Charles Bronson is the go to Tough Guy.
In need of of a high end action flick? No one does it better -grit, determination and brawn…
Mill Creek Entertainment provides us with a Charles Bronson action extravaganza on Bluray bundled with 4 of his more sought after flicks from the 70’s. All are newly high definition transfers and boasting brilliant colors and sharp picture. Each is a widescreen print and have not been available on DVD or digital for quite sometime.
Included on disc one is a hard hitting police drama from 1973-The Stone Killer directed by Michael Winner(Death Wish).
And last but not least- The Valachi Papers (1972) under the reins of famed Bond director Terrence Young. A true story about Joseph Valachi turned mafia informant and based on Peter Maas best selling book.
Disc 2 takes us back to 1975 with Breakout. Helmed by Tom Gries, it’s a get out of jail caper film with a great cast and an early performance from Randy Quaid (Vacation), plus Jill Ireland and Robert Duval (Lonesome Dove and The Great Santini) as the man everyone is trying to free from or keep isolated in a Mexican prison.
Then rounding out the collection comes a hard hitting bare knuckle boxing flick in Hard Times(1975) with Walter Hill( The Warriors) with his first time out as director.
All these titles contain some of Bronsons finest performances this side of Once Upon a Time in the West. For my money The Stone Killer is Charles at his best. Here he plays a cop who transfers from New York to La after a police shooting that leaves an under aged teen dead. It throws the community up in arms. Even though Lou Torrey is absolved from any wrong doing, he can feel the tension that could possibly generate future repercussions. And may cause future similar situations to be under scrutiny. Some time after Lou and his partner stumble in to the middle of a carefully plotted retaliation for a mafia killing that took place decades ago. Tracking from La to New York and back again chasing down leads as the head of a Sicilian mafia family is covering any loose ends that may reveal what is about to take place. Lots of shootouts and car/motorcycle chases with nail biting suspense. This is one that comes right down to the wire with the audience along for the ride. Will Torrey and his crew figure out what is going on before it is too late?
Boasting an A-list of supporting players: John Ritter of Threes Company in a small role as a cop on the beat with Martin Balsam, Ralph Waite (The Waltons), Stuart Margolin as the head of ex-Vietnam soldiers turned mercenaries and Paul Koslo (the 70’s biker flick-The Losers).
Above: the link to theme from the The Stone Killer by Roy Budd
Throughout the film the title rings true as various characters on both sides of the law demonstrate a hardened persona regarding taking a life all the while accompanied by a haunting score from child prodigy, British composer Roy Budd (had his own jazz band at age 17). Bronson as Torrey is seen several times looking at his reflection in a mirror and wondering is he as uncaring as society would make him out to be, is just as bad as the element that he is charged with apprehending. Just who are the stone killers- is it society as whole, our “men in blue” or the criminals? You decide.
Charles Bronson in the 70’s was the go to tough guy when making an action film. The amazing thing is when Bronson finally got his big break as a starring role he had already had a TV series(Man With a Camera 1958–1960 as a crime photographer)and several big pictures under his belt. He had made many guest appearances as well in the Television arena. But he always insisted he was going to make it in America. In fact he believed in this so much so that he turned Sergio Leone down three times to appear in his Euro-westerns. We are talking about all of the “Dollar” pictures plus The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Charles was the actor originally considered for the “man with no name” character. Sergio never gave up on Bronson and finally when he was offered the part of Harmonica in Once Upon a Time in the West(1968) — he accepted. It was an immediate hit with critics and audiences alike. It also made Charles Bronson an international star and a top draw at the box-office which he solidified over the next decade plus.
Above : German release poster for the Red Sun-starring along side Charles — Alain Delon, Tishiro Mifune and Ursla Andress and directed by Terence Young
To give you an idea why Charles may have made such a formidable tough guy on screen one only has to look at his background. he came from a family of 17 brothers and sisters. At one point had to wear his sisters clothes, worked in the coal mines of Pennsylvania and earned a purple heart for services rendered in the line of duty during WWII. So he had the background to go with the rugged features that made him so recognizable the world over. To give one an idea of just how popular Charles was he once was awarded a special Golden Globe- a Henrietta for World Film Favorite-Male 1972 along side Sean Connery.
They both amassed a credible body of work at this point in their careers and this still left another 30 years plus for an array wonderful portrayals and exciting entertainment on the small and big screen. So thank you Charles for giving us a tough guy with not only brawn but brains too!
Left: the iconic image from Mr Majestyk
Additional highly recommended films starring Charles -
The Dirty Dozen(1967), The White Buffalo, Death Hunt(1981 with Lee Marvin), You Can’t Win’em All(Tony Curtis), Chato’s Land and The Mechanic(Jan Michael Vincent).
I urge all to please check out all the above releases- you won’t be disappointed and don’t be a stranger, after all we are all just one big family in the world of pop culture. In the immortal words of Doctor Who it’s all “wibbly, wobbly”. So again we say keep it cool and on the down low. Be dangerous and diabolik…until next time this is Doc…
Bronson related-
Bronson’s Loose AGAIN! by Paul Talbot
Available now these additional releases…
A Creature Double Feature just in time for that ominous time of the year-
NIGHTWING starring Nick Mancuso (Stingray TV) series and David Warner Time After Time) & Shadow of the Hawk with Jan Michael Vincent and Chief Dan George 1st time on Bluray and High Definition…
Cutting edge Anime-
Osamu Tetzuka’s anime extravaganza Metropolis-Steelbook-Bluray/DVD(there is a version out now that is strictly a bare bones no special features)
Special Features
Amazing High-Definition Presentation, English SDH subtitles and English Translation
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and uncompressed Japanese audio
The Making of Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis documentary featurette
Also featuring interviews with the film’s creators along with concept animation comparisons!
Coming Soon-
April-
Link to Mill Creek Entertainment & Movie Spree-
and
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