Taxi Driver is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a morally decaying New York City following the Vietnam War, the film follows Travis Bickle, a veteran Marine and taxi driver, and his deteriorating mental state as he works nights in the city.
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become historically important, and even gain a cult following.
Robert Winthrop Ginty was an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and director. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Ginty took interest in the arts at a young age and went on to study acting at Yale University. Ginty worked in theatre until he moved to Hollywood in the mid-1970s. He started to play supporting roles on television and films, most notably a recurring role on the series The Paper Chase and two Hal Ashby films: Bound for Glory (1976) and Coming Home (1978). Ginty became an action film lead with his breakthrough role in James Glickenhaus's vigilante film The Exterminator (1980), which became a box-office success.
First Blood is a 1982 American action film directed by Ted Kotcheff and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who stars as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. It also co-stars Richard Crenna as Rambo's mentor Sam Trautman and Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Will Teasle. It is the first installment in the Rambo franchise and is based on the 1972 novel First Blood by David Morrell, which many directors and studios had unsuccessfully attempted to adapt in the 1970s.
Billy Jack is a 1971 American action drama independent film, the second of four films centering on a character of the same name which began with the movie The Born Losers (1967), played by Tom Laughlin, who directed and co-wrote the script. Filming began in Prescott, Arizona, in the fall of 1969, but the movie was not completed until 1971. American International Pictures pulled out, halting filming. 20th Century Fox came forward and filming eventually resumed but when that studio refused to distribute the film, Warner Bros. stepped forward.
Steve James was an American actor, stunt performer and martial artist. He starred mostly in action films such as the American Ninja series, The Delta Force (1986), The Exterminator (1980), and Avenging Force (1986). James also portrayed Kung Fu Joe in the 1988 comedy/spoof film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, and its 1990 television pilot spinoff Hammer, Slammer, & Slade.
Rolling Thunder is a 1977 American psychological thriller film directed by John Flynn, from a screenplay by Paul Schrader and Heywood Gould, based on a story by Schrader. It was produced by Norman T. Herman, with Lawrence Gordon as executive producer. The film stars William Devane alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Haynes, James Best, Dabney Coleman, and Luke Askew in supporting roles.
Missing in Action is a 1984 American action film directed by Joseph Zito and starring Chuck Norris. It is set in the context of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. Colonel Braddock, who escaped a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp ten years earlier, returns to Vietnam to find American soldiers listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War. The film was followed by a prequel, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985), and a sequel, Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988). The first two Missing in Action installments had been filmed back-to-back with the intent to have the first film involve the POW years of Braddock be the first film. However, it was determined that the commercial prospects were stronger with the film directed by Zito involving the POW rescue. As such, Hool's film was turned into Missing in Action 2 and labeled as a prequel that detailed events before those in Missing in Action.
McBain is a 1991 American action war film written and directed by James Glickenhaus, and starring Christopher Walken as the title character, alongside Michael Ironside and María Conchita Alonso.
The Born Losers is a 1967 American outlaw biker film. The film introduced Tom Laughlin as the half-Indigenous American Green Beret Vietnam veteran Billy Jack. Since 1954, Laughlin had been trying to produce his Billy Jack script about discrimination toward Indigenous Americans. In the 1960s, he decided to introduce the character of Billy Jack in a quickly written script designed to capitalize on the then-popular trend in motorcycle gang movies. The story was based on a real incident from 1964 where members of the Hells Angels were arrested for raping two teenage girls in Monterey, California. The movie was followed by Billy Jack (1971), which saw AIP pull out of production midway through before others stepped in.
Exterminator 2 is a 1984 American vigilante action film written and directed by Mark Buntzman, starring Robert Ginty, Mario Van Peebles, and Deborah Geffner, with cameos by Arye Gross in his debut role, and John Turturro in his second role. It is the sequel to the 1980 film The Exterminator.
Thou Shalt Not Kill ... Except, also known as Stryker's War, is a 1985 American action horror film directed by Josh Becker and starring Robert Rickman, John Manfredi, Tim Quill, Cheryl Hausen, Perry Mallette and Sam Raimi. It was written by Becker and Scott Spiegel from a story by Becker, actor Bruce Campbell, and Sheldon Lettich.
James Glickenhaus is an American film director and producer, financier, and automotive entrepreneur.
Motorpsycho or Motor Psycho is a 1965 film by Russ Meyer. Produced just before Meyer's better-known Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), the film explores similar themes of sex and violence but focuses on a male motorcycle gang rather than the female gang of go-go dancers featured in the later film. Motorpsycho also contains one of the first portrayals of a disturbed Vietnam veteran character in film.
Vigilante Force is a 1976 American action film directed by George Armitage and starring Kris Kristofferson and Jan-Michael Vincent. The plot concerns a Vietnam War veteran and his buddies, who are hired by his brother and others in a small California town for protection from rowdy oil-field workers.
Cannibal Apocalypse is a 1980 horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring John Saxon, Elizabeth Turner, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Cinzia De Carolis, Tony King and Ramiro Oliveros. The film combines the cannibal film genre with a Vietnam War film.
The Zebra Force is a 1976 American film directed by Joe Tornatore. The film is about a group of Vietnam War veterans who declare war on Los Angeles drug dealers and the Mafia. The film is also known as Code Name: Zebra (US) and Commando Zebra (Italy). A sequel by Joe Tornatore with Mike Lane, also named Code Name: Zebra followed in 1987. The websites Letterboxd and The Grindhouse Database list this movie as belonging to the vetsploitation subgenre.
Don't Answer the Phone! is a 1980 American psychological horror film co-written and directed by Robert Hammer. While not prosecuted for obscenity, the film was seized and confiscated in the UK under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 during the video nasty panic.
Vigilante, later released on video as Street Gang, is a 1982 American vigilante film directed by William Lustig and starring Robert Forster and Fred Williamson. Lustig came upon the idea for the film through a news article about "a group of blue collar workers in southern New Jersey who had organized to fight crime in their neighborhood".
The No Mercy Man is a 1973 action film with elements of a modern-day Western starring Steve Sandor, Rockne Tarkington, Sid Haig, Ron Thompson, Mike Lane, and Richard X. Slattery. The film was co-written and directed by Daniel Vance in his first and last feature film. The film was shot in Todd-AO by Dean Cundey in his first feature film with Buddy Joe Hooker arranging the stunt work and acting as second unit director. Master Jerry Druckerman acted as the film's martial arts technical advisor.
