jwmcfad Reviews

Siege (1978 TV Movie)

Urban paranoia

[6 August 2002]

This is one of those 1970s "the world is going to hell" urban paranoia films that borders on racism. It's late 70s New York, young thugs control the streets, and inside a crumbling apartment building Henry Fancher (Martin Balsam) and his elderly Jewish neighbors cannot get the police to protect them against Simon, a menacing young black man (Dorian Harewood), and his gang. Despair turns to anger as Fancher decides to protect himself. As a last resort, he goes to a machine shop and makes a set of metal bracelets with hooks on them. When Simon breaks into his apartment, Fancher tries to fight him off to no avail. Finally he uses the bracelets to hook his arms around Simon, using his nearly-comatose body to slow Simon down until the police arrive.

Despite its somewhat distasteful tone, this film's gritty realism is appealing and very much in tune with 70s cinema. The suspense builds quite nicely, and the climax is rather unique.

The Curse of Dracula (1979)

This was originally part of a television show

[14 January 2000]

This was originally one segment of a short-lived American TV series called "Cliffhanger." It was an attempt to bring the old cliffhanger style to television, but didn't work very well. One segment was about a cowboy that fell into a mine shaft or something and ended up in a strange underworld city. Can't remember what the other segment was about.