Eric Lichtenfeld, "The Law's Crazy": The Vigilante and Other Myths

(In Action Speaks Louder)

More good stuff from this book. The first chapter heavily emphasizes what Lichtenfeld considers to be the first action film (I wonder if I should start capitalizing Action when referring to the formalized genre, rather than to the broader style of film), Dirty Harry, also from 1971. He makes a convincing argument - compared to Bullitt, Billy Jack, The French Connection, Dirty Harry seems significantly more archetypal. Interesting for my purposes is that it is also the first Action movie franchise.

The rupturous car chases and other action setpieces in proto-Action films are streamlined into intermittent, regularly paced spectacular action sequences, emphasizing an idea Lichtenfeld lifts from another auther: passion and acceleration. Passion refers to the emotional and physical experience which the hero must survive, while acceleration (obviously) refers to the increasing tension as the film careens towards a cathartic conclusion.

Lichtenfeld also discusses the fetishization of weaponry, and the emphasis given to changes and differences in the equipment of violence. This extends to franchises at large, as Action heroes upgrade and adapt their weaponry according to the particular logic of the franchise. Harry's .44 Magnum is a staple of the character (although upgraded to an automatic briefly later in the franchise), as is Indiana Jones' whip - on the other hand, John McClane and the Terminator are not associated with any particular weapon. Rambo has a wide but reliable arsenal, parituclarly his knife, bow and arrow and M60 machine gun. Interestingly, however, in the Rambo franchise his knife changes dimensions and design in each film (as does the barrel length of Harry's .44), which is an interesting way of maintaining continuity but still presenting something ostensibly new and exciting.

The chapter also notes how early Action films remain largely within the modern, urban spaces associated with film noir - it is not until closer to the 1980s that the Action genre gets out of the city and begins to globe-trot - as indicated by the four franchises with which I am concerned.