Sylvester Stallone’s earliest credits found him in some of the quintessential movies of the ‘70s. Unfortunately, he’s hard to spot in most and is credited as Hotel Guest (What’s Up, Doc?) or Subway Thug #1 (Bananas) or Soldier Sitting at Camp Table (M*A*S*H). Now, the movie that gave him a name (for his character, that is) is finally getting the proper release that has evaded it for more than 50 years.
Rebel – which sees Sylvester Stallone in the role of Jerry Savage, one of a group of anti-war activists under the eye of the FBI – was given a slight push in 1973 as No Place to Hide but fell almost immediately into obscurity, only later finding a small audience outside of the U.S. Director Robert Allen Schnitzer would try to capitalize on Stallone’s Rocky in 1976 by giving the movie a re-release, but this, too, failed. He even re-cut it as a comedy called A Man Called…Rainbo in 1990, which does coincide with Rocky V, thus demonstrating just how desperate Schnitzer was to get his movie seen.
Thirty-five years removed from that endeavor, Schnitzer has given Rebel a 4K remaster (under the revamped title Rebel: Director’s Cut), which he is now touring across the country. But will anybody actually go to see this early Stallone movie? Hey, maybe completists actually want to check out Stallone in a substantial role from his pre-Rocky days – and at least it’s not a softcore porno like The Party at Kitty and Stud’s, which was re-released as The Italian Stallion following Rocky’s success.
On working with Sylvester Stallone for his own feature debut, Schnitzer said, “He was completely unique. They said, ‘Do not hire him. You can’t understand the way he speaks!’” Obviously he went against this, and soon after he would get more substantial roles in movies like The Lords of Flatbush, Capone and Death Race 5000…although we’re a little hesitant to give too much credit to a movie that can barely decide on a title.
As of publication, fewer than 400 users have logged Rebel on Letterboxd.
What is your favorite pre-Rocky movie with Sylvester Stallone? Are you with The Lords of Flatbush or Death Race 2000? Give us your pick below!
