孤军奋战

couple things about this film. First of all, this is a perfect example of box art misrepresentation. Notice our hero on the front cover. Anyone at all familiar with Charles Durning knows that the guy on the cover bears only a vague resemblance at best. Perhaps in his youth Durning may've had a build like that. Certainly not at the time this film was made. Not only has the actor got a good hundred pounds on the artist's rendition, he's got twenty years on him too. Durning was sixty two when he made this film. Even at forty two, he wasn't in that kind of shape. The real crime here is that Durning is perfectly suited for the role he's playing. This isn't just some guy who's had enough and turned vigilante. Stand Alone is the story of a WWII veteran who is in the twilight of his life and finds himself having to decide whether to live in relative safety as a coward or to fight the way he would have as a young man. So you see, it's actually a good thing that Durning is old and out of shape because that's exactly how the character would be in real life. Durning is perfectly believable in the role and makes something special out of what would otherwise have been just another Death Wish knockoff. Secondly, for those not familiar with the distributor who released the VHS from which this was ripped, Starmaker specialized in EP productions. Meaning that this is far from the best source material to work with. Not the worst mind you but it does leave much to be desired. Anyone with a better quality print, I'd be happy to see it.