Jocelyn (Alex Descas) admires his cock
in No Fear, No Die
Dah (Isaach De Bankole) and Jocelyn (Alex Descas) are two Caribbean
men who train and fight roosters for profit (they hope) in France under the
guidance of Pierre, who supplies the area where the fighting and wagers take
place. It is an interesting though unpleasant character study of a rather seedy
business, which ends with the death of the prize rooster (Named No Fear, No
Die) as well as one of the men.
The word cock as described as a rooster used to fight with can
clearly be seen as an extension of the other common meaning of the word. Pierre
says something to the effect of “Once you get the taste of cock, you can never
give it up.” He’s talking about fighting roosters, isn’t he?
Musical reference:
The title No Fear, No Die keeps
making me think of the Bob Marley song No Woman, No Cry. That song is not used in the movie, but the Marley
song Buffalo Soldiers is used twice.
Casting notes: Isaach
De Bankole and Alex Descas were later re-teamed in one of the sketches in Jim
Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes.
Solveig Dommartin in No Fear, No Die
The lovely Solveig Dommartin plays the female lead here and
previously played the acrobat in Wings of
Desire.
In Monte Hellman’s Cockfighter,
the cockfighter played by Warren Oates has rendered himself mute (or castrated)
until he gets named Cockfighter of the Year. When he finally does win the prize, he can
speak, but his girlfriend no longer wants to be with someone who is involved in
something so sordid as cockfighting. He then pulls the head off his prize cock (another form of
castration) and declares that she still loves him even though it appears she has
walked out on him for good.
The I remember
reference: I remember this movie as being controversial on release and reading an
article in the Atlanta Constitution about it at the time, but have never seen
it until now! The movie being filmed in Georgia may be why it got a little
extra ink in that paper during the initial theatrical run.
Casting notes:
For fans of Monte Hellman’s Two-Lane Blacktop, we have a scene where hitchhiker
Lori Byrd is driving in a car with Warren Oates when she is not driving with The
Mechanic and The Driver. The first scene in Cockfighter has Byrd and Oates
driving down the road almost as if they were still in the previous movie! This is a nice
touch. Hitchhiker Harry Dean Stanton form Two-Lane
Blacktop is also along for the ride in Cockfighter.
Also of note: Cockfighter producer Roger Corman states that this film was one of the few of his movies that didn't turn a profit. For more on Corman, you might want to check out the book Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen and Candy Stripe Nurses: Roger Corman, King of the B-Movie.
Also of note: Cockfighter producer Roger Corman states that this film was one of the few of his movies that didn't turn a profit. For more on Corman, you might want to check out the book Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen and Candy Stripe Nurses: Roger Corman, King of the B-Movie.
Cockfighter (the novel) author Charles Willeford has a nice
supporting role as one of the guys who runs the fights in Cockfighter (the
movie).
Cockfighter was also released under
the title Born to Kill. The scenes depicted
on this poster must have been from some other
movie, because I certainly didn't see them
in Cockfighter!
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