Amazon.com: Walter Hill's colorful directorial debut has quite a cult following for its toughness and violence; it may well be his best film, in fact. Charles Bronson plays a silent street fighter in New Orleans in the '30s managed by the cool James Coburn. Jill Ireland, Strother Martin, and Michael McGuire costar in this spare existential Depression dirge. It owes a lot to its noir origins that Hill adores so much, yet there's something very fresh and vital about its subject and approach. That's really what made so many of these films from the '70s so endearing. An added bonus is the love and affection displayed by the real-life husband and wife team of Bronson and Ireland. --Bill Desowitz
I have the WS/FS version. The transfer is not very good; the soundtrack is mono, and does not do justice to the film. Technical issues aside, the movie is flawless. It has no special features.
If you're going to like this movie, you'll know it from the opening sequence: silence up to a diesel's rumble & whistle on the way into New Orleans; imagery to match.
Every element--acting, directing, writing, music, cinematography--is pitch-perfect. The music, in particular, is fabulous. Folk, cajun/zydecoe, dixieland, an extraordinary black gospel sequence. The location shooting, too: riverside warehouse, industrial interiors, barges and ferries, bayou community life, flop house, oyster house, Latin Quarter. Period street scenes, gorgeous automobiles, prohibition night life. You can practically smell the booze, sweat, shellfish and tobacco smoke.
The leads are truly wonderful: Bronson, Coburn, Strother Martin and Jill Ireland. So is the supporting cast.
There are many comments about the fight scenes, and I suppose they are good, but that's not what makes the movie for me. The protagonist (Bronson/Chaney) fights for money, not pleasure. He prefers knocking other people down to being himself knocked down, but he doesn't enjoy it.
Chaney has the self-confidence that comes from being good at what he does. He supports himself with his fighting, but does not live for it. Chaney lives for "the in-betweens." He is a drifter because being settled in hard times gives him no satisfaction; Chaney is an upright man in a beat-down time. His mannerisms are not genteel, though his spirit is. He does not say much, but his actions are compelling.
"Hard Times" is an old-fashioned movie about honor, loyalty, and decency and a great way to spend evening.
Hard Times aka "The Streetfighter" Overall, a reasonably high quality, no frills, DVD. My main criticism is that the full screen format left out a lot of detail at the periphery, for instance in the scene when Chaney (Bronson) challenges Pettibon's Cajun fighter. In the dispute after the fight all we hear is the click of a gun, we are left to assume from the there is an armed man because he is totally invisible. Likewise when Chaney shoots up Pettibon's honkytonk, some of the time he is aiming at invisible targets like the old fashioned pay phone on the wall (I only know this because I remember seeing this film at a movie theater back in the 70's. To appreciate what you are missing you have to compare the wide aspect opening scene (when Chaney hops off a freight train) with the rest of the film. I imagine they only transferred the opening scene in 2.35:1 so that you can read the titles. A wide aspect ratio is important when there is a lot of dynamic action going on and lets face it it's the fight scenes that are the most important part of the movie. Had it not been for this "defect" I would have given this DVD five stars, despite the absence of any bells and whistles.
A Real Gem Early Walter Hill film about street fighting in the 1920's with granite faced Charles Bronson as Chaney, James Coburn as huckster promoter Speed and Strother Martin as Poe, as a dope addict corner man. The best fight is a terrific battle in a cage between Bronson and movie bad guy Robert Tessier! Ol' Chuck tatooes his pointy-bald head with his fists. It is actually better than the final confronation between Chaney and a top fighter brought in by a gangster. Fun fair.
"Hard Times" - A Bronson must see Rock'em sock'em action. "Death Wish" with bare knuckles. A must see for Bronson fans. Excellent supporting cast (James Coburn, Strother Martin).
Bronson Hard as the times This is a great movie. Bronson is left with fairly minimal dialogue to worry about, but that is not what his opponnents should be worrying about. He is definitely lean and mean but desperate times call for these measires(sorry for the cliche) he fights for survival and the bare essentials he and his family need to live. The depression era is portrayed in the way that it should be,hard,filthy and above all with a thick layer of mistrust coming from all of the actors,Coburn is great as the mouthy fight fixer and Jill Ireland and Bronson bring their real life love to the proceeding's. The fight scenes are fantastic, I never get the feeling that i am being subjected to watching Bronson stand in stunt men, Bronson's bare knuckles talk more quickly and project more about the man than any amount of script could ever manage to do. I have been watching The Mechanic at present and this will be my next stop for more than the first time.. Bronson is never to everyone's taste however if you enjoy tough,reality driven entertainment and bare knuckles drawing blood,you will absolutely love this. Bravo Bronson. Ian.
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