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Fight for Your Life AKA I Hate Your Guts AKA Staying Alive AKA Getting Even
R0 - America - Blue Underground Review written by and copyright: Shahir Daud/Noor Razzak (16th December 2005). |
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The Film
 "May be the least politically correct film ever seen in American Theatres" (All Movie Guide). It's often the case that exploitation films get dismissed as favorites only of film geeks or perverts out to see forbidden subjects far too incendiary for mainstream cinema. And perhaps for the most part, the dismissal is appropriate. Anyone who's sat through a Herschell Gordon Lewis classic like "Blood Feast" (1963) or "The Wizard of Gore" (1970) knows that they haven't witnessed great cinema, but instead have had a glimpse of the little dark corner of the film world, somewhere in between pornography and Studio B-movies. Like any dark cavern though, there are little shards of light that glimmer through, and while "Fight For Your Life" may not be a beacon of cinematic greatness, it's a damn sight more interesting and poignant look at race relations in America than "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989) could ever be. Known as one of Quentin Tarantino's favorite exploitation films and having the dubious notoriety of causing riots in Harlem during screenings, "Fight For Your Life" is a surprisingly well-observed grindhouse classic about three violent prison escapees (led by Jessie, played by an incredible William Sanderson, who went on to moderate fame in "Blade Runner") who take a church fearing African-American family hostage, submitting them to racial humiliation, rape and murder. While it still suffers from some of the traditional exploitation pratfalls (clunky dialogue, throwaway sex-scene and trite character exposition), "Fight For Your Life" stands out for delivering some of the most racist vitriol in spades, with Sanderson casually spouting some of the most daring one liners ever penned by a screenwriter ("Martin Luther Coon" probably the highlight, followed closely by "Tar-Baby"). But his racism never carries over into the film itself, which follows a standard hostage drama in the vein of "The Desperate Hours" (1955) fairly closely. Instead, Jessie's violence and prejudice make him all the more terrifying, and when he puts the barrel of a gun to a toddler's head, you actually believe he's going to pull the trigger. It's very rare to hear an audience cheer and boo a character simply for existing, but if you're lucky enough to catch "Fight For Your Life" at a theatre, you're likely to hear it with fervour. In the audio commentary screenwriter Straw Weisman and director of photography Lloyd Freidus highlights some of the stigma that's surrounded this film over the years (both director Robert A Endelson and actor William Sanderson declined appearing to discuss the movie), but also points out the way in which the film has been received over the years (In fact, two startling different trailers where created, that were marketed to both a black and white audiences, the black version featured the altered title "Staying Alive" and featuring the slogan "Makes you proud to be a black man"). In recent years, some of the more exemplary exploitation years have received the DVD make-over, perhaps the most notable is the Elite Entertainment's release of "'ll Spit on Your Grave" (1978), but Blue Underground have done an excellent job of presenting "Fight For Your Life" as a grindhouse classic, that may not quite have transcending cultural boundaries like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974), but holds up today as an unrelenting revenge film that deserves to sit on any serious DVD collectors shelf.
Video
Presented in the film's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, this anamorphic transfer isn't amazing but serves the film well. The film itself does have some inherent problems such as the occasional scratch, dirt and sparkle that occasionally pop up. Aside from this the transfer is generally well done, skin tones are accurate, but colours seem a bit dull and the image is basically flat. I believe this may have something to do with how the film was shot rather than the transfer itself. Blue Underground have presented this film the best possible way they can, don't expect an amazing print but it's better than any other format this film has been available in in the past.
Audio
The film only includes one sound option, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtrack. For the most part the dialogue is clear however the track lacks any definition, much like the transfer it too comes across as flat. Keeping in mind that this is the film's original soundtrack and it is a low budget film from the 70's you don't really expect much in the way of a dynamic soundtrack, but since Blue Underground have been doing some solid DTS tracks for their other films, it's a wonder why this film didn't get the same treatment. For purists, the Mono track serves the film well but could have been better. Unfortunately this disc does not include any optional subtitles.
Extras
Blue Underground have included a series of interesting extras for this release that includes an audio commentary, a collection of theatrical trailers and TV spots as well as a poster and still gallery. Below is a closer look at these extras: First up we have a very interesting and informative audio commentary by screenwriter Straw Weisman and director of photography Lloyd Freidus, the commentary is moderated by Blue Underground's CEO William Lustig. Weisman and Freidus each contribute to the track by discussing their roles on this film, as well as discussing the creativity and seat-of-your-pants style of filmmaking that it took to make low budget exploitation films in the 70's. It's also interesting to hear about director Robert A. Endelson who had left the film industry to become an inventor and has mixed feelings to this day about the film. Another interesting aspect of this track are the discussions about how it was clear the filmmaker's used the race card, however un-PC it was, it isn't particularly brutal by today's standards. We also get to learn about the restoration of the film for this DVD release. Overall this was a very enjoyable track and provides the listener with a fair amount of history behind the film's production. Also included are a series of three trailers they include: - "White" version theatrical trailer, made for the "white" demographic this trailer runs for 2 minutes 56 seconds. "Black" version theatrical trailer, made for the "Black" demographic this trailer presents the film with its alternate title "Staying Alive" and is complete with Jive talking narration and runs 3 minutes 20 seconds. - Teaser trailer is just a still with the film's title that runs for 26 seconds. Included on this DVD are two TV spots: - The first is the "White" version, and is a condensed version of the trailer that runs for 32 seconds. - The second is the "Black" version, this TV spot is also a condensed version of the trailer and runs for 33 seconds. Rounding up the disc's extras is the poster and still gallery, included here are 32 images that include: - Posters (2 images) - Newspaper advert (1 image) - Lobby cards (25 images) - Video covers (4 images)
Overall
"Fight for your Life" is a seminal Grindhouse classic that has managed to maintain a cult hit for nearly 30 years, Blue Underground has done a nice job presenting this film uncut on DVD and have also included a collection of interesting extras. Fans of B-grade underground films should check out this release. This film has been reviewed by Shahir Daud. The DVD specifications have been reviewed by Noor Razzak. Copyright © 2005 Shahir Daud /Noor Razzak
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