Ruckus | |
---|---|
Directed by | Max Kleven |
Written by | Max Kleven |
Produced by | Paul Maslansky |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Don Burgess Michael A. Jones |
Edited by | Angelo Bernarducci |
Music by | Tommy Vig |
Distributed by | New World Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Ruckus is a 1980 American comedic action thriller film [2] written and directed by Max Kleven, and starring Dirk Benedict and Linda Blair. Its plot follows an unstable Vietnam War veteran who wages war against his oppressors in a small Southern town. It was also released under several alternate titles, including Ruckus in Madoc County, The Loner, and Eat My Smoke.
Kyle Hanson is an emotionally bruised veteran of the Vietnam War who finds himself unable to rejoin mainstream society and lives as a drifter. While stopping in a small Southern town to eat, local bullies begin harassing him, a situation that culminates in a violent altercation with redneck Homer, after which Kyle flees. Relying on his special forces training, he manages to evade pursuing deputies. Kyle spends the night in a barn at the home of Jenny Bellows, a young mother whose husband went missing-in-action in Vietnam, and is presumed dead. Jenny now resides with her son, Bobby, and father-in-law, Sam Bellows, the richest man in town. In the morning, after Sam leaves on a business trip, Jenny encounters Kyle, who walks into the home uninvited. Having heard of the altercation the day before and the rumor that he is dangerous, Jenny is initially frightened, but soon finds herself sympathetic to Kyle.
Sheriff Jethro Pough learns that Kyle was previously incarcerated in a military psychiatric hospital during his service, and was catatonic for over a year. Meanwhile, several local men plan to hunt Kyle and eject him from the community, led by the imperious Deputy Dave. After evading several townspeople by fleeing into the woods, Kyle rejoins Jenny, and the two ride motorcycles together. She invites him into her home, and offers to wash his clothes and allow him to bathe. Meanwhile, a number of townsmen and local law enforcement stalk the house, having trailed Kyle there. Kyle manages to thwart their attempt at capturing him by causing their cars to explode and stealing a truck. Following a high-speed chase, Kyle crashes the truck into a river but escapes, leading the townsmen to believe he is dead until they are unable to find his body.
Kyle returns to Jenny's home, where she reveals to him that Sheriff Pough has just informed her that her husband has been confirmed as deceased by the military. Later that night, Kyle accompanies Jenny and Bobby to the local fair, where they spend the evening at the carnival. Cece, a local farmer, spots Kyle with Jenny and calls Deputy Dave. The two men assail him at the carnival and kidnap him while Jenny takes Bobby to the bathroom. The men bring him to Homer's farm, where they hold him hostage in a grain elevator. Locked in a cage, Kyle suffers posttraumatic stress disorder flashbacks to his time in Vietnam. The following morning, Deputy Dave brings a large gathering of men to the grain elevator to harass and beat Kyle. They attempt to wage a fight with him, but Kyle beats several of the men up before leaping from the top of the grain elevator into a river below.
The townsmen attempt to find Kyle in the water, but he hides beneath the surface to evade them. He steals a boat and is swiftly pursued by the men, who race after him in two others. Meanwhile, Jenny hears gunfire from the river, and picks up Sam and Sheriff Pough from her house to bring them to the scene. Using liquor bottles found in his boat, Kyle fashions molotov cocktails, which he hurls at his attackers from the shore, causing their boats to explode and leaving them stranded on a small island in the river.
Kyle is pursued on the island by the men, though Cece is now fearful of him. Kyle camouflages himself with mud and terrorizes his attackers with a number of traps and makeshift weapons, instilling fear in all of them. Jenny, Sam, and Sheriff Pough descend upon the scene as all of Kyle's attackers flee fearfully into the river. Sam, having been informed by Jenny that Kyle is harmless, declares that Kyle may stay on the river island and have it as his own. Jenny looks on fondly as Kyle washes the mud from himself in the water.
The film was first released in July 1980 under the title Ruckus in Madoc County. [1] The following month, in August 1980, it was released in some U.S. cities under the alternate title The Loner. [3] Other alternate titles included Eat My Smoke. [4]
Paragon Home Video released the film under the Ruckus title on VHS in 1983. [5] Anchor Bay Entertainment released it on DVD in 2000, [6] reissuing it with an alternate cover art in 2002. [7]
Ruckus was released two years before First Blood , but there are numerous similarities between the films. The original rights for David Morell's novel went through 10 years of passing hands before culminating in the 1982 film.[ citation needed ]
The Last Picture Show is a 1971 American coming-of-age drama film directed and co-written by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1966 novel The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry. The film's ensemble cast includes Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Ellen Burstyn, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, and Cybill Shepherd. Set in a small town in northern Texas from November 1951 to October 1952, it is a story of two high-school seniors and long-time friends, Sonny Crawford (Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Bridges).
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a 1973 American revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah, written by Rudy Wurlitzer, and starring James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Richard Jaeckel, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, Barry Sullivan, Jason Robards, Slim Pickens and Bob Dylan. The film is about an aging Pat Garrett (Coburn), hired as a lawman by a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid (Kristofferson).
Incubus is a 1982 Canadian supernatural slasher film directed by John Hough and written by George Franklin, based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Ray Russell. It stars John Cassavetes, Kerrie Keane, and John Ireland. The plot focuses on a small Wisconsin town where a mysterious figure is raping and murdering young women. Its title is sometimes extended to The Incubus.
Four of the Apocalypse is a 1975 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Lucio Fulci and starring Fabio Testi, Tomas Milian, Lynne Frederick and Michael J. Pollard.
White Lightning is a 1973 American action film directed by Joseph Sargent, written by William W. Norton, and starring Burt Reynolds, Jennifer Billingsley, Ned Beatty, Bo Hopkins, R. G. Armstrong and Diane Ladd. It marked Laura Dern's film debut.
Flashpoint is a 1984 American neo-western action thriller film starring Kris Kristofferson, Treat Williams, Rip Torn, Jean Smart, Kurtwood Smith, and Tess Harper. The film is directed by William Tannen in his directorial debut, and is based on the novel of the same name by George LaFountaine, with a screenplay by Dennis Shryack and Michael Butler. The original score was composed and performed by Tangerine Dream. It was the first theatrical film produced by Home Box Office (HBO).
They Only Kill Their Masters is a 1972 American mystery film directed by James Goldstone, written by Lane Slate, and starring James Garner and Katharine Ross, with a supporting cast featuring Hal Holbrook, June Allyson, Tom Ewell, Peter Lawford, Edmond O'Brien, and Arthur O'Connell. The title refers to Doberman dogs that might have been responsible for a woman's murder currently under investigation by the local police chief (Garner).
White Line Fever is a 1975 Canadian-American action crime neo-noir film directed by Jonathan Kaplan and starring Jan-Michael Vincent.
The Fastest Gun Alive is a 1956 American western film directed by Russell Rouse and starring Glenn Ford, Jeanne Crain, and Broderick Crawford. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
The Children is a 1980 American horror film, directed by Max Kalmanowicz, and starring Martin Shakar, Gil Rogers, and Gale Garnett. It follows a group of five children in a small New England town when they are transformed into zombies who, after being exposed to waste from a nuclear plant, microwave any living thing they touch. The film received generally negative reviews from critics.
Blind Horizon is a 2003 American conspiracy mystery thriller film directed by Michael Haussman. The screenplay was co-written by F. Paul Benz and Steve Tomlin. The leading cast includes Val Kilmer, Neve Campbell, Sam Shepard, Amy Smart and Faye Dunaway.
Deliverance (1970) is the debut novel of American writer James Dickey, who had previously published poetry. It was adapted into the 1972 film of the same name directed by John Boorman.
The history of Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635–1699, begins with the first settlers' arrival in 1635 and runs to the end of the 17th century. The settlers, who built their village on land the native people called Tiot, incorporated the plantation in 1636. They sought to build a community in which all would live out Christian love in their daily lives, and for a time did, but the Utopian impulse did not last. The system of government they devised was both "a peculiar oligarchy" and a "a most peculiar democracy." Most freemen could participate in Town Meeting, though they soon established a Board of Selectmen. Power and initiative ebbed and flowed between the two bodies.
The Night Brings Charlie is a 1990 American slasher film directed by Tom Logan, and written by Bruce Carson. A sequel, to be written and directed by Bruce Carson, was announced in 2017.
Decision at Sundown is a 1957 American Western film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott. It is one of seven Boetticher/Scott western collaborations, including Seven Men from Now, The Tall T, Buchanan Rides Alone, Westbound, Ride Lonesome, and Comanche Station.
Twixt is a 2011 horror film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern, Elle Fanning, Ben Chaplin, Alden Ehrenreich, David Paymer and Joanne Whalley. The film premiered on September 4, 2011 at the Toronto International Film Festival and was screened at various film festivals in North America, receiving a limited theatrical release in a handful of international markets. The film's title, Twixt, refers to the two worlds explored in the film, the dream and the waking worlds.
The Brooks–McFarland feud was a family feud that took place between 1896 and 1902, in what is now the state of Oklahoma. It began after the death of Thomas Brooks on August 24, 1896. The Brooks family blamed the McFarlands and from there followed a series of confrontations that culminated in a historic shootout at Spokogee on September 22, 1902. During the shootout, Willis Brooks and two others were killed while a fourth man was seriously wounded. The feud ended about three weeks later, on October 10, 1902, when Jim McFarland was ambushed and killed near his home. According to the author Edward Herring: "The deaths of Willis Brooks and Jim McFarland signaled the end of an era when disputes were settled with gun smoke and hot lead. With them also died the old feud."
Guns and Guitars is a 1936 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Dorothy Dix in her final film appearance. Written by Dorrell and Stuart E. McGowan, the film is about a singing cowboy who helps protect a county from fever-ridden cattle, and after being framed for murdering the sheriff, proves his innocence, gets elected sheriff, and then goes after the bad guy.
Partners is a 1932 American Western film directed by Fred Allen, from a screenplay by Donald W. Lee. The film stars Tom Keene, with Nancy Drexel and Bobby Nelson in supporting roles. It made a profit of $30,000.
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces is a 2014 feature-length compilation of deleted and extended scenes from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, a 1992 film directed by David Lynch and written by Lynch and Robert Engels. It was released over twenty-two years after the movie and the original series ended and three years before the revival, Twin Peaks: The Return, aired.