Night Of The Juggler is a 1979 film, and the first release from Transmission, a subdivision label from Radiance Pictures, which will be releasing ‘offbeat cult classics and underappreciated genre films’ on 4K and Blu-Ray, and they have hit the ground running with this first movie.
Gus Soltic is a disgruntled landlord of several properties in the Bronx, New York, angry with the way the surrounding area has been demolished and left to rot, and he is losing the value of his investments. As revenge, he kidnaps the person he thinks is the daughter of the man responsible for levelling the area, and demands a million dollars in ransom.
There is one small problem: he kidnaps the wrong girl. His abductee is the daughter of Sean Boyd, an ex-cop now truck driver, who will stop at nothing to get her back. And so begins a non-stop hunt to track and catch him, in a film which belongs on the same rung of the ladder with the best 1970s New York crime thrillers (the classic car chase in The French Connection pales in comparison to the scale of what’s on show here). Throw in some police corruption, a peep show venue, and street gangs. and a slightly cliche police chief trying to resolve the situation, but constantly getting annoying phone calls from his wife, and you’ll be glued to this underrated treat.
I had a terrific time watching this film, twice in two consecutive days, and it is definitely one I will revisit often.
The film was made in 1979 and never released in cinemas in the UK, and was one of the first direct-to-video releases, making its VHS rental debut on home video here in 1982.
And then, nothing.
No sell-through release, no DVD release, no streaming, and not available anywhere officially until now. It’s a pity, because it’s tremendously entertaining. Seeing New York as it was then, bleak and seedy, along with some colourful, non-PC dialogue, it’s a fascinating time capsule to see how New York pulled itself out of the mountains of rubble, a lot of which is on show here.
The picture and sound are both excellent, especially for something of this age, and the Special Features are top notch too.
Audio Commentary – the ever enthusiastic Kim Newman is joined by Sean Hogan to talk about the many differences between the novel and the film, the filming locations, the striking similarities between the characters of Gus and Joaquin Phoenix’s take on the Joker, how John Frankenheimer was originally pencilled in to direct and much, much more.
SUMMER OF ’78 – This interview with James Brolin features him talking about how the first third of the film was shot chronologically, until the original director was fired when Brolin broke several toes in a stunt accident, and his love and fondness of his fellow cast members. He mentions it finally being rediscovered with great enthusiasm; this is clearly a film he loves.
THE SWEET MARIA – Co-star Julie Carmen talks about this being her first movie, the differences between filming and stage work, and how Quentin Tarantino saw this movie and cast her in the episode of ER that he directed.
FUN CITY LIMITS is a 30-minute piece about New York being used as a film location in so many movies, in so many ways. It also touches on New York at the time of filming, a place so unsafe that tourists were advised not to walk anywhere or go outside Manhattan after 6 pm.
PANDEMONIUM UNBOUND is a featurette by Daniel Kramer about his friendship with original director Sidney J Furie, including recording excerpts of Furie talking about his time making the film before his sacking. It is better than it sounds!
MEANEST STREETS is a fantastic ‘then and now’ look at the filming locations in New York. So much of it has barely changed.
Also included are a stills gallery and the trailer.
This first Transmission release is currently only available as a dual format box set, including both the 4K UHD and Blu-Ray disc, along with a poster, 40-page book and postcards. With an RRP of around £40, it’s a lot to shell out for one film if you’re on a tight budget, especially if you can only watch it on Blu-Ray. Somewhere down the line a cheaper option will surely be available. Having said that, I devoured this film and all its Special Features in one, unplanned sitting. It’s really that good!
Radiance has invested a lot in this release, including a limited run in cinemas, and hopefully that leap of faith will pay off. Just as films like John Carpenter’s The Thing and Blade Runner found their audiences on video release, Night Of The Juggler deserves to be rightfully recognised as a bona fide 1970s classic, and hopefully the attention it’s currently getting will help to raise its popularity, which it so deserves.
A pricey, but excellent release, if you love gritty vintage thrillers, I cannot recommend it enough.
FILM – 10 PICTURE – 10 AUDIO – 8 EXTRAS – 10
Review by Steve Wells.
