F.I.S.T.
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Movie Reviews of F.I.S.T.
Movie Review: Stallone's first take at anti-hero
Summary: 3 Stars
F.I.S.T. scriptwriter Joe Ezsterhas recalled the explosive collaboration with his "co-writer" Sylvester Stallone in his autobiography published last year. Robert De Niro, still considered to be the best actor of his generation and at the top of his creative peak shortly after his Oscar-nominated performance in Taxi Driver (1976), was originally asked by director Norman Jewison to take on the blue-collar anti-hero. But De Niro could not make up his mind and by the time he finally agreed, it was too late - another Italian-American upcoming star already agreed to make Johnny Kovac his first project after the roaring Oscar success of Rocky (1976).
Jewison happily agreed to Stallone's request at rewriting Ezsterhas's script - after all, Stallone just received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Rocky (as well as a Best Actor nomination, competing with the likes of De Niro). But Ezsterhas, who spent several years researching for his account of the tragedy of the union movement, was less happy that Stallone would also receive a writing credit - the only thing that Stallone did was to shorten Ezsterhas' uneconomically (from a Hollywood feature perspective) long script.
The production of F.I.S.T. (1978) was characterized by a growing confrontation between Stallone and both the director and ("real") writer of the film. Jewison bought Ezsterhas's view of Johnny Kovac (loosely modeled on Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa) as a corrupted leader destroyed by his dealings with the mafia. Stallone, however, preferred a more Rocky-esque view of Kovac, more along the lines of trade union icon Walter Reuther than the thuggish Hoffa.
Stallone was very unhappy with the end result and refused to do any promotional work for F.I.S.T. Jewison filmed a number of alternative endings and, after audiences at a pre-screening session reacted indifferently to the various endings, Jewison decided to end the movie as he originally planned (before Stallone's botched attempt to interfere with Jewison's plans). Let us not spoil the movie except to say that this was a very un-Stallone-ish ending. Compare this ending to the original ending of First Blood (1982), now available for the first time on the Ultimate Edition DVD released last year. If we compare the ending of the original Get Carter (1971) and the Stallone version released in 2000, we see that, as in the case of First Blood (based on David Morrell's 1972 novel) Stallone's heroic conception of what is essentially a 1970s anti-hero won the day.
Despite the negative critical reception at the time of F.I.S.T.'s release, critics today will agree that this was one of Stallone's best performances in which he (despite the Rambo-esque aggressiveness) actually gave a fairly credible dramatic performance of blue-collar vulnerability along the lines of Rocky and Copland (1997). At the time of Rocky, Stallone was compared with the likes of De Niro and in Copland Stallone actually plays alongside De Niro - but their portrayal of anti-heroes were polar opposites. Notice the difference between boxing champions Rocky Balboa and Jake La Motta of Raging Bull (1980), between disturbed, vengeful Vietnam vets John Rambo (as portrayed in the sequels) and Travis Bickle of Taxi Driver - and between Johnny Kovac and Noodles (gangster involved in trade union corruption) of Once Upon A Time in the West (1984).
Movie Review: Stallone's most ambitious film
Summary: 3 Stars
What is it about some directors and stars that make them follow up their biggest hits with misleadingly titled movies that just set them up for audience disappointment? Audiences seeing a film called Sorcerer from the director of The Exorcist advertised with a grimacing statue probably weren't too thrilled to find a thriller about truck drivers in South America and an audience lured into a film called F.I.S.T. by posters of Sly Stallone, fresh from Rocky, wielding an axe handle at the head of a mob probably weren't best pleased to find they'd bought a ticket to a drama about the growth and corruption of the American union movement. F.I.S.T. in this case stands for Federal Inter-State truckers - not, absolutely not, the Teamsters - and Stallone plays the union organiser who brings the mob in to win a strike only to find he can't get them out who absolutely isn't Jimmy Hoffa even if he does end up as a question mark on a bumper sticker.
Directed by Norman Jewison from a Joe Esterhas script with cinematography by Lazlo Kovacs, it's an admirably ambitious film. Charting the union from its days as hungry men with no rights to fat men by the pool with young girls who aren't their wives as the small group of bullied workers in the 30s grows into the biggest bully on the block by the 60s when Stallone comes up against Rod Steiger's racket busting senator, it's strangely lacking in punch or impact. There are good scenes and some inspired casting - not least Kevin Conway in the kind of role Brian Donlevy would have played in the 30s and 40s - but it often feels flat and underdeveloped. Jewison manages to keep Steiger and Peter Boyle's performances in check, but he's less successful with Stallone. Still in the period when he wanted to be the next Brando rather than the first Arnie, the star does some good work but loses some of his potentially best moments by incoherent mumbling or inaudible whispering under his breath that makes stretches of dialogue incomprehensible without subtitles. Still, it's nice to see De Mille regular Henry Wilcoxen as a blithely patronisingly patrician boss and Bill Conti's sweepingly epic score is impressive even if some of the music editing does it no favors.
On the subject of edits, the US DVD is the uncut 145-minute version - avoid the European DVDs, which are the cut 131-minute international version.
Movie Review: THIS F.I.S.T. LACKS ROCKY'S PUNCH!
Summary: 3 Stars
It's hard to believe I never watched this movie before recently. I had caught a few minutes of it here and there on TV over the years but, never bothered to watch it through. For the most part the story itself is compelling enough but, the characters seem one dimensional and after a good first half the characters, not the story make the film drag. It's a shame because the film's not bad but, it's pretty forgettable. Like the movie 'Hoffa' which this film is obviously emulating it has an unsatisfying ending, this one being way too abrupt! I had invested 2 1/2 hours in this mediocre film and it just ended badly! It's OK as I did enjoy the film but, I doubt I will ever watch it again.Movie Review: Yes, there was a time that Sly could act!
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a really good movie with credible acting and drama. Always was. Hard to believe the writer eventually went on to write SHOWGIRLS!
One correction: To "rjclaster", Stallones's character name is JOHNNY Kovak, not Frank.
One question: To "cjs1989", are you seriously telling us that you're the son of director Norman Jewison? If you're for real, I'm sorry, but F.I.S.T. was not his best film. For my money, it will always be AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!
Movie Review: A film which deserved an even better status!
Summary: 3 Stars
The first and principal aspect to remark is that we are on front of the most distinguished performance ever made in previous or late entries of Sylvester Stallone. But the script (despite the magisterial direction of Norman Jewison) unexplainably lacked of punch and expressive forcer. The resemblances with On the waterfront are too many. And that was pitifully its own perdition.