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42-523: Death Force (also known as Vengeance Is Mine ) is a 1978 martial arts exploitation film directed by Cirio H. Santiago and written by Howard R. Cohen . The film is an international co-production of the Philippines and the United States, and stars blaxploitation actor James Iglehart alongside Carmen Argenziano , Leon Isaac Kennedy , and Jayne Kennedy . Iglehart plays Doug Russell,

84-538: A Golden Globe. Bad Day at Black Rock originated as a short story by Howard Breslin with full-color illustrations by Robert Fawcett . Titled "Bad Time at Honda", it was published by The American Magazine in January 1947. It was adapted into a script by Don McGuire and pitched to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production head Dore Schary , who was known for championing films that addressed social problems. Schary had previously produced Go for Broke! (1951), based on

126-895: A bottle and fills it with gasoline from the Jeep. When Smith climbs down for a better shot, Macreedy throws the Molotov cocktail , setting Smith on fire. Macreedy drives back to town with Smith and Liz's body. The state police are called, and several arrests are made. As Macreedy is leaving, Velie requests Komoko's medal to help Black Rock heal. Macreedy gives it to him before boarding the train. The small cast includes three past and two future Academy Award winners; one past Academy Award nominee; and one future Golden Globe winner. Brennan (1936, 1938, 1940), Jagger (1950) and Tracy (1938, 1939) had all won Academy Awards. Ryan (1948) had been nominated for one. In subsequent years, Borgnine (1956) and Marvin (1965) both won Academy Awards; and Francis (1965) won

168-502: A crime drama with revisionist Western overtones, the film is one of the first to recognize discrimination against Japanese Americans in World War II. No Japanese American characters are portrayed, although Komoko and his son, both dead, are central to the plot. In her 1991 documentary film History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige , Rea Tajiri uses footage from Bad Day at Black Rock to illustrate prevailing attitudes toward

210-486: A large impact on the spread of practice of Traditional Chinese and Japanese Martial Arts in English-speaking countries. Martial arts films have been produced all over the world, but the genre has been dominated by Hong Kong action cinema , peaking from 1971 with the rise of Bruce Lee until the mid-1990s with a general decline in the industry, until it was revived close to the 2000s. Other notable figures in

252-422: A minimal plot and amount of character development and focus almost exclusively on the action, while others have more creative and complex plots and characters along with action scenes. Films of the latter type are generally considered to be artistically superior films, but many films of the former type are commercially successful and well received by fans of the genre. One of the earliest Hollywood movies to employ

294-568: A murder that occurred four years earlier. When Bad Day at Black Rock was released, the reviews were almost universally positive, with, for example, John O'Hara in Collier's hailing it as "one of the finest motion pictures ever made". Many reviewers noted the film's Western-like elements, comparing it favorably with High Noon , and cinematographer William C. Mellor was widely praised for his use of widescreen . Film critic Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote, "Slowly, through

336-528: A process of guarded discourse, which director John Sturges has built up by patient, methodical pacing, an eerie light begins to glimmer." At the end of 1955, The New York Times included the film in its best ten of the year. Despite a storyline that she called "crudely melodramatic", Pauline Kael of The New Yorker heaped praise on the film for its direction and cinematography, calling it "a very superior example of motion picture craftsmanship". Variety magazine's reviewer wrote, "Considerable excitement

378-493: A significant movie genre in themselves. Like westerns for Americans, they have become an identity of Chinese cinema. As the most prestigious movie type in Chinese film history, kung fu movies were among the first Chinese films produced and the wuxia period films (武俠片) are the original form of Chinese kung fu films. The wuxia period films came into vogue due to the thousands of years popularity of wuxia novels (武俠小說). For example,

420-458: A small desert town and uncovers an evil secret that has corrupted the entire community. The film is based on a short story called "Bad Time at Honda" by Howard Breslin , published by The American Magazine in January 1947. Filming began in July 1954, and the movie went on national release in January 1955. It was a box-office success and was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1956. In 2018, it

462-577: A veteran of the Vietnam War turned gold smuggler who is left for dead by his partners and, after being trained to wield a samurai sword by a Japanese soldier, seeks revenge on those who betrayed him. Iglehart's real son, James Monroe Iglehart appears briefly as Jimmy Russell, Doug's infant son. American soldiers Doug Russell ( James Iglehart ), McGee ( Leon Isaac Kennedy ) and Morelli ( Carmen Argenziano ) serving in Vietnam are selling gold bars on

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504-426: Is a 1955 American film noir neo-Western film directed by John Sturges with screenplay by Millard Kaufman . It stars Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan with support from Anne Francis , Dean Jagger , Walter Brennan , John Ericson , Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin . The film is a crime drama set in 1945 that contains elements of the revisionist Western genre. In the plot, a one-armed stranger (Tracy) comes to

546-621: Is considered revolutionary in American cinema for raising the standard of fight scenes in western cinema. In the Chinese-speaking world, martial arts films are commonly divided into two subcategories: the wuxia period films (武俠片), and the more modern kung fu films (功夫片, best epitomized in the films of Bruce Lee ). However, according to Hong Kong film director, producer, and movie writer Ronny Yu , wuxia movies are not to be confused with martial arts movies. Kung fu films are

588-409: Is very much interested in preserving his own life. He wants to bring about justice, but he will escape without providing it if he must. Duty to a cause is the guiding principle for a samurai...Death is not relevant; it is, in fact, ennobling if it comes in the service of one’s lord. The Western hero has a great sense of self; the samurai has a great sense of subordination of self. Although essentially

630-673: The American Film Institute , the success of Bloodsport (1988), starring Van Damme, helped the resurgence of the martial arts film genre in the United States. In the 2000s, Thailand's film industry became an international force in the genre with the films of Tony Jaa and the cinema of Vietnam followed suit with The Rebel (2007) and Clash (2009). In more recent years, the Indonesian film industry has offered Merantau (2009) and The Raid: Redemption (2011). The Middle East has also participated in

672-539: The black market . Upon their arrival stateside Morelli convinces McGee to betray Russell. Believing that they killed Russell, Morelli and McGee begin taking over the criminal underworld in Los Angeles . Meanwhile, Russell washes up on a beach of a Pacific Island . There he is discovered by two surviving Japanese soldiers who have been on the Island since before World War II . The senior officer decides to teach Russell

714-448: The tiny flag stop station . After Macreedy states that he is looking for a man named Komoko, several of the local men become hostile. Hastings, the telegraph agent, tells him that there are no taxis, the hotel desk clerk, Pete Wirth, claims that he has no vacant rooms, and Hector David threatens him. Later, Reno Smith informs Macreedy that Komoko, a Japanese-American, was interned during World War II . Macreedy visits Sheriff Tim Horn, but

756-459: The Japanese. Tajiri's family were among those interned after the attack on Pearl Harbor. John Streamas describes the film as an indictment of both racism and McCarthyism . He comments on the unusual means of denunciation that it employs, because with no Japanese-American characters in the story, there is no liberation of an oppressed victim. Instead, the plot delivers justice for the victim of

798-526: The Jeep again. When Smith asks about his missing left arm, Macreedy says that he lost it fighting in Italy . Macreedy says that the wildflowers at the Komoko place make him suspect that a body is buried there. Smith reveals that he is virulently anti-Japanese; he tried to enlist the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor but failed the physical. Macreedy tries to telephone the state police, but Pete refuses to put

840-567: The Red Lotus Temple", which is set in the Qing Dynasty and tells the story of a group of martial artists who band together to defend their temple from raiders. The film is notable for its action sequences and fight scenes, which were groundbreaking for the time and helped establish the martial arts film genre. Asian films are known to have a more minimalist approach to film based on their culture. Some martial arts films have only

882-480: The US and Canada, and $ 1,822,000 elsewhere, making the studio a profit of $ 947,000. The plot of the movie—a small western desert town hiding a guilty secret, or protecting a local person from outside law enforcement officers—was borrowed many times by US television crime shows. Detective and crime series as diverse as Cannon , Kojak , The A-Team and Remington Steele , among others, each had an episode similar to

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924-480: The action director may rely more on stylized action or film making tricks like camera angles , editing , doubles , undercranking , wire work and computer-generated imagery . Trampolines and springboards used to be used to increase the height of jumps. The minimalist style employs smaller sets and little space for improvised but explosive fight scenes, as seen by Jackie Chan's films. These techniques are sometimes used by real martial artists as well, depending on

966-495: The alcoholic lawman is of no help. The veterinarian and undertaker, Doc Velie, advises Macreedy to leave town immediately, but lets it slip that Komoko is dead. Pete's sister, Liz, rents a Jeep for Macreedy. He drives to nearby Adobe Flat, where he finds a homestead burned to the ground and wildflowers growing nearby. As Macreedy drives back, Coley Trimble tries to run him off the road. Macreedy tries to leave town, but Liz, having been previously confronted by Smith, refuses to rent him

1008-514: The call through. Doc Velie admits that something terrible happened four years ago, but Smith has everyone too terrified to speak up. Velie offers his hearse to Macreedy to leave town, but Hector disables it by yanking out the cables. Macreedy writes a telegram to the California police summoning help and gives it to Hastings. Macreedy goes to the diner, where Trimble provokes a fight, but Macreedy, despite having only one arm, easily throws him to

1050-629: The cast and crew relocated to the MGM studio lot in Culver City . André Previn was hired to write the score. Although the film is essentially a crime drama set in 1945, it is recognized as a neo-Western , with strong links to the revisionist Western genre. The premiere was at Loew's 72nd Street Theatre in New York City on December 8, 1954. The film was released nationally in January 1955. According to MGM records, it earned US$ 1,966,000 in

1092-483: The exploits of the segregated Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team . Breslin novelized the script, using the pseudonym Michael Niall. His book was published in 1954 by Fawcett Publications . Schary acquired the film rights for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but he hired Millard Kaufman to rewrite McGuire's script. The producers were worried about the title because "Bad Time at Honda" was similar to Hondo , recently made with John Wayne . Kaufman suggested changing

1134-513: The genre include Jackie Chan, Jet Li , Sammo Hung , Yuen Biao , Donnie Yen , and Hwang Jang-lee . Sonny Chiba , Etsuko Shihomi , and Hiroyuki Sanada starred in numerous karate and jidaigeki films from Japan during the 1970s and early 1980s. Hollywood has also participated in the genre with actors such as Chuck Norris , Sho Kosugi , Jean-Claude Van Damme , Steven Seagal , Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee), Wesley Snipes , Gary Daniels , Mark Dacascos and Jason Statham . According to

1176-524: The genre with actors such as Youssef Mansour who became famous in the 1990’s for his Egyptian films that relied on martial arts. Women have also played key roles in the genre, including such actresses as Michelle Yeoh , Angela Mao and Cynthia Rothrock . In addition, western animation has ventured into the genre with the most successful effort being the internationally hailed DreamWorks Animation film franchise, Kung Fu Panda , starring Jack Black and Angelina Jolie . The Matrix (1999)

1218-464: The ground using martial arts. Macreedy confronts Smith and accuses him of killing Komoko with the help of others. Hastings arrives and tries to give Smith a piece of paper, but Macreedy snatches it. It is his unsent draft of a telegram. Macreedy and Velie tell Hastings that he has broken the law and demand that Horn take action. Horn stands up to arrest Hastings, but Smith pulls the sheriff's badge off Horn's shirt and pins it on Hector, who casually tears up

1260-428: The hotel; Pete lures him into the office, where Doc Velie knocks him unconscious. Liz drives Macreedy out of town but stops at Adobe Flat. Macreedy realizes that he has been set up. When Smith starts shooting at him, Macreedy shelters behind the Jeep. Liz rushes to Smith despite Macreedy's warning. Smith tells her that she has to die with the rest of his accomplices, and shoots her in the back as she flees. Macreedy finds

1302-599: The name of the town to Black Rock, after a real town in Arizona. Kaufman finished the script in fall 1953. Although Spencer Tracy was 54 and much older than the platoon leader in the original story, Schary wanted Tracy to play the lead role. John Sturges was hired as director in June 1954, and shooting began the following month near Lone Pine, California , where the small town set had been quickly constructed. Just before shooting began, an indecisive Tracy tried to back out of

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1344-544: The picture. Schary made clear that he was willing to sue the actor if he quit the film. Bad Day at Black Rock was Tracy's final film for MGM, with the exception of How the West Was Won (1963), for which he supplied the narration. Budget for the film was $ 1.3 million and it was shot in color using Cinemascope because Schary thought that widescreen would emphasize the menace of the isolated town. Temperatures on location were over 100 °F (38 °C). On August 9,

1386-481: The plot of Bad Day at Black Rock . In the case of Kojak and Remington Steele , the film is actually mentioned in the dialogue of the episodes. Film historian Stuart M. Kaminsky , in American Film Genres (1985), contrasts the ideology that guides Spencer Tracy's McCreedy, with the key motivating factor in samurai tradition: There is a crucial difference between Tracy and a samurai hero. Tracy

1428-657: The style of action in the film. During the 1970s and 1980s, the most visible presence of martial arts films was the hundreds of English-dubbed kung fu and ninja films produced by the Shaw Brothers , Godfrey Ho and other Hong Kong producers. These films were widely broadcast on North American television on weekend timeslots that were often colloquially known as Kung Fu Theater , Black Belt Theater or variations thereof. Inclusive in this list of films are commercial classics like The Big Boss (1971), Drunken Master (1978) and One Armed Boxer (1972). Those films had

1470-427: The telegram. After Smith and Hector leave, Macreedy reveals that the loss of his arm had left him wallowing in self-pity, but Trimble's attempt to kill him has reinvigorated him. Macreedy finally reveals that Komoko's son died in combat (with the 442nd Infantry Regiment ) while saving his life. Macreedy came to give the man's medal to Komoko. Macreedy learns that the elder Komoko had leased some farmland from Smith, who

1512-414: The use of martial arts was the 1955 film Bad Day at Black Rock , though the scenes of Spencer Tracy performed barely any realistic fight sequences, but composed mostly of soft knifehand strikes . Martial arts films contain many characters who are martial artists and these roles are often played by actors who are real martial artists. If not, actors frequently train in preparation for their roles or

1554-494: The ways of Samurai sword fighting. After healing up and learning all the knowledge to defeat his enemies Russell heads to Los Angeles. He finds his family is gone and his enemies are now in charge of all crime in the city. Russell begins dismantling Morelli and McGee's crime syndicate one member at a time. Once Russell exacts revenge against Morelli and McGee he is reunited with his wife Maria ( Jayne Kennedy ) and son Jimmy ( James Monroe Iglehart ). In September 2013, Death Force

1596-905: The wuxia novels of Jin Yong and Gu Long directly led to the prevalence of wuxia period films. Outside of the Chinese speaking world the most famous wuxia film made was the Ang Lee film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which was based on the Wang Dulu series of wuxia novels: it earned four Academy Awards , including one for Best Foreign Film. Martial arts westerns are usually American films inexpensively filmed in Southwestern United States locations, transposing martial arts themes into an "old west" setting; e.g., Red Sun with Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune . Bad Day at Black Rock Bad Day at Black Rock

1638-556: Was a Chinese film released in 1928, The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (also translated as "The Burning of the Red Lotus Monastery"), a silent film directed by Chinese film director Zhang Shichuan and produced by the Mingxing Film Company . The film pioneered the martial arts film genre, and was the first kung fu action film ever created. The film is based on the popular Chinese novel "The Romance of

1680-575: Was released on DVD by Vinegar Syndrome as a double feature with the 1978 film Vampire Hookers , which was also directed by Santiago. In June 2014, Death Force was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Germany by Subkultur Entertainment. Martial arts film Notable actors who have contributed to the genre include Zhang Ziyi , Tony Jaa , Bruce Lee , Jean-Claude Van Damme , Jet Li , Toshiro Mifune , Donnie Yen , Jackie Chan , Michelle Yeoh , and Sammo Hung . The first ever martial arts film

1722-561: Was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In late 1945, one-armed John J. Macreedy gets off a train at the isolated Californian desert hamlet of Black Rock. The residents are suspicious, as this is the first time in four years that the streamliner express train has stopped at

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1764-423: Was sure that there was no water. Komoko dug a well and found water. After Smith was rejected for military service, he and the other men began drinking, and decided to scare Komoko. The old man barricaded himself inside his home, but the men set it on fire. When Komoko emerged ablaze, Smith shot and killed him. Doc and Pete enlist Liz to help Macreedy to escape under cover of darkness. Hector is standing guard outside

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