Rage (1972)

The legendary actor George C. Scott's theatrical directing debut is a decent revenge tale, one with some flaws, but it's still a slick, professionally made, and reasonably compelling yarn. Scott plays Dan Logan, a nice guy farmer out camping with his son Chris (Nicolas Beauvy) when they are accidentally exposed to a nerve gas that the Army was testing. It becomes clear that all the military wants to do is cover up the incident, and keep Dan in the dark, even when Chris dies. And naturally, once Dan learns the ugly reality of the whole situation, he determinedly seeks brutal revenge. Scott, working from a screenplay by Philip Friedman and Dan Kleinman, knows how to reel us in, with an extended pre-credits sequence serving up some heartwarming father and son bonding and then introducing the element of the nerve gas. Scott occasionally goes for some stylistic touches, particularly when it comes to slow motion, but mostly just sticks to telling the story in a straightforward manner, taking advantage of the Panavision aspect ratio in the way people and things are arranged in the frame. Fred J. Koenekamp does the beautiful cinematography and Lalo Schifrin supplies a wonderful music score. Now, it should be very easy to sympathize with Logan and root for him to hold the Army accountable, and it is at first, but his descent into cold blooded murder and nastiness is a pretty abrupt one, making it hard to really be on his side the entire time. Also, the authorities striving to keep things quiet do slip up more than once, which is rather contrived considering all the steps one would think they would be taking. And a key moment where Logan learns the truth about his own fate is not shown on screen and one would have to wonder why it would be left out. In any event, Scott keeps this watchable throughout, delivering a quietly intense performance and not resorting to much in the way of histrionics. He also ably directs a top notch supporting cast including Richard Basehart (very warm as Logan's physician and old friend), Martin Sheen, and Barnard Hughes, with familiar folk such as Stephen Young, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Walden, William Jordan, Dabbs Greer, John Dierkes, Lou Frizzell, and Ed Lauter in smaller roles. Overall, even with its flaws it's still pretty entertaining. Six out of 10.

This was one of the films I remember from back in the day. One of those that I watched every time it came on TV. Not artsy, but despite the usual predictable elements (as is the case with most films), I found the plot both interesting and entertaining. Watching it, you could imagine the possibility of it really happening and reacting the same way Scott's character did. Unfortunately, its not out on DVD. If I recall correctly, it was not a great success in the theater, but considering all the junk that does make it to DVD, I don't know why this one isn't out. While films remembered from your youth can be disappointing, I will definitely be buying this one when it becomes available. This one, "Hardcore", "Day of the Dolphin" and "Patton" are my favorite George C. Scott features.

***THIS COMMENT MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*** Maybe its me but there was something about this film that worked on my nerves like a tongue on a rotten tooth. It's based on a true incident in Utah in which an Army truck dropped a cannister filled with nerve gas and a butt-load of sheep bought the proverbial farm. But if the wind had happened to be blowing in the direction of Salt Lake City that day... George C. Scott (wearing what looks distractingly like fake eyebrows) directed and stars in this fictionalized account of a farmer and his young son who are accidentally poisoned with nerve gas by the Army. Perhaps its my own experiences at the hands of prison doctors that makes the many scenes of bloodless technocrats abstractly speaking about the opportunity to study nerve gas symptoms and blithely LYING with their every breath so quietly, eerily effective. After being lied to in the worst possible way by all responsible, George C. Scott's doomed farmer wreaks some almost Rambo-like revenge! I had heard about this movie for years and always wondered just what sort of havoc Mr Scott would wreak went he went into his RAGE... It was quite something to see him shooting security guards in the face and generally going postal. One can certainly understand where he is coming from. A film like this would never be made today, especially with a major movie star both directing and starring. George C Scott knows how to handle actors--this is probably one of Richard Baseheart's best performances--full of great conflicted emotions and heavy themes to wrestle with--and what a voice that man had! I think that one of the strengths of the story is the semi-documentary feel to the events. There is no giant conspiracy, just an average army-style Cover-Your-Ass situation, with those responsible already well insulated by their positions of power. The revenge enacted by Scott's character is as understandable as it is ultimately ineffective, a message nicely telegraphed by the final image, which I won't divulge here. Suffice it to say, this is one of those strange cinematic oddities from the 70's that has become, unfortunately, once again relevant. After all... if the wind had happened to be blowing towards Salt Lake City that day...

.... But the problem with RAGE is that it`s all a little too simple !!!!! SPOILERS !!!!! . Let`s examine the plot in detail . Farmer Dan Logan and his son are out in the countryside when a military helicopter accidently contaminates the pair with poison . His son dies so Logan goes on a sabotage spree against the company responsible for manufacturing the poison before dying . There that`s the plot . I`ve tried to make it sound sophisticated and complex but I can`t probably because it`s not a complicated , sophisticated plot . It`s also rather dated too since it was made in the wake of the Vietnam war hence its view on the government and the military being utter pigs . It also features a scene where a cat is shot dead by Logan which unless your catchphrase is " I taught I thaw a puddy cat " doesn`t endear him to anyone even if his son has died a tragic death