut. 23. Deleted scene: Before Nick and Frank make their way to meet MacReady, Frank steps in saying "Nick, this way!" 24. Extended ending: As Billy tries to stop Nick from leaving, the overall scene is longer, with Nick saying that Billy is becoming a man and that he promises that he will call and see him again. This version rarely appears on TV anymore, but was more recently spotted on Reelz Channel.

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Connections

References First Blood (1982)

User Reviews

Entertaining enough...

This late 1980's action movie is actually one of the better and more memorable movies of Rutger Hauer's movie career. That being said, it should also be said that it is campy and cheesy, but in a good way that only those 1980's movies could manage.

The story is about a blinded Vietnam veteran returning to America where he seeks out his old army comrade, and ends up entangled with drug dealers out to kill his friend.

It is an entertaining movie for what it was, although it had some comedy elements tossed into it as well. That is of course a personal preference whether or not you like that particular combination.

The cast did a good job with their given roles and characters, And for those who were watching movies back in the 1980's then there is a good number of familiar faces amongst the cast.

While "Blind Fury" is nowhere near a masterpiece or even matching the action movies from Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme or Seagal, it is still a movie that can sustain repeated viewings every now and then with some years in between.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vengeance aveugle

Filming Locations:

Sealy, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$868,380, 18 March 1990

Gross USA:

$2,692,037

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,692,037

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Interscope Communications, Daniel Grodnik Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min 85 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1