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| Images Courtesy of Giant Pictures |
Robert Allen
Schnitzer's film Rebel has been restored in a 4K Director's Cut.
Sylvester Stallone's first feature acting role, the film is a triumph of American
independent filmmaking. Originally conceived on a self-financed micro
budget in 1971 under the title Seize the Time!, it would not be
completed and released until 1973 under the title Nowhere to Hide. In
1976, in the wake of Rocky's box office success, Schnitzer recut the
film to give Stallone's character more focus and retitled it Rebel.
Rebel is essentially the grimy little
brother of The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which was released in 1973 as
well. While they focus on different things, comparisons are unavoidable,
and frankly, welcomed. Rebel is the story of a group of
anti-war activist students who are operating in a radical terrorist cell in New
York in 1969. As the law begins to close in on the group, Jerry's
(Stallone) attempt to escape the city has tragic consequences. Schnitzer
championed for Stallone to star as Jerry. Right from the introductory
scene the DNA of John Rambo and Stallone's inherent charisma is evident.
One of the
most potent aspects of this film is its sense of urgency. A third of the
narrative is on the radicals and their conspiratorial machinations and
political dogmas, another is about the law, both local law enforcement and
federal agents and the moral quandaries they face, while the third is about the
romance between Jerry and a rural, jewelry-making hippie. While the three
threads often intersect, each of them has a sense of desperation, an almost
apocalyptic sense that something dire is on the rise.
Joseph
Delacorte's score is vintage 70's, hyping the paranoia and footnoting the
tragedies as they occur. This is a grimy, metropolis that is the crown
jewel of a nation fighting a war its citizens do not understand nor support,
and the music and guerilla style of filming enhance this aura. The final
result is an impactful meditation on the Vietnam War's effect on both the
people and the government, emblemized in Stallone's wonderfully elastic
performance. His passion for the cause and his genuine heartbreak
are harbingers of the great career that would follow.
Now playing in select theaters and available for digital rental, Rebel is essential viewing for any Stallone fan and anyone who is interested in American independent filmmaking. The 70's are often lauded as the greatest decade in American Cinema, and while cinematic titans such as Jaws and Star Wars are the epitome, it is films such as this that formed the foundation of a movement that ultimately lead to studios taking chances on auteurs such as Scorsese and De Palma. Brisk, tragic, and relentless, Rebel is not only an important film, it is regrettably still relevant today.
--Kyle
Jonathan