Night of the Juggler oozes the ‘Fear City’ era of 1970s New York, and being released in June 1980, it may be a significant final late entry in the neo-noir crime thriller subgenre that also brought us The French Connection (1971) and Death Wish (1974). Not, however, that many in the UK will know it as such. As the disc’s informative commentary from film historians Kim Newman and Sean Hogan notes, it was one of the first major studio films to receive a straight-to-video release in 1982, and for many years, it was only available on hazy VHS.

Now brought to 4K by Transmission, it’s a fascinating, unrelenting addition to the brutal genre. Adapted from William P. McGivern’s novel of the same name, despite being directed by Sidney J Furie (the first third of filming) and Robert Butler (who completed the film), this manhunt across the Big Apple is a surprisingly consistent, dark, grimy and heart-pounding 101 minutes.

The opening sets the tone—with a film print bursting with grain and the soundtrack blips, bringing a hard, heated street-level approach to the United States’ biggest city. “I got a feeling it’s gonna be another goddam New York day,” says Richard S. Castellano’s Lieutenant Tonelli at one point. The film soon finds a new groove to prove him right.

James Brolin is Sean Boyd, a cop-turned-trucker who buys his daughter Kathy (Abby Bluestone) a trip to the ballet for her birthday as his ex-wife pushes to take her away from the ‘cesspool’ for a new life in Connecticut. But bad timing means she’s walking across Central Park when psychopath Gus Soltic (Cliff Gorman) clocks her, mistaking her for the daughter of a wealthy real estate developer he holds responsible for the state of his beloved neighbourhood in the South Bronx. Boyd sets off in pursuit of his kidnapped daughter, barely stopping as he navigates police rivals and the underbelly of New York City to get her back.

Night of the Juggler fits into the tradition of an extremely capable everyman thrown into an extraordinary crime. There are clear links to Death Wish, but Brolin’s Sean Boyd also lays a lot of the road for the likes of John McClane. In particular, Die Hard with a Vengeance has much in common with this pounding tour of the boroughs.

Despite the two different directors involved (Furie, well-regarded for 1965’s The Ipcress File and Butler, who brought Star Trek to the screen in 1966 and would go on to introduce Hill Street Blues), there are brilliant lines drawn across this gritty vision of the Big Apple.

We meet the two antagonists in parallel one morning. Soltic, lonely and erratic, checking on the whereabouts of his target. Boyd, driving back into town, before, in a definitive character moment, finding a quick and opportunist solution to deal with a rat terrorising his office-based colleagues.

While Boyd’s daughter is a stand-in for the luckier, richer target of her kidnapper’s attention, her father’s character is drawn against the psycho and two very different cops. Unlike Boyd, Barnes (a wide-eyed Dan Hedaya) and Tonelli survived recent lay offs, something we’re drawn to question. It’s particularly notable that while Boyd runs across town and through problem after problem, closing the net on Soltis, Tonelli works with the intended target’s family to free the daughter and snare the psychopath. 

After establishing the two central characters of Boyd and Soltis, as well as the heatwave they’re locked in, Night of the Juggler embarks on an extraordinary chase sequence in the aftermath of Kathy being bundled into Soltis’ car. Boyd comes very close to getting her back several times, as he pursues on foot, jumps in a cab (with an engagingly enthusiastic turn from driver Mandy Patinkin), through and out of the subway, and finally with both him and Soltis in ‘borrowed’ vehicles. It’s an extraordinary 15 minutes that makes you wonder if it’ll ever let up. Of course, it has to break, and Boyd is soon hospitalised and arrested, but intent on gathering information and allies to reach his goal.

There’s an almost screwball element to Night of the Juggler as the characters pinball around the city, but it never lets us forget the depths it’s mining with grindhouse flair. The intriguing title comes from Soltis, who is determined to make ransom money from his abduction to change his life as he holds out in the South Bronx, pining for the neighbourhood of his childhood among the rubble. He bemoans the rich, all in it together and juggling the books, and as he willfully refuses to believe his scheme isn’t going to plan, sees this as the night he’ll juggle the books. The title may not be as direct as ‘Pursued’ under which it was released in some territories, but it’s fittingly obtuse.

Soltis’ psychosis emerges in layers. Mistake-prone, violent and paranoid, his occasional tenderness and clearly arrested development could inspire a feeling of pity, but he soon displays horribly romantic feelings for his naive young captive. Boyd, meanwhile, is endlessly battling to save his daughter, through deranged cops, strip club bouncers and Puerto Rican gangs (the hirsute Brolin may have broken his foot during the production, but he emerges from his many scraps with barely a scratch).

Unafraid of appearing deranged and undeniably sleazy, Night of the Juggler is a richly textured high-octane addition to the crime films of 1970s New York that deserves a wider audience. This was a city in a state of flux, with boroughs gripped by soaring crime and the impending sense of gentrification. There may not be much subtlety in the subtext of characters unable to cope with the state of their town, or unable to give it up, but it’s a phenomenal and pacey testament to the time.

A glimpse at the film disc suggests this momentous release is a little underserved by way of special features, with just the insightful audio commentary from Newman and Hogan to accompany the restored feature. However, Transmission has gifted the full limited-edition set with new interviews with Brolin, Julie Carmen (Boyd’s ally, Maria), and Hedaya (his nemesis, the police sergeant). Two visual essays delve into exploitation cinema’s depiction of New York in the 70s and 80s and analyse Furie’s involvement. The digital package is rounded out with a trailer and image gallery, while the exclusive packaging includes a reversible sleeve, pull-out poster, six lobby-card style postcards and a 40-page booklet. A hard-hitting addition to any shelf.