The Star Chamber 2 euro discount bin in supermarket.
1983 thriller film starring Michael Douglas. Seems like promising thing for me. I'm not really a super enthusiastic fan of most of ultra low budget sleaze. But what I do like, is the 70's and 80's tough semi-mainstream stuff. Typical american movie, with typical american actors, no intent to do anything very special, but still above some lowest level materials.
Men are ugly and harsh looking. Females are slightly trashy. Attitudes are driven by vigilante urges and disappointment in urban decay. Yes thanks.
This movie is about judge, who gets upset about various cases where obviously guilty criminals are let walk free due technical errors in investigation etc. Those strange american law systems which can be used as a game. Like in some shabbily put together TV series, movie goes on case after case, underlining how horrendous crimes are left unpunished. Judge is furious and wants to do something. Later is revealed that there is circle of judges who gather in secret meetings to observe cases where criminals need to be punished and they set death sentences. Hit men go after the criminals and kill them. Justice served.
This newbie judge is slightly shocked, but joins in. Only to realize that the 2 guys he previously had to set free due certain technicalities and later secretly was sentenced to be assasinated were actually not guilty for rapes and production of homosexual childpornography they were accused of. Various of moral dilemma appears and choosing sides, choosing the morally right way to handle everything.
It is ugly, but unpretentious. It is vile, with all the homo childporn producing crack nigger references, junkies, and all that. But it's blunt and direct. It appeals to primitive vigilante urges what everybody always thinks. Some old school american justice in form of handgun and noose.
I remember when much more recent "Stranger In You" came on movies and some newspapers in Finland were condemning it as typical american violence admiration, where vigilante action takes role of heroism. Such a nagging civilizer cultural journalism is probably just the opposite of what I'd say. Vigilante movies = yes thanks!
But lets re-phrase it. Since Law Abiding Citizen 2009... what a load of shit!! A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free... yeah yeah... sounds good. So does the opening parts of baseball bat in the face, and brutal stab and evil glances taken towards young family daughter before she's.. I assume raped and killed. Well. The good things end just about there. Rest is Jamie Foxx twisting his plastic face and razor sharp hair lines into sad distressed expressions. Criminals, judges, lawyers and whatever killed in stupid exaggerated beyond any realism SAW inspired games. Guy is some super smart rich dude, who.... well. I don't even bother to mention more. Just file this under current hollywood crap.
So, lets rewind back to the supermarket 2 euro discount bin. FINALLY, found dvd copy of BETRAYED from 1988. Seen it at least once before from TV, but didn't even remember the name. Very loosely based on the case of THE ORDER. So, what it includes is white supremacist group, who kills the offensive jewish radiohost, commits several bank robberies to finance upcoming war against ZOG. It is drama, including female FBI agent, who is sent to investigate some leads. She falls in love with farmer, who feels like any small town decent upstanding man. Later on, she gets to withness good old jigrun, visits the trainingcamps full of KKK, nazis and other hate groups. Takes part of some of robberies. Many things happen, but in the end, you see betrayal, you see sentimental stories of men with nothing to lose, communities frozen in time, etc.. It doesn't try to tell actual Order story. It just takes some bits from here and there and puts it into new story. There are many powerful moments, but while movie is clearly not glorifying what the group is doing, it's achievement is that it doesn't unnecessarily demonize the characters. Even the most brute hot-headed killers are the upstanding familymen just wanting best for their family and nation. It makes some untypical choises, like presenting scene where one of the main characters gets utterly pissed off at the nazis and their luger dealing business at the white pride meeting. Giving some insight about differences what is nazi and what is plain old freedom fighter. One of the last scenes where main character is ordered by female agent (=her lover) to lower his gun, aimed to target of assasination, and he goes like "what for??", film oozes the atmosphere I personally feel is vital, and similar in this, and the Star Chamber. It is the moment of truth where man simply realizes something must be done, or else there is nothing worth. Even if it means something pretty harsh. In some ways, it's always annoying the see actor, who is famous from another role.. lets say in this movie one of farmers who is known later as father of Frasier in the sitcom of same name.. He goes on about how he is not a bad man. That just something needs to be done. Bank too his farm, vietnam took his son. There's nothing anymore in this life. Glow of burning crosses.
Oh, yes. I choose this type of movie any day, any time, over some GI joe, Law Abiding Citizen, Death Race, Saw, or whatever faggotry I may have had displeasure wasting my time.
