Death Force | |
---|---|
Directed by | Cirio H. Santiago |
Written by | Howard R. Cohen |
Story by | Cirio H. Santiago Robert E. Waters |
Produced by | Robert E. Waters |
Starring | James Iglehart Carmen Argenziano Leon Isaac Kennedy Jayne Kennedy |
Release date |
|
Running time | 96 minutes 110 minutes (uncut version) |
Countries | United States Philippines |
Language | English |
Death Force (also known as Vengeance Is Mine) [1] is a 1978 martial arts exploitation film directed by Cirio H. Santiago and written by Howard R. Cohen. [2] 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. [3] Iglehart plays Doug Russell, 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 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 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 was released on DVD by Vinegar Syndrome as a double feature with the 1978 film Vampire Hookers, which was also directed by Santiago. [5] In June 2014, Death Force was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Germany by Subkultur Entertainment. [6]
Lifeforce is a 1985 British science fiction horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, adapted by Dan O'Bannon and Don Jakoby, and starring Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Mathilda May, and Patrick Stewart. Based on Colin Wilson's 1976 novel The Space Vampires, the film portrays the events that unfold after a trio of humanoids in a state of suspended animation are brought to Earth after being discovered in the hold of an alien space ship by the crew of a European Space Shuttle.
A Mom for Christmas is a 1990 American made-for-television Christmas fantasy-comedy film starring Olivia Newton-John, Juliet Sorci, Doug Sheehan and Doris Roberts, directed by George T. Miller and produced by Walt Disney Television. The film marked Newton-John's television film debut and her first film appearance in seven years since Two of a Kind (1983). It was written by Gerald Di Pego based on the book A Mom by Magic by Barbara Dillon and originally premiered on NBC on December 17, 1990. Production was centred around the former Shillito's Department Store in Cincinnati.
Jayne Kennedy Overton is an American television personality, actress, model, corporate spokeswoman, producer, writer, public speaker, philanthropist, and sports broadcaster.
"Death Knell" is the 16th episode from the seventh season of military science fiction adventure television show Stargate SG-1 and is the 148th overall. It was first broadcast on January 27, 2004, on Sky One in the United Kingdom. The episode was written and directed by Peter DeLuise.
Hellraiser: Inferno is a 2000 American horror film. It is the fifth installment in the Hellraiser series, and the first Hellraiser film to be released direct-to-video. It was directed by Scott Derrickson, in his feature-length directorial debut, and stars Craig Sheffer, Nicholas Turturro, James Remar, and Doug Bradley. The film follows Joseph Thorne, a corrupt detective who discovers the Lemarchand's box at a crime scene, which results in his life gradually unraveling.
The People That Time Forgot is a 1977 adventure fantasy film based on the novel The People That Time Forgot (1963) and Out of Time's Abyss (1963) by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Filmed in Technicolor, it was produced by Britain's Amicus Productions and directed by Kevin Connor. Like Connor's other two Burroughs-derived films, The Land That Time Forgot and At the Earth's Core, the film was distributed in the United States by American International Pictures. It is the last film made by Amicus before the production company folded.
Bloody Birthday is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Ed Hunt, produced by Gerald T. Olson, and starring Susan Strasberg, José Ferrer, and Lori Lethin. Its plot follows a group of three children born on the same day during a solar eclipse who begin committing murders on their tenth birthdays. Despite mixed reception, it has since accrued a cult following.
Billy the Kid Versus Dracula is a 1966 American horror Western film directed by William Beaudine. The film is about Billy the Kid trying to save his fiancée from Dracula. The film was originally released as part of a double feature along with Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter in 1966. Both films were shot in eight days at Corriganville Movie Ranch and Paramount Studios in mid-1965; both were the final feature films of director Beaudine. The films were produced by television producer Carroll Case for Joseph E. Levine.
Hammer is a 1972 blaxploitation film directed by Bruce D. Clark. The film was released following the successes of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song and Shaft, notable 1971 films that popularized black cinema. It starred Fred Williamson as B.J. Hammer. Williamson went on to become a staple of the genre.
James Iglehart is a former American actor who appeared in six films during the 1970s and was the leading actor in the 1973 blaxploitation film Savage!.
Firefly is an American space Western media franchise created by Joss Whedon and produced by Mutant Enemy Productions. The franchise includes the TV series Firefly, the film Serenity, and other media.
Grave of the Vampire is a 1972 American vampire film directed by John Hayes, and starring William Smith, Michael Pataki, and Lyn Peters. Its plot follows a vampire who rapes a living woman, resulting in the birth of a child who feeds only on blood. It is based on the novel The Still Life by David Chase.
Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon is a documentary film about pop singer Michael Jackson produced by his friend, David Gest. The film features footage of the beginning of The Jackson 5, Jackson's solo career and the child molestation accusations made against him. It also has interviews with Jackson's mother, Katherine, and siblings, Tito and Rebbie Jackson, as well as other artists—who were inspired by him and had met him before his death—including Whitney Houston, Smokey Robinson and Dionne Warwick. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 2, 2011.
Machete Maidens Unleashed! is a 2010 Australian documentary film directed by Mark Hartley.
James Vivian Alfred Doyle was an Australian musician, radio presenter and songwriter. He was the founding mainstay guitarist in Ayers Rock (1973–81), a jazz fusion, progressive rock band. As a member of Ayers Rock, Doyle appeared on all three of their studio albums, Big Red Rock (1974), Beyond (1976) and Hotspell (1980). They toured both nationally and internationally including through the United States, where they supported Bachman–Turner Overdrive at a stadium concert with an audience of 35,000 people in Seattle. For the group's third album, Hotspell, Doyle wrote or co-wrote four tracks.
Leon Isaac Kennedy is a retired American actor, disc jockey, film producer and playwright. Kennedy's acting roles include Martel "Too Sweet" Gordone in Jamaa Fanaka's Penitentiary (1979), Penitentiary II (1982), Lone Wolf McQuade (1983) and Penitentiary III (1987), and Leon "The Lover" Johnson in the 1981 film Body and Soul alongside his then-wife Jayne Kennedy.
Darnell Garcia is a former martial arts champion, author, actor and former DEA agent. At one stage in his martial arts career he was rated 7th in the United States. He had roles in the martial arts films Enter the Dragon, Black Belt Jones, Blind Rage and Enforcer from Death Row. In the 1990s, Garcia became embroiled in a drug and corruption scandal.
Vampire Hookers is a 1978 sexploitation horror film directed by Cirio H. Santiago and written by Howard R. Cohen. An international co-production of the Philippines and the United States, the film stars John Carradine as a vampire named Richmond Reed, who recruits three female vampires who pose as prostitutes in order to lure victims to their lair. The other members of the cast include Bruce Fairbairn, Trey Wilson, Karen Stride, Lenka Novak, and Katie Dolan.