The Stone Killer (1973) review

 

THE STONE KILLER 1973

Charles Bronson (Lt. Lou Torrey), Martin Balsam (Al Vescari), Jack Colvin (Lionel Jumper), Paul Koslo (Alfred Langley), Norman Fell (Captain Les Daniels), David Sheiner (Guido Lorenz), Stuart Margolin (Mr. Lawrence)

Directed by Michael Winner

The Short Version: Charles Bronson's on a Winning streak with his third film for director Michael Winner. Now in 'Tough Cop' mode, Bronson makes your day in a film that punches the clock as a quasi DIRTY HARRY (1971), while working overtime as a Mafia thriller. It's a convoluted, if violent tale of mob vengeance that crams a multitude of themes and cultural variance into a 95 minute running time. Nowhere near as linear or as orthodox as Siegel's iconic 'angry cop' classic, it's still incredibly stylish and raw all at the same time. THE STONE KILLER is bloody, occasionally grotesque in its violence, and features more variance in locations than Pam Grier's costume changes in FOXY BROWN (1974). As a bonus, there's some superb dummy deaths for mannequin masochists.

New York detective Lou Torrey is transferred to LA after a chase with a teenage criminal ends in the boy's death. Once there he immediately finds himself embroiled in a hot case after arresting a former hitman named Armitage. Learning he's wanted for murder back in New York, Torrey is then assigned to extradite him back to the Big Apple. Upon his arrival, Armitage is inexplicably gunned down outside the airport. Before he was snuffed out, Armitage loosed his lips on a future hit of some significance. This bit of info leads Torrey into a complex conspiracy involving Vietnam vets and a mobsters revenge for a 42 year old vendetta known as The Night of the Sicilian Vespers.

Bronson gets Dirty in this violent cop thriller from soon-to-be DEATH WISH director, Michael Winner. Interestingly, the controversial British filmmaker had just done a Wild West version of DEATH WISH with Bronson laying down Indian law in CHATO'S LAND (1972). While that was a warm-up for the iconic, modern-day vigilante favorite, Winner next turned Bronson into a hitman with THE MECHANIC (1972).

Following up his tale of an assassin and his young apprentice, Winner does an immersive, if convoluted, imitation of Siegel's DIRTY HARRY (1971). But whereas the Eastwood classic is far more linear in its narrative, Winner's film requires your undivided attention. This is one of those movies where you want to make your snacks BEFORE you sit down to watch it. 

Based on John Gardner's book, 'A Complete State of Death', this cinematic adaptation begins on very familiar ground, with Bronson uttering Callahanian dialog while his superiors rub his excessive style the wrong way. In the book (what few details I've gathered about it), Torrey's first name is Derek, and comes from Scotland Yard. The storyline is a bit different and sleazier than its celluloid counterpart.

The plot literally thickens after ten minutes when new characters are introduced--some of whom are quickly killed off in hails of machine gun fire. At the thirty, we've got Vietnam vets, flamboyant hitmen (like MR. MAJESTYK's Paul Koslo), and Bronson as the chisel-faced cop trying to put the pieces together... just like the viewer will be doing if you're not paying close attention. And if that weren't enough, there's a hippie commune and black panthers added to the mix. Soon after, it becomes clear the heart of the film lies in a 42 year old Sicilian vendetta for a massacre that occurred in April of 1931.

With an epic number of characters to contend with, Gerald Wilson's script is a little too ambitious for a 95 minute movie. It feels a bit thin in places, especially considering it's crowded with every crime trope and social strata of the time period. Some of these feel arbitrary, and do nothing to make the film less confusing for anyone that may have ADD.

The picture, enterprising in scope as it is, could've used a bit more meat on the bones. For example, the film touches on the damage done to those who have returned from the war. The usage of 'Nam vets is integral to the storyline, but we get little insight into these men; and not much more as to why Vescari chooses them for his revenge other than referring to them as 'Stone Killers', or outsiders.

Delving into Mafia traditions and how they've regressed over the years, a little more elaboration into Vescari's disenchantment with changing syndicate customs would've given that character more weight. Played by Martin Balsam, the film revolves around his deep-seated vendetta; yet secondary villains tend to dominate the film with Balsam's Vescari popping in on occasion to remind you who the real bad guy is. One of his character's best moments is inside a church where a lies during a confessional; this leading into an ambiguous ending.

Balsam played another mob boss that same year in Alberto De Martino's outstanding IL CONSIGLIORI (COUNSELOR AT CRIME); one of many THE GODFATHER-inspired movies coming out of Italy at that time. Two years earlier, Balsam was essaying the role of a jaded policeman in Damiano Damiani's genre classic CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN (1971). In 1985, Balsam would turn up in another Bronson movie, DEATH WISH 3; in that film, the two men have a grand rapport between them. Surprisingly, neither men share a scene in THE STONE KILLER.

Unlike Eastwood's Callahan, Bronson's Torrey has a somewhat better grasp on his temper. Often phlegmatic, quick-witted, and a bit philosophical, Torrey is a multi-faceted personality. Bronson himself is more or less interchangeable from his other Winner roles, yet the 1970s provided him with a far greater selection of differing roles than the 1980s did.

Despite being made so soon after Siegel's movie, Winner's pseudo-duplicate feels less like DIRTY HARRY than later Bronson coppers like the grandiosely sleazy 10 TO MIDNIGHT (1983) and MURPHY'S LAW (1986).

Prior to this movie, Bronson starred in THE VALACHI PAPERS (1972), another De Laurentiis production based on a novel, and a film that was specifically about the code of the Mob. It's recommended as well.

The action sequences are well done if few and far between during the first seventy minutes; after that, things pick up considerably, culminating in an eye-opening, vicious denouement packed with blood squibs and bodies spiraling from high altitudes. If you're a connoisseur of dummy deaths, THE STONE KILLER has some of the finest examples of mannequin abuse in all of cinema history.

Additionally, one of the film's greatest assets is the variety in locations. There's a new one seemingly every couple of minutes. Winner and his crew revel in the grime and chipped paint of urban cityscapes; the colorful, cramped environs of local dives; and even the open isolation of the desert. As complicated as the narrative can be at times, it's multitude of settings gives the picture an ambitious scope.

On a minor note, if you're a fan of the comedy series THREE'S COMPANY, two of that programs stars are in this movie--a young John Ritter and Norman Fell.

Fans of Charles Bronson and 70s crime pictures are the prime targets of THE STONE KILLER. Next to the films it emulates like DIRTY HARRY (1971), THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) and THE GODFATHER (1972), it's fairly obscure; and that's a shame, as it's just as stylish and well-made as those movies, if a little too ambitious for its own good.

This review is representative of the Twilight Time bluray. Specs and Extras: 1080p 1.85:1; region A; isolated music track; audio commentary with Bronson biographer Paul Talbot; original theatrical trailer. Limited to 3,000.

Raid On Entebbe (1977) review

RAID ON ENTEBBE 1977

Peter Finch (Yitzhak Rabin), Charles Bronson (General Dan Shomron), Yaphet Kotto (Idi Amin), Martin Balsam (Daniel Cooper), Horst Buchholz (Wilfred Boese), John Saxon (General Benny Peled), Jack Warden (General Mordecai Gur), Sylvia Sidney (Dora Bloch), Robert Loggia (Yigal Allon), Tige Andrews (Shimon Peres), Eddie Constantine (Captain Becaud), David Opatoshu (Menachem Begin), Allan Arbus (Eli Melnick), Stephen Macht (Lieutenant Colonel Yonni Netanyahu), James Woods (Captain Sammy Berg)

Directed by Irvin Kershner

The Short Version: The true story of the ballsy Israeli commando rescue of hostages held by terrorists at Uganda's Entebbe Airport is brought to the screen by Irvin Kershner in this gripping 1977 Television production. Superb acting pulls you into the action, and a pseudo documentary approach gives the impression you're there watching it unfold. The tension is high leading up to the spectacularly mounted action climax, the Raid On Entebbe.

Air France flight 139 is hijacked by Palestinian terrorists, landing the airbus at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. With the cooperation of dictator Idi Amin, the Jewish passengers are grouped together and threatened with death if demands for the release of 53 revolutionaries aren't met. Of course, the demands change to make the already reluctant negotiations more difficult. Against all odds and with little time to spare, the Israeli military, in complete secrecy, launches Operation Thunderbolt, a covert rescue operation to free the passengers.

Simply one of the best Made For Television films ever produced about one of history's greatest examples of heroism. The famous raid occurred on July 4th, 1976; it didn't take Hollywood long to mount not one, but two films based on the event. First out of the gate was VICTORY AT ENTEBBE, released to TV in December of 1976. Like RAID, it too had a big cast, only Kershner's picture (released to TV less than a month later) was the stronger of the two in its cast, its storytelling, and in its longevity. In 1977, Menahem Golan directed the Israeli production of OPERATION THUNDERBOLT (that featured Klaus Kinski and Sybil Danning in its cast), a picture that, aside from its original multilingual format, had an English language version produced for the international market. Menahem retold the story once more for his Cannon company in 1986 by weaving the true account around American Action Hero escapism with macho classic, THE DELTA FORCE.

The class act that was RAID ON ENTEBBE (1977) didn't go unnoticed; it won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture For Television, and won two Emmy Awards for Best Cinematography and Sound Editing. The film was nominated for eight more awards.

At 140 minutes, the film moves at an unusually speedy pace. The action doesn't come till the last 20 minutes. Thanks to the tight editing, the picture maintains a tension that builds from one deliberation to the next--between the military planning the rescue with little time on their hands, while diplomats and leaders contemplate whether they should negotiate with terrorists. At times the photography from Emmy winner Bill Butler fluctuates between a 'you are there', documentary feel and modestly epic grandeur.

 
Performances are many, and all are strong across the board. Naturally, Bronson fans will make up the bulk of RAID's audience. Bronson doesn't enter the frame till about 30 minutes in, but you will hear his characters name a few times to build his entrance. To be clear so the man's fans won't be disappointed, RAID ON ENTEBBE isn't technically a Bronson movie; it's an ensemble film that happens to have Bronson in it. The marketing of the movie often sold it as a Bronson movie both here and abroad, the latter of which it played theatrically. 

Yaphet Kotto isn't quite as outrageous as the late Joseph Olita's portrayal, that is, the ultimate portrayal of Idi Amin in AMIN: THE RISE AND FALL (1981), but he subtlely captures the psychotic tendencies of the dictatorial, egomaniacal madman who butchered hundreds of thousands of people. Amin's paranoia and penchant for propaganda shines through during his handful of scenes. None of Amin's sadism is touched on, but if you are familiar with him, it makes Kotto's performance all the more threatening. Whenever he visits the captured passengers, he has an entourage with him who look a slight bit uncomfortable about the scenario; rightfully so considering the paranoid Amin would kill you for next to nothing. Loving the spotlight, cameras constantly go off, capturing Uganda's then tyrannical ruler posing for photos with a forced grin on his face. His hatred of Jews adds a layer of unsettling horror to the scene where he spies a young Jewish boy among the hostages, laughing and putting his arm around the child.

The actual real life raid was a humiliation to Amin. Naturally, he politicized the incident immediately afterward in an effort to make himself appear the victim. Retaliation came with violence towards Kenya since they aided Israel by allowing them to refuel for the trip back home. Also, one of the hostages, Dora Bloch, became ill while she was held captive. This is covered in the film. The scene where Bloch has a brief conversation with Amin is eerie in hindsight knowing what lay ahead for her. Taken to a hospital, Amin had her murdered the day after the raid. An end title on the film states she was never seen again. After Amin was deposed, Bloch's remains were discovered in 1979. According to reports released years later, Dora Bloch was shot, and her face badly burned.

 
Stephen Macht and James Woods put in good supporting roles as members of the commando unit, the former being the man who leads the raid, Yonni Netanyahu. If the last name sounds familiar, Yonni was the older brother to current Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Yonni was the only member of the Israeli forces who died during the raid. Other casualties amounted to three hostages and the aforementioned Dora Bloch.

 
The motley clutch of terrorists, a radical leftist bunch, are made up of The Popular Front For the Liberation of Palestine and Che Guevera's Gaza Brigade. As Horst Buchholz informs us near the beginning, the reason for the hijacking is to barter release of a slew of imprisoned extremists and to punish the French for dealing with "fascist, bloodthirsty, imperialist Israeli's". While the other performers playing the all too willing to die terrorists, Buchholz seems to not be totally free of humanity; at least he's the only one given enough screen time to appear as something other than a trigger-happy killer. He and Balsam share some great scenes together. During the raid, Buchholz intends to end things quickly with a grenade. He looks over and sees his captive (played by Balsam), puts down the grenade and settles for a machine gun battle instead.

Kershner will always be widely known for helming THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980), the best of the original STAR WARS trilogy. Other titles in his filmography include NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983) and ROBOCOP 2 (1990).

 
Movies made for TV often look just that--constrained by the parameters that the medium allows. With a substantial budget in the 3 million range, RAID ON ENTEBBE is one of those rare exceptions where the film looks and feels much bigger than its small screen destination often offers. Overseas, Kershner's picture got theatrical play--the format it has more in common with. Well worth tracking down if you're a Bronson fan, love action films, or if you wish to see a more serious minded alternate to the above-mentioned Chuck Norris classic, THE DELTA FORCE (1986).

This review is representative of the Second Sight R2 UK DVD. There are no extras.

10 To Midnight (1983) review

10 TO MIDNIGHT 1983

Charles Bronson (Leo Kessler), Gene Davis (Warren Stacy), Andrew Stevens (Paul McAnn), Lisa Eilbacher (Laurie Kessler), Geoffrey Lewis (Dave Dante), Wilford Brimley (Captain Malone), Robert F. Lyons (Nathan Zager), Kelly Preston (Doreen; billed as Kelly Palzis)

Directed by J. Lee Thompson

***WARNING! This review contains nudity***

The Short Version: Charles Bronson does a dirtier Harry in this 1983 Cannon thriller. Both sleazy and slickly made, J. Lee Thompson's fourth directed Bronson vehicle is among the actors best remembered works. Often offensive, frequently compelling, Bronson takes on a sadistic naked killer with a penchant for disemboweling women, and will stop at nothing to put him away. Not for the squeamish, this trashy quasi-horror movie brilliantly balances its exploitation and exposition, then blows you away with one of action cinemas most shockingly rewarding endings ever.

Warren Stacy is an office equipment repairman who has trouble meeting women. His self-imposed sexual frustration leads the disturbed Warren to kill the women that refuse his advances. No-nonsense cop Leo Kessler knows who the killer is, but hampered by a legal system that seems to protect the guilty and endanger the innocent, Leo takes matters into his own hands to stop Warren before he can kill again.

Charles Bronson followed up the unpleasant DEATH WISH 2 (1981) with this even more unsettling slasher movie decked out in murder thriller tresses. Rarely has trash been directed as well as it is in J. Lee Thompson's morbid movie. It's never extremely graphic, but there's something inherently uncomfortable about nude, or scantily dressed women being terrorized and killed by a knife-wielding psychopath with a preference for butchering in the buff. 

The script by William Roberts covers more bases than this sort of material normally does -- carving some strikingly well-rounded characterizations in a way that Michael Winner's sordid DEATH WISHers from the 80s never mustered. It chastises an inadequate legal system and the slimy counselors whose job it is to help get sick bastards back on the streets; special attention to Geoffrey Lewis as Dante, a lawyer who pushes for the truth, but his truth comes in the form of a dollar sign. Meanwhile, the script portrays Kessler as a gruff old-timer with an abhorrence for red tape and all those sticky formalities. Kessler is saddled with a much younger partner in the form of Paul McCann (Stevens), and he's strictly by the book. 

Bronson does wonders as the hardened lawman, coming to life in ways Paul Kersey never did. Aside from one being an architect and the other a cop, Kersey is like a silent, tortured soul whose only lot in life is to sweep up street scum, and operate as an inadvertent jinx to any potential female companions. Leo on the other hand, is alive with an angry verve often associated with an elder statesman longing for simpler times. Kersey was a vigilante and Leo is driven to it by the end upon realizing the (f)law will likely set Warren free. 

By comparison, Leo Kessler is more Harry Callahan than Paul Kersey. Leo's words of wisdom often include such pearls as "The way the law protects those maggots out there you'd think they were an endangered species", and "I remember when 'legal' meant 'lawful'. Now it means some kind of a loophole".

Despite their glaring differences, and McCann being a "profound pain in the ass", both men get along, and work very well together. Some of the dialog riffs off the age difference between them. This dichotomy is a balancing act with some heavy exploitation elements while giving the audience something to think about between two men with different views of the law -- one who follows the rules, and one who opts to break them. Scriptwriter Roberts even finds time to develop a bit of romance for McCann and Kessler's aggressive, but perky, and very attractive daughter, Laurie. As to be expected, she becomes a target of the naked killer, Warren Stacy. 

Gene Davis redefines creepy in the role of Warren, a young man with a massive amount of social and mental issues. Incapable of co-existing -- much less having relationships -- with women, Warren's easy out is to simply exterminate them. Lacking any refinements in manners, or social graces, the charmless, frustrated slasher is resigned to stabbing with a different sort of knife. Warren is instantly unlikable. It's almost as if he doesn't want women to like him. It's one thing to be uncomfortable about meeting a woman, but Warren is forceful and abrasive; often ruining any chance with the opposite sex as soon as he opens his mouth to speak; and this is a good thing since any sort of co-mingling with this sadist will result in a knife to the gut. 

Davis the actor is a real trouper, though, considering he runs around minus clothing the bulk of his screen time. In a time period where DNA wasn't an option, killing in the nude works in Stacy's favor, while acting as a metaphor for his sexual performance -- substituting a knife for his penis.

Warren's interactions with the fairer sex may all end in bloody disaster, but his run-ins with Kessler are all gems. It's in these bits that some minor humor emerges from the cesspool of sleaze 10 TO MIDNIGHT is dipped in. One of the best is when Warren is brought in for questioning, but is released because of a lack of evidence. Moments before he's let go, Kessler indulges in some good old fashioned excessive force after whipping out Warren's dick gobbler in a bit of 'evidence obtained under duress'. Even so, Leo knows he's got the right man -- it comes with age.

The final 15 grueling minutes when Warren gets inside Laurie's dorm room she shares with three female friends mirrors the sickening Richard Speck murders of 1966. One of her roommates is a young Kelly Preston (billed here as Kelly Palzis). Up to this point, 10 TO MIDNIGHT has been provocative in its message, and gratuitous in its violence; now it becomes harrowing and right disturbing as the buck naked slasher systematically disembowels Laurie's roomies while searching the place so as to put his knife in her. It's modestly gory, but the scene is shot and edited so masterfully, it ends up feeling even more nasty than what is shown.

10 TO MIDNIGHT (1983) was a success for Cannon and another intensely violent thriller headlined by Bronson. The actor had already done a Dirty Harry impersonation in 1973 with THE STONE KILLER. In this picture, Bronson is a dirtier Harry. Copiously padded with male and female nudity, and capped by an incredible shock ending, 10 TO MIDNIGHT ranks high on the Bronson meter; as well as being a greasy high point in Tough Guy cinema.

This review is representative of the MGM DVD.