I was never impressed with Sylvester Stallone, or his movies.
The Italian Stallion may have made a splash by showing off his pectorals and oversize guns in the ROCKY and RAMBO flicks... and he got some underground success in a few youthful, starving actor porno flicks. But the ability to impress teenage boys by making war, or the movie house Trenchcoat Brigade by making love, doesn't equal acting ability. ANY young Hollywood wannabe can do it.
F*I*S*T was a sleeper out there... a film that was released without the big promotion treatment that Hollywood specializes in for turning loser films into box office winners. I'd never heard of it until a friend showed me a VHS tape of the film.
He showed it to me because he knows that I'm a fan of Norman Jewison's work.
Norman is a piece of the OLD Hollywood... he'd have been right at home in the old Warner Brothers stable. He's a man who makes movies that have a social conscience; films that are ABOUT SOMETHING.
In my estimation, if you're a young actor you can't miss when Jewison is directing. He has a gift for getting the VERY BEST out of any actor who works for him. So it was with Stallone.
Sylvester Stallone emerged as an actor with PRODIGIOUS acting chops in the first 30 minutes of F*I*S*T... Labor organizer Johnny Kovak came through the door of a Union meeting, pushing the wheelchair of Joe Harper, a disabled trucker.
In a simple, emotional speech, Kovak laid it all on the line in no uncertain terms. Since he couldn't drive, the trucking company didn't care about Joe Harper anymore, but that's OK... Joe is a member of the Federation of Inter State Truckers, and FIST takes care of it's own. The Union will take care of his medical bills, and provide for the family Joe had worked so hard to support.
The pure, gut wrenching emotion, outrage and sincerity that Stallone poured into that scene announced to the world that Sylvester Stallone had ARRIVED as an actor to be taken seriously.
The part of rough cut, crude Johnny Kovak was a part that was made for Stallone; it fit him like a glove. He could project incredible strength by the soft, laid back delivery of a single line.
In his first labor negotiations... "We're gonna cut 'em off, Pal. You know that?".
The startled management negotiator laughingly responded "What did you say?".
"Your BALLS, Pal. We're gonna cut 'em off and shut you DOWN!" Kovak replied. "You're suffering from small minds and fat asses!".
Johnny Kovak was a smoldering volcano, ready to explode.
Backed up by a powerful supporting cast, Stallone charged through the film like a bull.
A Jewison project always seems to attract the best acting talent around... in this case, Peter Boyle and Rod Steiger. Stallone's talent stood side by side with them; he showed that he was able to match them, taking as well as giving. The scenes where they're together, especially the Congressional hearings where he clashed head to head with Steiger, are titanic.
F*I*S*T is a film that's DEFINITELY worth the time.
The Italian Stallion may have made a splash by showing off his pectorals and oversize guns in the ROCKY and RAMBO flicks... and he got some underground success in a few youthful, starving actor porno flicks. But the ability to impress teenage boys by making war, or the movie house Trenchcoat Brigade by making love, doesn't equal acting ability. ANY young Hollywood wannabe can do it.
F*I*S*T was a sleeper out there... a film that was released without the big promotion treatment that Hollywood specializes in for turning loser films into box office winners. I'd never heard of it until a friend showed me a VHS tape of the film.
He showed it to me because he knows that I'm a fan of Norman Jewison's work.
Norman is a piece of the OLD Hollywood... he'd have been right at home in the old Warner Brothers stable. He's a man who makes movies that have a social conscience; films that are ABOUT SOMETHING.
In my estimation, if you're a young actor you can't miss when Jewison is directing. He has a gift for getting the VERY BEST out of any actor who works for him. So it was with Stallone.
Sylvester Stallone emerged as an actor with PRODIGIOUS acting chops in the first 30 minutes of F*I*S*T... Labor organizer Johnny Kovak came through the door of a Union meeting, pushing the wheelchair of Joe Harper, a disabled trucker.
In a simple, emotional speech, Kovak laid it all on the line in no uncertain terms. Since he couldn't drive, the trucking company didn't care about Joe Harper anymore, but that's OK... Joe is a member of the Federation of Inter State Truckers, and FIST takes care of it's own. The Union will take care of his medical bills, and provide for the family Joe had worked so hard to support.
The pure, gut wrenching emotion, outrage and sincerity that Stallone poured into that scene announced to the world that Sylvester Stallone had ARRIVED as an actor to be taken seriously.
The part of rough cut, crude Johnny Kovak was a part that was made for Stallone; it fit him like a glove. He could project incredible strength by the soft, laid back delivery of a single line.
In his first labor negotiations... "We're gonna cut 'em off, Pal. You know that?".
The startled management negotiator laughingly responded "What did you say?".
"Your BALLS, Pal. We're gonna cut 'em off and shut you DOWN!" Kovak replied. "You're suffering from small minds and fat asses!".
Johnny Kovak was a smoldering volcano, ready to explode.
Backed up by a powerful supporting cast, Stallone charged through the film like a bull.
A Jewison project always seems to attract the best acting talent around... in this case, Peter Boyle and Rod Steiger. Stallone's talent stood side by side with them; he showed that he was able to match them, taking as well as giving. The scenes where they're together, especially the Congressional hearings where he clashed head to head with Steiger, are titanic.
F*I*S*T is a film that's DEFINITELY worth the time.