We all have those artists, illustrators, musicians, actors, screenwriters, authors, directors and so many others, that we all love and admire. It might not be the person themselves, but their output strikes a chord and you wait with baited breath for their next creative endeavour to be released.

As you already know, either from reading this weird little blog or if you know me in the always disappointing ‘real life’, that film is an obsession of mine. Has been that way ever since I was a youngling. So, those creative minds who’s next thing I was waiting for was always actors and directors (and sometimes studios). I always preferred the oddball and twisted, but I craved anything that got my attention. And all I wanted in life was to be one of those luminaries that created that kind of entertainment. The fact that I didn’t, and gave up so many of my dreams is a much sadder story that I won’t tell you here, for its too depressing and this shit should be fun.

Much of what I still love came from the ‘mesmerised by the TV’ era of my life. I found my favourite director John Carpenter in these early years, two of my favourite actors of all time in Kurt Russell and Gena Davis, and I learn the language if film from watching everything I could.

But out of all the wonderful actors I discovered back then, there is someone in the worldwide, multigenerational filmmaking community, that over the years, has encompassed more enjoyment, fun turns, chilling and thought-provoking performance that anything other. Appearing in every genre of film, both high-brow pictures and B-movies, good and bad. And if you are a cinephile and if you haven’t seen one of his movies, you need to hand in your nerd card and sit in the time-out corner until you HAVE seen them. I am talking of Dutch power-house, Rutger Hauer.

I remember how I felt watching Hauer as the replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner (still a personal favourite of mine) for the first time. It’s the first time I realised that villains aren’t necessarily ‘bad guys’, that there could be levels of grey in a character. Something he would use again in a very different film, the swashbuckling romantic adventure film Ladyhawk where he played the hero. Oddly enough, Hauer appeared in that after another favourite actor of mine, Kurt Russell, dropped out. And Hauer playing the mysterious and murderous hitchhiker in The Hitcher, is still chilling to this day and still is a film I have very in-depth conversations about. I am mesmerised by this film, seriously. It’s well worth checking out.

He seems to effortlessly inhabit any character’s skin. You believe every line delivery, every look and expression, every movement. And with so many iconic and cult roles under his belt, the influences he has had on filmmakers and pop culture in general, and all the people he has helped with his charitable organisations, you would expect him to be a bigger star. I mean he is known. He is instantly recognisable. He never seemed to have that ‘breakout role’ that made him explode in popularity. He was at home head lining smaller films and independent films, and had smaller roles in larger movies. But personally, I like Rutger Hauer preferred it that way. To paraphrase the song, doing it his way.

Okay, a little side note here. Somewhere around the early 2000s, I made a list of actors I loved to watch that I thought where always amazing, where always working, but never got the attention or praise that they deserved. I called this list, The Unholy Few. Because I have a twisted sense of humour, and many of these performers played villains effortlessly. Actors like Lance Henriksen, Eric Roberts, Jeffery Combs, Christopher Lambert, Michael Biehn, Cynthia Rothrock, Pam Grier and Linnea Quigley. But the person always at the top of the list was Rutger Hauer. Okay, now back to the story.

The first time I remember Mr Hauer, the first time I stood to attention and remembered his name, was in the far away year of 1990, with the action-adventure comedy Blind Fury. The film had just been added to the New Release section at the video store and I had read the review in the free magazine that the rental stores had back then, and I thought it looked like a lot of fun. It took me two weeks of begging my parents before I was able to rent it. And I’m so glad they relented to their annoying and persistent son, because the little 12-year-old that I was loved it. I thought it was the best thing ever. It was the film that caused me throughout the 90s, to search out his films. But I think I watched Blind Fury more than any other through my teenage years. I knew every line and delivery from every actor, memorized to music and the editing, and the shot compositions were burned into my little head. And they still are to this day.

Things where pretty tough for me when I was a kid. It wasn’t until I left home that I would begin to fix myself (something I am still doing). I know this may sound strange to some of you, but Blind Fury is the film that made me want to fix myself, to use the broken parts of me to create something greater than those out there who were whole. I would often fantasize about Rutger Hauer’s character of Nick Parker being my real dad. He would come and find me; he would teach me what he knew and we would go off and have adventures together. I can close my eyes now and feel how those daydreams made me feel back then. And they always bring a smile to my face and a tear to my eye.

At this point, if you haven’t seen this film, WHY NOT? Go watch it now. Go on. I’ll wait.

All done? Okay, let’s go on.

So, what is the movie about? Hey, I’m just getting to that now. Don’t be in such a hurry.

So Blind Fury is a 1989 action film from director Phillip Noyce. Yes, that Phillip Noyce (this is where I pause for you to look him up). The film opens up in the aftermath of a battle in the Vietnam War. Our hero, Nick Parker, is bloodied and is stumbling through the jungle blinded by the violence. After being caught in a trap, he is rescued by villagers and nursed back to health. Realising that he is blind, they teach him to use his other senses and to defend himself. And they teach him to use a sword which is conveniently hidden in a thick cane. This is a pretty touching opening pre credit sequence. The villagers actually want to help him, and he learns to be whole. He becomes part of the community. And the best thing is, the filmmakers don’t beat you over the head with anything, letting the beauty of the scenes play out. And hardly a word is spoken.

Then we cut and the credits begin.

After returning to the United States, a good twenty years after the pre credits sequence, we see Nick walking down a highway in Florida with is cane. He beats a crushed beer can out of the way, stops and then jumps over a dog turd, then his cane taps against an alligator just chilling at the side of the road. Nick smiles and comments with a ‘Nice doggy’ before walking around the sleepy reptile.

Nick stops for lunch, and after seemingly to be tricked by some bullies, jokingly mocks them. And they basically ignore him after that. That is until they start harassing a young woman in the restaurant, Nick saves the day and takes out (Not killing, just humiliating) the thugs using his blindness to catch them off guard. Essentially Three Stooges’ them. It is a very ‘slap stick’ sequence and to the casual observer, the thugs were their own worst enemies here. This opening mirrors the rest of the film in a way. While there are heavier moments and weightier themes in the film, there is also a lightness and a sense of fun throughout. This is an action comedy after all, both the main thematic elements have to be address, need to be addressed, for this to work. This sequence and the pre credit sequence do that wonderfully. And the best part, the comedy doesn’t hold your hand  and say, ‘Look this is funny’ and doesn’t do it at the expense of the more tense and dramatic moments. The situations and reactions are enough. Hope you listening Hollywood.

The reason Nick is back is to track down this old army buddy, Frank Deveraux (played by Terry O’Quinn). He finds his way to Frank’s house where he meets Frank’s Ex-wife Lynn and son Billy (Meg Foster and Brandon Call). Here he finds that Frank has divorced his wife, moved out and now lives in Reno, Nevada working at a Bio Tech firm.

What Nick and Lynn don’t know is that Frank has lost big at a casino and is being strongarmed by the owner, MacCready (Noble Winningham), to make a large shipment of designer drugs. And to make sure that he does, MacCready sends his main henchman, Slag (Randall “Tex” Cobb) to kidnap Billy.

“Are you expecting someone?”

“No. Why?”

“Because there’s someone at the door”

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Surprise, its Slag and two corrupt cops come to take Billy. This is where Nick does his Daredevil routine. After Billy is knocked out, and Lynn is shot by Slag after she tries to protect him, Nick kills the cops but Slag escapes. Before Lynn dies, she begs Nick to take Billy to Frank in Reno. And so, begins the road trip. Yay!

After catching a bus and starting their journey, Billy and Nick get to know each other. Even though Billy is difficult. Okay, have you ever heard of the concept of a ‘Kenny’ in film? No. Well, it refers to an annoying child character being one of the main focuses of the plot. For every good child character in a film, there’s at least two ‘Kenny’s. If you want a better idea of what a Kenny is, watch Brandon Tenold’s Gamera reviews on YouTube and it will all become clear.

Billy starts out as a little shit who I wanted to punch. The kid is dealing with a lot. Feeling abandoned by his father, always being sick, and now being transported to Reno by Nick and he doesn’t really understand why. While it is understandable, Billy does start out as a ‘Kenny’, but like all good characters, he learns on the journey and becomes an interesting character we care about. And it started after he and Nick stop at a rest stop on their trip.

Billy tries to call his mom to tell her she is okay. Nick has to stop him, and then tells Billy what happened and that his mother is dead. Distraught, Billy runs off into the cornfield surrounding the rest stop. Nick follows. But Slag has tracked them down here and finds Billy first (popping out of nowhere) and holds the boy in an old shack while the redneck/hillbilly locals Slag hired to kill Nick, go after the ‘blind man’.

Spoiler alert:  They all die.

Well, except for Slag, who survives. And after rescuing Billy, Nick is now ‘Uncle Nick’. The action sequence in the corn field is a highlight for me. I love how Nick uses sound and smell to take out these thugs. And they don’t even see it coming. Always makes me smile.

After camping rough and hitching a ride, Nick and Billy make to Reno and to Frank’s apartment. Here they meet Annie, Frank’s girlfriend, who agrees to take them to Frank. But more of MacCready’s men are waiting inside, Lyle and Tector (not joking, that is a name in this film) and they are all captured. They are all bundled into a van, they escape, then there is a pretty fun and chuckle worthy chase scene. But they give them the slip and hide out at Colleen’s house, a friend on Annie’s. And leaving Annie and Billy here, Nick goes for Frank.

After causing a devastating riot in the casino, Nick gets to the room at the top of the hotel where the villains are holding Frank. Nick and Frank have a touching reunion, they then burn the lab, steal the drugs and get out. Upon to returning to Colleen’s, Nick and Frank find her dead and Annie and Billy missing. Colleen’s phone rings and its MacCready who tells them to bring the drugs to a mountain lodge to exchange Annie and Billy for the drugs.

Nick and Frank know it’s a trap. I mean, it’s the climax to an action movie, of course is a trap. Villains are going to villain, after all. So, our heroes prepare. And after more touching dialogue between old friends, they ‘storm the castle’. They take out the bad guys and go for MacCready. But they find him holding a gun on Billy. Drugs are given over, but before the loved ones are released, MacCready introduces them, to a Japanese assassin hired to kill Nick. And cue the amazing sword fight between blind swordsman and ninja.

Another Spoiler Alert: Nick wins. (Duh!)

And there is the ‘It is not over yet’ moment and Slag pops up out of nowhere and shoots Nick, hitting him in the shoulder. Nick then throws his sword and impales Slag against the wall. Slag pulls out the sword and goes for this gun. Nick using the assassin’s sword slashes Slag across the midsection, sending him out the window where he splits in two as he falls to the ground below. Didn’t that happen in the last film I covered? Well, at least it wasn’t Ronny Cox’s rubbery arms from the end of Robocop.

Anyway, Frank is reunited with Billy and Annie. And later when they are all boarding a bus for San Francisco to start a new life, Nick drops his ticket and steps out of line, instead choosing to move on alone and give the new family time to heal and bond. Nick then walks off down the highway like an old gunfighter walking into the sunset.

Roll Credits.

The film was produced by actor Tim Matheson, along with his producing partner Daniel Grodnick. They purchased the rights to remake the series and the character Zatochi from Japan for the American audience. Matheson, in particular was a huge (almost over weight) fan of the Zatochi series, and some of the material I found online seem to point to the fact that Matteson himself wanted to take up the mantel of the blind swordsmen. But for whatever reason he took himself out of the running and stayed committed to the producer’s role after Rutger Hauer became attached to the project. Which is a relief, because this is definitely Rutger’s film. But part of me is very curious about what Matheson could have brought to the role of Nick Parker. I think he could have puller it off. With comedies like Animal House, Up the Creek and 1941 under his belt, you know he could have handled the comedic aspects of the role. And with characters like Larry Sizemore from Burn Notice, he can be imposing and handle the action side of things. What I am saying, Tim could have done it well and made the role his own. But it might not have become the cult classic it is today. I think that is Rutger’s doing.

This film has a few notable firsts, and a few lasts connected to it as well. This is the first Hollywood studio film for Australian director Phillip Noyce after his critical and commercial hit Dead Calm. I couldn’t track down any information on how or why he got the job, just that he did and that is surprised a few people at the time. Noyce would go on to direct such multi-million-dollar projects like Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Saint, The Bone Collector and Salt. And this film seems to bridge the gap between the lower budget films and the bigger budget fare. But Noyce, to his credit, wasn’t slacking here. Its beautifully shot, well-staged and masterfully edited together like everything he has done.

And when I mentioned ‘lasts’ before, it is a curious one. This was the last attempt by a major studio to turn Hauer into a mainstream action star. While he was probably best known for his turns as memorable movie villains, he did venture into action hero territory on more than one occasion with films like The Osterman Weekend, A Breed Apart, Ladyhawk and Wanted: Dead or Alive. But after the failure at the box office with Blind Fury, it not only nixed a possible Nick Parker franchise, it killed the chances of Hauer becoming a big budget hero in the future, only taking up these kinds of roles in smaller and independently made films.

Rutger Hauer was always a little unconventional any way, so mainstream success probably wasn’t for him. So, with Blind Fury only making $2,692,037 on a budget od $10 million (plus marketing), it was probably all the incentive he needed to go and do the kinds of projects he wanted to do. Of Blind Fury, Rutger would go on to say that this film was the best action film he ever did and one of his favourites of all the projects he did. And I tend to agree. This was a B action film done right.

Blind Fury contains an element I really want to talk about. I know, I know, I get side tracked at lot. But I’m writing this on the fly here. Okay, so, this interesting element I mentioned is the blindness and how it is presented. If this film were made today or remade (I wouldn’t put is past Hollywood) the character of Nick Parker would lament or even brood over the loss of his sight. The character lost something that was a big part of him, so it must weight heavily on him, right? He must yearn for the time before his sight was taken, right? Well, we don’t get that here. And I thank the movie gods for that.

Nick Parker has accepted and moved on from the trauma of losing his sight. He has adapted and this is just how he is now. The character has learnt and grown so much from the day he lost his sight. Lost something? Yes, of course. But he has gained so much more. Nick even says at one point in the film, “Frank, my life changed but it didn’t end. I don’t know, it’s like there were two Nicks. One before and one after that day.” Nick as a character knows there is something missing, but the event that changed him was a blessing and not a curse as some would see it. He is a better man than he was and he now has abilities that others do not.

Today, this character would be filled with anger and remorse. This would kill the sense of fun the film would have. The humour would fall flat or be non-existent. I don’t know if the humour was something what was written into the script or if it was something that Rutger brought to the table as he often changed his character from what was written. But I think that the character we are presented with here in this 33year-old film is perfect. Hey, it was one of the things that pointed me in the right direction in my life. And even if it took me a good long while to get there, I will always hail this film for helping me be better that I was yesterday. Everybody involved with his film should stand tall and stand proud.

Before I wrap up this overly long and rambling review up, there are a few more little tid-bits I’ll add before I go. The cinematography by Dan Burgess is wonderful here, taking full advantage of the locales of the American landscape, especially on the road trip portion of the film. It looks so much better than a B movie has any right to. And J Peter Robinson’s score is just perfect for the film. The theme for Nick Parker hits all the right beats in the right way. The whole score has a western feel to it but remains a modern score, filled with guitar and a little touch of the blues in an upbeat kind of way. Nick’s theme in always in my head when I walk away from doing a good deed.

And the final fight scene? HOLY SHIT! It is cool damn cool.

I think that’s everything. While there is a little swearing, there is no gore, and it’s very light on blood. Fights scenes are well executed, action flows well as does the story as a whole. It’s a fun and entertaining story with humour and heart. I would recommend to anyone over the age of ten years old. But that is a personal judgement, please don’t kill me.

See this film. You’ll love. I promise.

Now I’m going to turn off all the lights and see if I can find the bathroom in the dark without banging my toes off the furniture.