Blind Rage Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Blind Rage Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 29, 2020

1978’s “Blind Rage” has a crackerjack premise, pre-mixed for optimum drive-in entertainment. It’s a crime/martial arts film about five blind men who are recruited to steal a fortune from a bank, using planning and their remaining senses to pull off a seemingly impossible crime. It’s B-movie nonsense of the highest order, and while it has the goods to become something special, or at least deliciously campy, director Efren C. Pinon doesn’t push down on the nonsense hard enough, losing interest in developing the effort’s natural strangeness. It has its amusing stretches, but “Blind Rage” doesn’t explode in the way one might expect from a tale of unusual sensorial ability put to criminal use.

The U.S. Government, fearful of falling into another Vietnam, presents Duran (Charlie Davao) with fifteen million dollars to keep safe in Manila, entrusting the man with a fortune. Duran is quickly corrupted by Simpson (B.T. Anderson), a criminal who offers Duran a cut of the loot in exchange for his compliance with a heist. The twist is the use of blind bank robbers, recruiting Willie (D’Urville Martin), Lin (Leo Fong), Hector (Darnell Garcia), Anderson (Dick Adair), and Ben (Tony Ferrer) to take on the mission, with Sally (Leila Hermosa) in charge of training the strangers. Building a strong team of sightless crooks, Sally unleashes the unit on the Manilla bank, putting her leadership to the test while Duran hopes to maintain a low profile, fearful of interest local law enforcement.

“Blind Rage” exists in a post-Vietnam world where the U.S. Government has had it with losing small countries to outside interests. They want to build a chain of subservience, using piles of cash to motivate men into action. Duran is put in charge of monetary protection, and the first laugh of the endeavor, perhaps unintentional, is how easily he folds when Simpson comes around looking to make a deal. Duran agrees to the planning of a heist right away, which does wonders for the pacing of the picture, but doesn’t offer much in the way of character, as Duran is mostly a blank, despite his key participation in the criminal mess. But hey, who wants to watch the daily adventures of a bureaucrat when there are five blind men ready to be trained to infiltrate and clear out a heavily guarded bank?

The recruitment scenes are really what “Blind Rage” is all about, with Pinon doing some brief globetrotting to visit each one of the team members, learning that Hector was blinded by a bull and Anderson is actually a magician, keeping his skills fresh through restaurant performances before he’s talked into the scheme. The lure is a stack of cash, relocating to Manilla to prepare for battle, which involves training inside a crude replication of the bank lobby, built in a vacant lot. “Blind Rage” really finds its footing during its midsection, watching the men rehearse their moves, feeling their way around the building and learning one another’s footsteps, mastering a criminal dance of sorts with Sally the proud instructor. However, because this is the 1970s, rape isn’t off the menu, as Willie suddenly can’t control himself, sneaking into Sally’s bed to take what isn’t his. And, again, because this is the 1970s, the vile man is put right back to work like nothing happened, making the whole aside an incredibly strange addition to a movie that’s already bursting with weirdness.

The marketing for “Blind Rage” promotes the stuffing out of Fred Williamson, who’s front and center in the trailer and highlighted on the poster, with the producers happy to sell the presence of the action hero, who reprises the role of Agent Jesse Crowder, from films such as “Death Journey” and “No Way Back.” Trouble is, Williamson is only in the final ten minutes of the picture, showing up to add some needed attitude to the endeavor, and engage in a final fight with the bad guy near an International House of Pancakes. Williamson is here to boost the marquee value of the endeavor, and it works, as he has his obvious screen appeal, doing wonders to reenergize the feeble third act of “Blind Rage,” which doesn’t offer a decent payoff to the blind robbers scenario, going in a few different directions of character entanglements that provide little excitement.

Blind Rage Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation appears sourced from a film print, and one that's not in the best of shape. Wear and tear is common throughout the viewing experience, as speckling, scratches, broken and jumpy frames, and chemical blotches are detected, joining the feature's loose appreciation for focus. Chroma noise is detected. Detail isn't compelling, as softness dominates, keeping only the most direct textures on close-ups and sets, and some costuming retains mild fibrousness. Color is aged, with skintones seeping into pinkness at times, while the general palette is muted, lacking vibrancy beyond the bright lights of Las Vegas and Manila greenery. Period outfits also have some punch. Delineation is adequate, but blacks are somewhat milky at times.

Blind Rage Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix also suffers from age, with fuzzier highs on dialogue exchanges, also dealing with sloppy dubbing at times. Intelligibility isn't threatened in full. Scoring offers a bit more depth, finding some funky grooves with pronounced bass and percussion. Sound effects are inherently thin, surveying mild gunfire and martial art body blows.

Blind Rage Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (6:04, HD) sits down with Fred Williamson, who provides his three simple rules for acting employment, with producers needing to meet at least two of his demands for the thespian to even consider participating in a project. Taking a small role in "Blind Rage," Williamson explores his quest to build a worldwide audience, also appreciating a chance to basically self-direct himself, offering his own take on character. Short discussions of co-stars Charlie Davao and D'Urville Martin (a longtime friend and partner) are shared, along with an analysis of image, with Williamson protecting his "black Clint Eastwood" style, trying to retain as much personal integrity as possible while dealing with the ups and downs of the film business.

• Interview (10:13, HD) with Leo Fong opens with the actor's initial industry curiosity, feeling the need to try moviemaking out while embarking on meetings with producers, trying to land jobs. One moneyman presented a trip to the Philippines, allowing Fong to explore the local entertainment industry, eventually inspired to write "Blind Rage," keeping a role in the feature for himself, helping to build his name. Co-stars are examined, and Williamson is remembered. The film's success is also highlighted, along with the enduring cult legacy of "Blind Rage."

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:24, SD) is included.

Blind Rage Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Without Williamson, "Blind Rage" would probably fall apart before it ends, with the screenplay running out of ideas after a solid first hour of introductions and rehearsals. With such a premise and location, there's a promise made in the opening for some serious hellraising, but the effort is more interested in criminal gamesmanship, not escalating peculiarity, served with a side of half-speed martial arts and Fred Williamson, who provides hard glares, a decent beatdown, and a cigar joke, doing his part to put "Blind Rage" back on its feet for the grand finale.