By Ernie Magnotta
The late, great Rutger Hauer was an amazingly
talented actor. Named the Best Dutch Actor of the Century by the Dutch public,
the Saturn Award nominated thespian had an extremely entertaining career where
he memorably played both heroes and villains in classic films such as Nighthawks, The Hitcher, Blade Runner,
Ladyhawke, Wanted: Dead or Alive, and Buffy
the Vampire Slayer. Just to name a few. Recently, Hauer’s wonderful turn as
Nick Parker in 1990’s action-packed film Blind
Fury was released to Blu-ray.
Written by Charles Robert Carner and directed
by Phillip Noyce, Blind Fury deals
with Nick Parker (Hauer), a soldier who was blinded in Vietnam, but developed
his remaining senses and, through intense training, becoming an expert with a
samurai sword before returning to the States. When Parker’s best friend and
fellow soldier, Frank Deveraux (Terry O’Quinn), is kidnapped by ruthless
criminals, Parker decides to take Frank’s young son, Billy, (Brandon Call) to
Nevada in order to find and rescue his dad. However, the deadly thugs want
Billy so that they can use him to convince Frank to make their illegal drugs.
With the help of Frank’s girlfriend, Annie (Lisa Blount), Nick does everything
he can to protect young Billy from the homicidal hoods and save Frank before
it’s too late.
Filmed around the Midwestern United States
and released by Tri-Star Pictures in March of 1990, Blind Fury, which was produced by Daniel Grodnick and actor/director
Tim Matheson, is a highly enjoyable action adventure/martial arts film with
well-drawn characters and just the right amount of comic relief and heart.
Based on the Japanese character Zatoichi—a blind swordsman who was created by
Kan Shimozawa in 1948 and appeared in 26 films—Blind Fury is basically a loving remake of the seventeenth Zatoichi
film Zatoichi Challenged (1967).
Clocking in at a brief 86 minutes, Blind Fury moves along pretty quickly
and not only features excellent direction by Phillip Noyce, but also a
well-known, veteran cast who do a terrific job. Naturally, Rutger Hauer is
excellent in the role of Nick Parker. Trained by blind judo champion and
Paralympic silver medal winner Lynn Manning, Hauer has said that playing a
blind swordsman was one of the most difficult jobs he’s ever had to do.
Besides the super talented Call, O’Quinn and
Blount, the exciting film also features wonderful performances from Noble
Willingham, Nick Cassavetes, former pro boxer Randall “Tex” Cobb, comedian Rick
Overton, the immortal Sho Kosugi, the lovely Meg Foster, former professional
wrestler Tiger Chung Lee and former pro football player Jay Pennison.
Blind Fury has been released on
a region one, two and three Blu-ray, and is presented in its original 1.85:1
aspect ratio. The entertaining film looks excellent and sounds just as great.
Special features include a very informative audio commentary by screenwriter
Charles Robert Carner (moderated by filmmaker Douglas Hosdale) as well as the original theatrical
trailer. The Blu-ray also comes with a slipcover which contains some
fun-looking artwork of Nick Parker in action. If you’re a fan of old school
action/martial arts cinema; Rutger Hauer; samurai films or all of the above,
then definitely check this one out.
Click here to order from Amazon