#robert a. endelson

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On September 17, 1980, Fight For Your Life debuted to a limited release in France.

Here's some new art inspired by the Video Nasty classic!

[1day1movie]

Fight for Your Life (1977) Robert A. Endelson.

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Fight for Your Life (Endelson, 1977)

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Fight for Your Life (Endelson, 1977)

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Fight for Your Life (Endelson, 1977)

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Movie Review | Fight for Your Life (Endelson, 1977)

This feels like the product of someone who hates feel good Oscar bait movies about race, but for all the wrong reasons. The premise - escaped convicts hide out in a secluded house, holding the family who resides within hostage - is one of a standard home invasion thriller, but with a twist: the lead convict is an unapologetic racist and his torment of the family, who are black, has an ugly racial dimension. Considering the fairly unremarkable craft involved, I was surprised at the efficacy with which it burrowed under my skin. The tension from the proceedings don’t exactly come from its qualities as a thriller, but from what cruel, racist indignities the villain will subject his hostages to. This movie isn’t making some sincere, subversive point about race. The black characters who are the target of most of the racism are given little agency until the climax (at which point the racism is met with some unfortunate homophobia), and the villain’s henchmen, who are also minorities, remain strictly caricatures. (The blaxploitation-style theme song also comes off as a sick joke.) Yet if the movie’s intention was to make me loathe the villain and feel some catharsis when he gets his comeuppance, I have to admit it did its job. It just made me feel entirely unclean after.

[brody75]

Fight for Your Life (1977)

Robert A. Endelson

[vhs-ninja]

Fight for Your Life (1977) by Robert A. Endelson.