Fight for Your Life
| Fight for Your Life | |
|---|---|
|
DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Robert A. Endelson |
| Produced by |
Robert A. Endelson William Mishkin |
| Written by | Straw Weisman |
| Starring |
William Sanderson Robert Judd Yvonne Ross |
| Music by | Jeff Slevin |
| Cinematography | Lloyd Freidus |
| Edited by | Robert A. Endelson |
| Distributed by | William Mishkin Motion Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Fight for Your Life is a 1977 American grindhouse action film directed by Robert A. Endelson and starring William Sanderson and Robert Judd.
Synopsis
Sanderson plays Kane, a hate-fuelled racist redneck who absconds from jail with his sidekicks (an Asian and a Mexican). They hole up in the secluded house of a black minister and his family, where harsh epithets are exchanged and the minister is forced to take action to defend his family.[1]
Cast
- William Sanderson - as Jessie Lee Kane
- Robert Judd - as Ted Turner
- Catherine Peppers - as Mrs. Turner
- Lela Small - as Grandma Turner
- Yvonne Ross - as Corrie Turner
- Reggie Rock Bythewood - as Floyd Turner (as Reginald Bythewood)
- Ramon Saunders - as Val Turner
- Queenie Endelson - as Dog
- Daniel Faraldo - Chino
- Peter Yoshida - Ling
- Bonnie Martin - Karen
- David Cargill - Lt. Reilly
- Richard A. Rubin - Captain Hamilton
- David Dewlow - Joey
- Pepe Hern - Navarro
Critical reception
Fight for Your Life has received a negative response from critics. TV Guide called it "a vile low-budget film that couldn't have found a receptive audience even during the height of tough blaxploitation pictures."[2] Allmovie called it an "outrageous sleazefest" and "amazingly racist".[3]
Censorship
Fight For Your Life was denied a British theatrical release in 1981,[4] but a video release the following year allowed the public brief access to the film before it wound up on the video nasties list and was outlawed. It is notable for being the only 'video nasty' to appear on the list due to language, specifically the racism displayed by Sanderson's character.
Availability
Briefly available in the United Kingdom on the independent video label Vision On, released circa 1982, but outlawed with the advent of the Video Recordings Act (1984), Fight For Your Life was denied a British cinema release when it was rejected by the BBFC in October 1981. Fight For Your Life was issued in the U.S. by Blue Underground as a remastered DVD.
The original film negative, having been stored by the film rights holder in a New Jersey basement, was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ "Rotton Tomatoes entry on Fight For Your Life".
- ↑ "Fight For Your Life Review". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
- ↑ Firsching, Robert. "Fight for Your Life". Allmovie. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
- ↑ http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/fight-your-life-1970
- ↑ "Spider Baby is Given The Academy Treatment (Interview with William Lustig)]". Retrieved 4 November 2014.