F.I.S.T. (1978)

Excellent, a Must See

Absolutely Fantastic

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Don't sell this film short! There are more inaccuracies in this film then I care to mention, but the need for the unions of the day to enlist the underworld (mob) for their protection was real. Law enforcement was on the side of whoever could pay the most back in those days and the big business anti-Union folks had all the money. If you work for a living, you have to pay homage to the unions. If not for them we would all still be working for fifty cents a day!! This movie does do a great job of showing the good that the unions did and how they succumbed to the corruption that power and greed visit on any entity no mater the good intentions. Everyone who sells their labor to a business should watch this film.

Norman Jewison mangles history with "F.I.S.T", a simplified retelling of the life of Jimmy Hoffa. Like certain mainstream directors (Spielberg, Kramer, Zwick, Stone, Kazan, Joffe, Sayles), Jewison has a habit of making self important message movies which pretend to be about big, weighty topics (race, slavery, holocaust, racism, politics etc), but which completely avoid or deal superficially with the issues at hand. Here Jewison has actor Sylvester Stallone (who co-wrote the screenplay) star as Johnny Kovak, a blue collar worker who inspires other working class men to organise, unionize and stand up against exploitation.The film charters Kovak's rise through the union ranks, until he reaches a position of power. With this power comes corruption, the film's union leaders eventually becoming as greedy as those they fight against. Oddly, the film focuses on Teamsters and truckers, the one labour force that even today retains some semblance of individualism, relatively insulated from capital's encroachments.Like most of these films ("Blue Collar", "Matewan", virtually every Hollywood "slave revolt" movie etc), "F.I.S.T" quickly runs away from actual labour. The structure of labour is avoided in favour for delving into corruption, the implication being that work is fine, so long as your boss is nice, doesn't beat you and pays well.Politics are thrown out the window as well. "Bolsheviks? What are they?" Stallone asks, the film ignoring the vast communist contributions to the formation of unions and the organisation of the working class (something Sayles, Loach and Rosi get right). As the "C-word" is ignored, an important part of Hoffa's history – his purging of all communists and Trotskyists – is likewise wiped away.What the film does get right is the corruption which soon infected big unions. By the time they had gained a foothold, most of the unions became as corrupt as any other US institution, loose federations of unions quickly becoming tightly controlled, centralised domains. Partially as a response to this, mega-businesses then turned to offshore, outsourced labour. Aesthetically the film is all over the place. Though gorgeously shot by the legendary Laszlo Kovacs, Jewison's tone is customarily unsophisticated. This is a film of mouthpieces, cardboard cutouts and an obvious, reductive plot. The acting is likewise mostly dead, especially Stallone. Stallone specialises in working-class roles, fantasies about escaping the working class whilst pretending that you've never left it behind. Here his character calls for an intelligence (or rather, a street smarts) which he can't quite manage. "F.I.S.T's" narrative trajectory is "Rocky's" 1 and 2 combined, but it requires a triple digit IQed hero. Stallone may be smart, but he can't act smart. His Johnny Kovak doesn't convince.Ultimately, depressingly, "F.I.S.T's" a film about the working class betraying itself. It neglects, however, the causes of self betrayal. The implication therefore is that if one were to remove corrupt individuals from unions, then one would have healthy unionism. And with healthy unionism, it is then assumed, one would have healthy capitalism. What you're stuck with, therefore, is a kind of early Marxism; the conservative slogan "A fair day's wage for a fair day's work", which Marx himself long replaced with "Abolish the wages system." Beyond this, what is needed are not films which charter historical and class movements, but those that delve into the drives and unconscious currents which perpetuate these problems. It's no point overthrowing power if you merely take its place. Or, to paraphrase a famous slave owner, "the white man didn't subject the African to depravity, he beat him to it."7.5/10 - Great directors know how to approach topics tangentially. Once you start preaching, your art immediately becomes obvious and reductive. Some films which get away with similar preaching: "Matewan", "Burn!", Wajda's "Man of Iron" and Francesco Rosi's "The Mattei Affair" and "Lucky Luciano". Otherwise you have the neorealists. David Mamet's "Hoffa" - very similar to this film - was released in 1992.Worth one viewing.

F.I.S.T. is one of the few films out there that illustrate Sly Stallone's great acting talents. Stallone really brings his character, Johnny Kovak, to life and gives one of his most memorable performances. This film shows that, having gone a different route, Stallone could have become a much better actor. After this film, Stallone had a few other good films but the majority were crumby sequels, cliché action films, and poor attempts at comedy. It's really a shame he didn't put his talents to better use like he did in his earlier work like Rocky, and Nighthawks.The film begins in the Great Depression of the 30's and follows the life of Johnny Kovak, a labourer who works at unloading trucks. Who, with his coworkers after being severely mistreated, and underpaid fights back against the company. This leads to Kovak becoming a member of the Union F.I.S.T, the Federation of Innner-State Truckers. At first idealistic, Kovak's morals and values are challenged when he has to get organized crime groups involved to get what's fair.My only complaint with the film is, in the later scenes were Stallone plays an older Kovak, his portrayal is a bit weak given his limited acting abilities at the time. This, however is only a minor complaint, he still gives a great performance.The script is good, all the characters are realistic and well fleshed out,and the great director, Norman Jewison puts his talents to good use in F.I.S.T. Also, filled with a fantastic supporting cast (including, Peter Boyle, and Rod Steiger) all these elements come together to make F.I.S.T. a film that is definitely worth seeing.

I remember seeing this film in 1979 in London at the Leicester Square Odeon (then a major cinema).After seeing all the then "Rocky" films, Stallone was a huge star in the U.K. "Paradise Alley", was a favourite of mine - being and still am a big wrestling fan, but F.I.S.T offered a refreshing departure from Stallone's "fighting" persona.In this he came across as a real and serious actor, and I would say that this movie was the highlight of his career. It's a great pity that it hasn't, as far as I know, been shown on UK TV channels as yet, because those who think it's fashionable to knock Stallone in 2007 haven't been treated to this film.F.I.S.T is one his finest and should be voted as such.