Bullet Points: Savate
Over the years I had heard quite a bit about 1995’s Savate. I heard it was one of Olivier Gruner’s best movies. I heard it was a martial arts movie set in the Old West. I heard it was directed by action specialist Isaac Florentine. And I heard that it was the true story of the world’s first kickboxer. …but I had never seen it.
That is until I recently discovered some kind soul had posted the hard to find film on YouTube…
- Desert Kickboxer: Former French soldier Joseph Charlegrand (Olivier Gruner, Angel Town) is on the hunt for Ziegfield Von Trotta, the French Foreign Legion officer who murdered his best friend while all three men were stationed in Mexico. Charlegand’s solo manhunt has him pointed in the direction of a small Texas town that is holding a martial arts tournament, a tournament that Charlegrand knows could attract the pompous and egotistical Ziegfield Von Trotta. But Charlegrand has to get there first. Three desert rats bushwhack Charlegrand and his horse, shots are fired, kicks are thrown and when the dust up is over, Charlegrand survives and since he shows mercy do do his attackers, but Charlegand’s horse and canteen do not survive. Now Charlegrand finds himself in the Texas desert traveling on foot…
- The Heat is On: As you might imagine between the hot Texas sun and the lack of water, Charlegrand ends up passing out before he can to his destination… this leads to the first in a series of flashbacks to Charlegrand’s time in the French Foreign Legion and our first look at Ziegfield Von Trotta played by a monocle wearing Marc Singer of The Beastmaster fame. Before he can roast to death in the desert, he is found by Cain and Mary Parker (Ian Ziering and Ashley Laurence), two farmers who were passing by in their wagon. The Parkers give Charlegrand some water and a ride into town, where he is quickly able to repay them.
- They Aren’t Making It Anymore: The Parkers are among a group of farmers who are being pressured by businessman Benedict (R, Lee Ermey in an uncredited role) to sell their land. Helping Benedict put on the pressure is a trio of toughs led by the dice rolling Mitchum, who is a little sweet on Miss Mary (can’t say that I blame him)… Cain stands up for his wife, but when the numbers game catches up with him Charlegrand jumps in and diffuses the situation with his savate skills… this catches everyone’s attention including Benedict, the land grabber and coincidentally the man putting up the $500 prize money for the martial arts tournament. Cain also takes notice and hopes Charlegrand will stick around and teach him a thing or two as Cain has plans on winning that $500 to help save his land. Charlegrand agrees and ends up staying in the Parker’s barn, and speaking of the Parker’s barn…
- Cain Parker Can Lose: Benedict is none too happy with this stranger in town or that Cain Parker continues to put up a fight, so he dispatches Mitchum to scare the Parkers into selling… and what better way to scare them than setting their barn on fire. Cain and Charlegrand are able to rescue all the livestock, but the barn is totaled. When Cain spots one of Mitchum’s dice (or die for you old school grammarians) he is enraged and tracks Mitchum down at the local saloon where he is goaded into settling his issues via a western duel… a duel that ends badly for Cain, who ends up six feet under as a result.
- Battle of the Tough Guys: With Cain out, Joseph Charlegrand agrees to take his place in the tournament and the farmers are all in, pooling their money to bet on Charlegrand… Benedict decides to bring in a ringer, a ringer by the name Ziegfield Von Trotta! The 8 man tournament kicks off with Charlegrand against the hulking Bruno the Horrible who immediately suplexes Charlegrand and follows that up with a big leg drop… two moves most men would not be able to come back from, but Charlegrand is not most men! Charlegrand makes the big comeback and he is one step closer to the $500 and squaring off with the man who killed his best friend. As the tournament progresses, Benedict gets a lowkey message across to Joseph Charlegrand, Benedict has kidnapped Mary Parker. This prompts Charlegrand to go looking for Mary after his semi-final bout, he knows if he doesn’t get to her before the finals, she is more than likely not long for this world…
- Falls Count Anywhere: Charlegrand finds Mary, but not without a fight or two and he does not come out of it unscathed… and wouldn’t you know who advances to the other side of the finals bracket? That’s right, Ziegfield Von Trotta… but the ring is not big enough to hold this rivalry and the action spills outside and into the nearby church and what follows his a fight from the action gods.
So was everything I had heard about Savate true? …Well, obviously the fact that Savate was directed Isaac Florentine film is not up for debate. It is a fact. It is also a fact that Florentine knows how to create action and film action. I’ve enjoyed many of Florentine’s films over the years including U.S. Seals II, Cold Harvest and Ninja: Shadow of a Tear… and Savate can now be added to that list. And the movie did take place in the Old West, so that was also accurate and certainly allowed Savate to stand out amongst its direct to video peers of the time.
Was Savate based on the true story of the world’s first kickboxer? It is a good promotional line, but is it really true… to quote the late, great Gorilla Monsoon “Highly Unlikely”. True or not, it was an entertaining tale, so entertaining that I could see why many consider Savate to be one of Olivier Gruner’s best movies.
Will these Bonus Bullet Points be considered some of my best Bonus Bullet Points? Probably not, but it won’t hurt to read them anyway…
- AKA: Savate is also known as The Fighter.
- Familiar Faces: James Brolin (The Expert) plays Colonel Jones, the closest thing to a lawman in the movie. Unfortunately for the townsfolk Jones is in the pocket of Benedict… Don Gibb (Bloodsport) and Rance Howard (Tiger Heart) play some of the Parkers fellow farmers and who step up to help Mary after the passing of her husband.
- The Name Game: Ian Ziering’s Cain Parker should not be confused with Jeff Fahey’s Parker Kane.
