F.I.S.T. is a 1978 crime drama film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Sylvester Stallone, Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle, and Melinda Dillon. Joe Eszterhas wrote the story and co-authored the screenplay with Stallone.
Set in Cleveland between the 1930s and '50s, the film is about the rise and fall of Johnny Kovak (Stallone), a Hungarian-American dockworker who becomes the boss of the Federation of Inter-State Truckers. It is loosely based on Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa.
Tropes:
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: The management of Consolidated Trucking. However, the higher ups of F.I.S.T. start acting a lot like them.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Johnny is all too aware of how F.I.S.T. increasingly behaves like the very corrupt corporate types he fought against. Nonetheless, he tries to stick to his principles even as he strains to keep the organization on track.
- Downer Ending: Johhny and Abe are killed by The Mafia with the former's body never being found. Considering it's based on Jimmy Hoffa, it's not that surprising.
- Fist of Rage: An Invoked Trope by the Federation of Interstate Truckers (though it also symbolizes strength through unity as well.)
- Fun with Acronyms/Initialism Title: The Federation of InterState Truckers
- He Who Fights Monsters: Over the course of the film, F.I.S.T. starts acting a lot like the Corrupt Corporate Executives from the beginning.
- Ironic Echo: Max Graham (the original president of F.I.S.T.) claims that Johnny is "going to sell out". Later on when it turns out that Max himself sold out, Johnny reminds him of what he said earlier.
- Law Enforcement, Inc.: The "Law and Order League" are the personal thugs of Consolidated Trucking.
- The Mafia: F.I.S.T. is forced to ally with the mob in order to counter Consolidated Trucking's "Law and Order League". This leads to unfortunate consequences later on.
- Smash the Symbol: The climax of the trucking strike is when F.I.S.T. tears down the Consolidated Trucking sign.
- Working-Class Hero: Johnny. Even as he becomes a wealthy and powerful man himself, however, he still fights for the working man.
