Fight for Your Life is a 1977 American blaxploitationthriller film directed by Robert A. Endelson and starring William Sanderson and Robert Judd. The story revolves around three criminals (a White, Mexican, and Asian male) who hold a Black family hostage and forces them to fight for their lives.
Plot
Sanderson plays Kane, a hate-fuelled racist redneck who absconds from jail with his sidekicks (an Asian and a Mexican). They hole up in the secluded house of Ted Turner, a blackminister, and his family, where harsh epithets are exchanged, and the minister is forced to take action to defend his family.[2]
Fight for Your Life has received a negative response from critics. TV Guide called it "a vile low-budget film that couldn't have found a receptive audience even during the height of tough blaxploitation pictures."[3] Others have defended the film, finding it an objective look at racism at its worst; the film enjoys a cult following among fans of extreme cinema and grindhouse.[citation needed]
Censorship
Fight For Your Life was denied a British theatrical release in 1981,[4] but a video release the following year allowed the public brief access to the film before it wound up on the video nasties list and was outlawed. It is notable for being the only 'video nasty' to appear on the list due to language, specifically the racism displayed by Sanderson's character.
Availability
Fight For Your Life was denied a British cinema release when it was rejected by the BBFC in October 1981; it was briefly available in the United Kingdom on the independent video label Vision On, released circa 1982, but was outlawed with the advent of the Video Recordings Act (1984). A remasteredDVD was issued in the United States by Blue Underground. The director passed on providing a commentary track for the DVD reissue, but did grant an interview for the book Nightmare USA in which he re-watched the film with his maid, Dorothy, and both provided retrospective insights on the film. It was presented at the Quentin Tarantino Film Festival in the QT Six Lineup showing held in October 2005.
The original film negative, stored by the film rights holder in a New Jersey basement, was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.[5]
