Gary Busey’s Forgotten ’80s Action Movie Made Rocky III’s Hit a Revenge Thriller
Key Points About Eye of the Tiger
- Film premise: Eye of the Tiger turns Survivor’s hit song into an action story about a former prisoner seeking revenge on a corrupt sheriff and a violent motorcycle gang.
- Gary Busey: The film gave Gary Busey his first action lead after he trained extensively and lost more than sixty pounds.
- Action style: The 1986 film combines a small-town revenge plot with the Vietnam veteran and heavy-weapon elements associated with Rambo.
- Later career: Busey went on to appear in action films including Lethal Weapon, Predator 2 and Point Break.
Convoy… Take This Job and Shove It… Harper Valley PTA… Yellow Submarine… The Gambler… Hollywood once regularly turned hit songs into movies. Among action films, one notable example besides Convoy is 1986’s Eye of the Tiger, a revenge thriller built around Survivor’s classic rock song, best known as the theme for Rocky III. That makes the song a link between two eighties movies, though the film itself is far less familiar. This article looks at the movie, its story and soundtrack, and Gary Busey’s first action lead.
How did Gary Busey become an action hero in Eye of the Tiger?
Gary Busey prepared for his first action lead by training extensively, losing more than sixty pounds and weight training with Franco Columbu. The change marked a shift from the eccentric character roles that had defined much of his earlier work.
Gary Busey’s physical transformation prepared him for the action-hero role in Eye of the Tiger.
Today, audiences often associate Gary Busey with eccentric characters and an unpredictable public persona, but he was already a highly regarded actor during his early career. He received an Oscar nomination for playing the title character in The Buddy Holly Story, then appeared in films including Carny, D.C. Cab and the Stephen King adaptation Silver Bullet. In 1986, Busey trained extensively, lost more than sixty pounds and worked on weight training with Franco Columbu, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s close friend.
At the same time, Scotti Brothers, the record label behind artists including Weird Al Yankovic, moved into film production. The label had worked on soundtracks for several Rocky movies, and its band Survivor had scored a major hit with “Eye of the Tiger.” The song’s driving beat suited action films, so the label adapted a spec script called Midnight Vengeance around the song, creating the film Eye of the Tiger.
How does Eye of the Tiger turn Survivor’s anthem into a revenge movie?
Eye of the Tiger follows the song’s lyrics through the story of Buck Matthews, a former prisoner who returns home and is targeted by a corrupt sheriff and a violent motorcycle gang. The gang’s attack on Buck’s family turns the story into a revenge plot.
Eye of the Tiger uses Buck Matthews’s return from prison to launch its revenge story.
“Risin’ up, back on the street,
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet,
Just a man and his will to survive”
The opening scenes of Eye of the Tiger echo those lyrics as Gary Busey’s Buck Matthews leaves prison and returns to his hometown to reunite with his wife and daughter. Buck says the town’s corrupt sheriff, played by Seymour Cassel, framed him and now intends to make his parole difficult. The sheriff works with a violent motorcycle gang led by Blade, played by veteran villain actor William Smith. After Buck rescues a woman from the gang, he becomes a target, and the gang attacks his family, killing his wife and traumatizing his young daughter.
Buck has two important advantages: his experience as a Vietnam veteran and a debt owed by a drug lord whose life he saved in prison. The drug lord sends Buck a modified truck equipped with rocket launchers and machine guns, giving him a way to fight back against the bikers. Buck also gets help from J.B., played by Yaphet Kotto, a fellow Vietnam veteran and sheriff’s sergeant who has grown tired of corruption and racism. J.B. eventually joins Buck in seeking revenge.
What makes Eye of the Tiger a mix of Death Wish, Walking Tall and Rambo?
Eye of the Tiger combines a corrupt small-town setting with a vigilante revenge plot and a Vietnam veteran’s use of heavy weapons. The result recalls Death Wish, Walking Tall and Rambo, while retaining the rough edges of an eighties B-movie.
Eye of the Tiger blends small-town revenge and Vietnam veteran action with familiar genre elements.
Eye of the Tiger is an uneven film, even by eighties B-movie action standards. Its plot has major leaps in logic, including Buck’s quick romantic interest in another woman only days after his wife is murdered. The story also recalls Death Wish, Walking Tall and Rambo: it borrows the vigilante premise, a corrupt small-town backdrop and a Vietnam veteran with powerful weapons. Busey plays a relatively conventional hero, rather than leaning into the eccentric qualities that made him distinctive. He had a better fit for those qualities in the action film Bulletproof, released two years later.
Despite its flaws, Eye of the Tiger remains watchable as an eighties action film. Director Richard C. Sarafian, who also made Vanishing Point, stages the action clearly and delivers violent set pieces. Buck uses steel trip wires against the bikers, and one interrogation scene involves dynamite. The finale pairs Busey and Kotto, although the story asks viewers to accept that J.B. tolerates a great deal before finally turning against the sheriff.
What songs are featured in the Eye of the Tiger soundtrack?
The soundtrack prominently features Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” with dialogue that also alludes to the song’s lyrics. It includes “Gravity,” a James Brown song produced by Scotti Brothers.
The Eye of the Tiger soundtrack connects the film’s title song with “Gravity.”
The title track plays multiple times in Eye of the Tiger, and Yaphet Kotto’s line “I did my time…” refers to the song. The soundtrack also includes James Brown’s “Gravity,” produced by Scotti Brothers. Its sound resembles “Living in America,” though it did not become as big a hit.
What happened to Gary Busey’s action career after Eye of the Tiger?
Gary Busey continued acting in action films after Eye of the Tiger, taking roles in Lethal Weapon, Bulletproof, Predator 2 and other films. A serious motorcycle accident interrupted his momentum, but he later returned to film work.
Eye of the Tiger was Busey’s first action lead, but it was only one part of a longer action-film career.
When Eye of the Tiger reached theaters, it opened on 800 screens and received little attention. No box office data was available in the original account. The film was co-produced with IVE, later known as LIVE Entertainment, a home-video company that released many Carolco films on tape. The release details suggest a film connected to the home-video and cable markets, but the available information does not establish how the movie performed.
Busey played the villain Joshua in Lethal Weapon the following year, then returned to a leading role in Bulletproof. His action career was interrupted by a severe motorcycle accident that fractured his skull and caused brain damage. He later resumed his career and appeared in films including Predator 2, Point Break, Under Siege, Surviving the Game and Drop Zone during the first half of the nineties.
Busey’s unusual offscreen persona eventually became a major part of public discussion about him. Still, Eye of the Tiger offers a chance to see him as an action lead, playing a grounded, everyman-style hero. Survivor’s title song remains central to the film’s identity.
What is Eye of the Tiger about?
Eye of the Tiger is about former prisoner Buck Matthews, who returns home and seeks revenge after a violent motorcycle gang attacks his family.
Was Eye of the Tiger Gary Busey’s first action lead?
Yes. Eye of the Tiger was Gary Busey’s first action lead after he trained and lost more than sixty pounds for the role.
Is the Eye of the Tiger movie based on the Survivor song?
Yes. The film was developed from a script called Midnight Vengeance and adapted around Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.”
Which actors appear in Eye of the Tiger?
The film stars Gary Busey and features Yaphet Kotto, Seymour Cassel and William Smith.
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