Customer Reviews

F.I.S.T

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This movie from the late 70s, loosely based on the life of Jimmy Hoffa, about a labor leader, Frank Kovak, who makes a Faustian bargain with the mob for which he ultimately pays the price, was done before Stallone became locked into the ironjawed superhero mode. In the early scenes of the movie, he is still able to display the qualities of charm, humor and humanity that distinguished his performance in the orginal Rocky and, further back, in The Lords of Flatbush.
Moreover, the film is graced with strong supporting performances. In particular, I would single out Tony Lo Bianco's performance as the mob boss, Babe Milano, to whom Stallone turns when the survival of his trucker's union is on the line, for its chillingly effective qualities of understated and insinuating menace, especially from an actor who I have found to be prone to overacting.
The main criticism that one could make of this effort if one references it to the life of Hoffa is that Kovak is treated as genuinely heroic instead of the corrupted person that Hoffa in fact became, for although Kovak made a deal with the mob, more specifically, Babe Milano, it is made clear that he did so only because he thought it was necessary to insure the continued existence of his union when its striking members were being beaten up by company goons, not for his personal aggrandizement. Moreover, for what it is worth, I remember reading at the time of the film's release that Stallone insisted that the character be portrayed this way. In spite of this caveat, I find Fist to be both dramatically compelling and strongly acted.

First off, Sylvester Stallone is my favorite actor and secondly I believe this to be probably one of his best films (besides Rocky) and why it was not a hit is beyond me because it really is a great story and Stallone does a great job in the acting --- its 2 1/2 hours long but I throughly enjoyed every minute of it and can't wait til I can get my own copy and watch it again.

If you like Stallone this is a DEFINITE must.

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.

At some point in his career Sly became "Stallone" and made easy (money making) choices. Thankfully with his recent "Rocky Balboa" he is working at recapturing the "good" work that he did..and F.I.S.T. is the best. A fictionalized work about Jimmy Hoffa, Stallone's acting (and that of the other performers) is superb. He even gains weight to go from the young immigrant to the well fed union boss.
I do not know why this is not remembered...everytime I watch it I see parts of "The Godfather," and the basis of a great American rise-fall-struggle story. I am so happy this is on DVD and I pray people will discover the great film (plot, dialoge, acting, production) that this until now forgotten gem really is.

A must for Stallone fans this is...Stallone in his best dramatic role, apart from Cop Land, better than Paradise Alley and Victory. That doesn't mean that this film is perfect, it's a bit slow at times.

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).

The storyline is somewhat predictable, but Stallone's performance...was not. [Correct me if I'm wrong], but if this movie followed "Paradise Alley", and you sat slack-jawed in that popcorn palace somewhere in Bergen County, N.J., witnessing a cultural event not exactly designed to inspire, his acting will floor you sooner than a Rocky upper-cut. He seems to have aged ten years (in movie years) and stays in character, in a non-*character* role!
In only one scene do we see encounter any off-beat Balboa-isms, the scene in which he exchanges romantic glances with Melinda Dillon. Perhaps his most powerful scene occurs in Washington, DC, as he refuses to back-down in a National contract conference. This time, the guy-from-the-streets-turned-Union Leader, overplays his hand, and the whole game begins to break down.
It all comes apart with a shattering thud: his terrible judgement in believing in bad people, believing that some illegality was acceptable if it meant supporting his Union - just an uncomfortable sacrifice on his part; in ways revealing (to the viewer, not the character) his own flaw as an individual capable of violence.
Tony Lo Bianco gives an amazing career performance, as his "outside help", who becomes a bottomless pit of helping himself to the fruits of the labor of many blue-collar workers.
Rod Steiger and Peter Boyle, like Sly and Tony, also deliver performances one might describe as drammatically over-the-top.
Good attention period detail.

I purchased this movie because parts of this were produced in the city of Dubuque,Iowa some 30 years ago. The movie was released after the first Rocky movie came out. Critics were lukewarm to this movie but I thought Sly Stallone gave an okay performance as Johnny Kovac, a man instrumental with the Federation of Inter State Truckers, sort of like the Teamsters. The movie follows Kovac in his years working in a loading dock,followed by a strike and the eventual leadership of his union into the 1950's to his death. Good acting but too bad the movie didn't get the recognition it deserved.

Let me say that I've always been a Stallone fan. I've always liked such films as Rocky I & II, Copland, the original First Blood, Lock Up, and Cliffhanger. If those are your favorites as well, then I think you'll like F.I.S.T.

I won't rehash the plot here, you can read about that in Amazon's description. What I will say is that if Sly had continued in the direction of films like this, I think he'd be perceived today as being a much better actor. When he opens his heart to a role, and truly gives of himself to a character, he is capable of great things. "Rocky" and "Copland" are great examples of this. "F.I.S.T." isn't quite on a par with "Copland", and it doesn't pack the emotional weight of "Rocky", but it still deserves to be listed amoungst those films as examples of what Sly can do when he lets his guard down.

If, on the other hand, you want to see Sly's work when his guard is up and he's totally closed his inner self off to a role, go watch "Cobra" or "Rambo III". Yes, "Rambo III" has its merits, but Sly so often hid his inner gifts from the camera's eye, and that's just not what acting's about.

This is a film in which Sly truly invested himself. His performance is strong, and I hope that Hollywood gives him a chance to flex his acting muscles again sometime soon. "Rocky Balboa" is soon to be released, directed and written by Stallone. Hopefully it will remind the movie moguls that this man is has his gifts. If you'd like to see Stallone showing some of his dramatic talents, watch this film.

And Mr. Stallone, if you are reading this, please consider a film version of "Death of a Salesman". You'd be perfect for it, and you already got a standing ovation for it when you were still a young man and contemplating being an actor. A film version, directed by you, would be great.

Also, how about a film about Bernard Kerik? A few years ago I read a story about how both you and Mel Gibson were competing for this role. The solution? You star and co-write the screenplay with Mr. Kerik, whilst Mr. Gibson directs and produces. It's a winning combination. Mr. Stallone, you're all about New York and Mel isn't, but Mel's experience with acting in and directing great character-driven action roles would make him the perfect director for you in such an outing.

F.I.S.T. has a lot of positive attributes, and it is hard to understand how the Academy completely snuffed it (and him). Despite it's mini-series length, the film commands your attention. Premeiring at a time when there was much labor strife, Stallone shows his range as an actor. And it is a range nobody imagined. More than the GREAT film ROCKY, F.I.S.T shows the development of a disgruntled poorly educated man who defies the odds, and rises to the top. In the process, he compromises himself and becomes the very person he so dearly hated. There is a high body count. The ending is worth a fortune. The first half of the film is loosely based on the early life of Governor (then Senator) Harold Hughes of Iowa, the only multiply convicted felon (he did 11 years), to occupy such offices.