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Defiance (1980) |  | Director: John Flynn
Actors: Jan-Michael Vincent, Theresa Saldana, Danny Aiello, Rudy Ramos, Lenny Montana
Studio: MGM
Category: Movie
Buy New: $2.99
as of 3/10/2010 19:17 CST details
Seller: Amazon Video On Demand
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 23724
Genre: Action
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 103 Minutes
ASIN: B002BU6K1K
Theatrical Release Date: March 14, 1980
Release Date: June 9, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Synopsis:
An out-of-work seaman temporarily moves into a tenement on New York's lower East Side. His street is ruled by the Souls, a gang that terrorizes the entire neighborhood. At first, the seaman ignores the violence. But like Alan Ladd in 'SHANE', he decides to stay and fight for the rights of those around him! |
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| Customer Reviews:
 Movie I ordered from Amazon July 16, 2009
Irene Salazar (Texas)
I could not find this movie anywhere, and I looked and looked for it on the internet, even on Ebay, then I finally found it on Amazon, and I am so glad I did. It was my favorite movie when I was growing up, and the service I recieve was fast and the quality was good
Good against evil"" August 24, 2008
L. J. Wade (lake elsinore, ca United States)
I cant for the life of me figure why this movie isnt on dvd yet?Its such a good film.Its a good vs evil and the good wins in this one.One of my favorites.Please release it on dvd"""
GREAT little saturday night flick! Needs to be released on DVD! August 7, 2006
Dave Mack (. United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Gritty late 70's action flick. And yes, NYC WAS like that back then!
Where is the DVD release???
A treasure ! July 11, 2005
David Liverman (Greensboro, NC USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Why is it that other less works get a dvd release and this does not?
 NYC was one SCARY place back in the day! March 27, 2004
Alex Rosas (New York City)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
It's a shame that this movie is so relatively unknown and barely seen on TV anymore. Anyone who is a fan of gritty, urban flicks set in NYC in the '70s and early '80s ("Death Wish," "Taxi Driver," "Gloria," "Fort Apache, the Bronx," etc.) should definitely check out 1979's "Defiance," starring Jan Michael Vincent as Tom Gamble, a merchant seaman who is forced to reside in Manhattan's Lower East Side until he can find employment on another ship. As it turns out, the Lower East Side (or "L.E.S." as it has come to be known over the years by its actual residents) is run by a vicious street gang known as the Savage Souls, and it isn't long before Gamble and the Souls are at odds with each other, culminating in a brutal (and very realistically-staged) fight between Gamble and the gang's leader in the hallways and stairways of a housing project .
As a Puerto Rican who has lived in Manhattan all of his life, I'll be the first to admit that there are hints of prejudice throughtout the movie: Like other vigilante films of the same era ("Death Wish," "Fighting Back," "Vigilante,"), the protagonist is a white man who is going to "clean up the streets" by taking on out-of-control minorities who have become too much of a problem for the the police to handle (in this case, it is the Souls, a mostly Puerto Rican gang led by the not-so-Puerto Rican actor Rudy Ramos). Some Puerto Ricans may be offended by the fact that some of the Souls even have the Puerto Rican flag displayed on the backs of their jackets, as well as a scene where a Jewish grocery store clerk (played by Art Carney) tells Tom how the neighborhood used to be great before "everything changed" (an indirect way of blaming the neighborhood's social problems on the influx of Puerto Ricans who have moved in).
Nevertheless, I cannot help but get swept up in nostalgia when I see "Defiance:" as dilapidated and crime-ridden as New York City's Latino neighborhoods may have been back in 1979 (and mind you, "Defiance" presents an exaggerated view of this), their imagery will always be a part of my childhood, and therefore I will always have a soft spot in my heart for a movie like this, despite the racial overtones. At the same time, I have always liked urban vigilante movies, and the sight of seeing pissed-off white men battling black and/or Latino thugs is something that, for better or for worse, goes with the territory.
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