Night of the Juggler

This is a film that I remember very well. I saw it sometime in the early '80s on British TV, and it is the first film that I ever saw on television with the F-word in it. I was truly shocked!! But then again, I have lived a sheltered life.

The film depicts New York at the time it was made, as a very sleazy sweaty and dangerous place (Which I've heard it was until Mayor Guilliani 'cleaned' it up via zero tolerance. Much to to the detriment of minorities civil rights I might add). James Brolin gives a fine performance as a truck driver who's daughter is mistaken for a politician's daughter and kidnapped by a cross-eyed psycho, who takes her to his underground lair based in the ruins of a empty tower block. After seeing his daughter abducted, then giving chase, but later losing them both in the New York crowds, Brolin's character despairs at the incompetence of the police at trying to track the kidnapper, and sets about finding his daughter himself. This enables us all to see the delights, now no more, of New York's Time Square; The Peep Shows, The Hookers, The Low-Lifes. There's also plenty of swearing, and over the top Gang action just like another movie produced at about the same time, The Warriors (Walter Hill, director)

I quite like this movie, and have a copy on tape which I occasionally slip into the VCR once in a while. I'd definetely like to see the uncut version.

Night of the Juggler (Robert Butler 1980) is an interesting watch. It's not only a tense thriller with good performances, but it's also one of those movies that give a great impression of New York City before the Disneyfication. Not only that: the deterioration of the city is a major theme in the movie.

You see, Gus (Cliff Gorman) is a psychopath who blames City Hall for the squalor he lives in, and the real estate magnates for the destruction of the old neighborhoods. He lives in a derelict building in The Bronx, which was once owned by his family. Now it's a pile of rubble. 'This used to be real nice up here', he says while he walks past mountains of rubble with his young kidnap victim. He's not thinking of moving. 'I'll always live here. No matter how many *racial slur* they send in to burn the place down'.

Gus has come up with a plan: kidnap the daughter of a real estate magnate, take his money and teach him a lesson. But there's a mix-up and he ends up kidnapping the kid of an ex-cop (James Brolin), who starts a frantic manhunt through NYC's underbelly to track down the kidnapper and get his daughter back. Highlights include a brawl in a peep show, a confrontation with some genuine 'Bronx warriors' and Brolin's constant fights with his former colleagues.

It's a good movie. Not a classic by any means, but I liked the fact that the depressing state of the city was not merely a visual backdrop, but also a theme in the picture. For this reason, Night of the Juggler could make for an excellent double bill with the fascinating Wolfen (Michael Wadleigh), which was made the same year and has a similar theme running though its horror story.

This movie has it all if you love raw b-movie action. Brolin plays an ex-cop turned trucker who's on a personal manhunt to catch the maniac that kidnapped his daughter on her birthday. This sets Brolin's character on a chase across NYC from the subways to strip clubs to dog pounds and beyond.

This movie was a legend back in the day for my friends and I. We caught it on late night cable, but never managed to grab the full name of the film or the stars. What we did catch was the INCREDIBLE chase scene that takes the characters from cars to buses to trains to on foot as they crisscross Manhattan. Yeah, Bullitt and The French Connection are good and all, but the Night of the Juggler chase scene makes the action in those films seem average, if not unambitious.

This movie is sort of like the pinnacle of 70s/80s street-style film making. It has the intense, raw camera work of Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris flicks, paired with a vision of New York City akin to Wild Style (and maybe even just a hint of the Warriors). The characters here are a bizarre amalgam of clichés that still excite despite being retreads in many ways.

The bottom line - score this movie if you can! Far as I know, VHS was the final destination for this film in terms of home video. I bought my copy off of the Internet years ago and the tape was so old that it was broken. But I was determined to watch this flick (because it's so good!), so I cracked the case opened and and spent hours repairing the tape myself. It's just that awesome.

This was an excellent action/adventure flick that somewhat unfairly depicted NY City. But, it was the late 70's, the city was broke, and in reality, in near chaos at the fringes (like the south Bronx as shown in the movie--that was REAL). Exciting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat action takes over, along with first glimpses of some actors who would be staples on TV (Dan Hedaya & Cliff Gorman). My favorite in the movie was Richie Castellano as Tonelli. He turned out to be the comic relief in the film, and I think it was among the last things he did before he passed. James Brolin did little if no feature film work before this, but it is arguably his best. It far surpassed anything he did for TV. Look for this movie as a used VHS tape wherever you can. You won't be disappointed.

This is an amazing movie if you enjoy hoards of that classic New York ghettoness which we all remember from the 70'sand 80's.

Highlights include abandoned housing, crackers, strippers, guys firing shotguns in the middle of the street, a vicious dog mauling and other crazy antics. Other interesting incidents include the Puerto Rican gang fights , car part stripping in what looks like the Bronx, and to top it off the main plot involves the kidnapping of a child

But ladies and gentlemen, this one ain't about the plot, so bust out your favorite beer and sit down for a wild ride down crack street deep in the jungle of the Big Apple!