Elmore Leonards original script, which he turned into one of the all-time-great movie novelizations that same year, takes that bare premise and unleashes it on the cool, crisp Colorado mountain air of late Autumn, building to the films unforgettable image of Rendas mob mowing down a full barn-stock of Majestyk melons with a hail of machine-gun fire. Movies. Then there is Vince's love interest Mexican labor organizer Nancy Chavez ( Linda Cristal). More than in the other contemporary Bronson action vehicles, "Mr. Majestyk" benefices from a steadily paced and intelligent screenplay that fully revolves on Charles Bronson, but at least never exaggeratedly idolizes him. Print Details. Bobby even calls Renda on this. By the way Bronson whose real name was Buckinski must have been happy to play a person of Polish ancestry in this one, I believe it is one of the few times he did. Mr. Majestyk (1974) Mr. Majestyk is one of my favorite Charles Bronson action films. Movies. The escape during the prison transportation, for example, as well as the Ford pick-up chase and the climatic shootout. For more Mr. Majestyk, check out the trailer. Mr. Majestyk is a 1974 American action film directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Elmore Leonard. Release Date: July 17, 1974. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! Charles Bronson embodies the strong authority and deadly capability of the title character in director Richard Fleischer and writer Elmore Leonard's 1974 thriller Mr. Majestyk, released by Kino Lorber on Blu-ray this December from a new 2K master. Read more. Al Lettieri is perfectly cast as the heavy and Paul Koslo is exquisite as the weasel. Bronson's best 70s vehicle? Film data from TMDb. After kicking a local hood off his property, Majestyk is . The late great Al Lettieri is hilarious as hit-man Frank "The Keeeeeeeys" Renda. Arguably the ultimate testament to the actors hardbitten presence, and a very entertaining rewatch. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from [email protected]. Please consider upgrading to a Pro accountfor less than a couple bucks a month, youll get cool additional features like all-time and annual stats pages (example), the ability to select (and filter by) your favorite streaming services, and no ads! You're almost there! The premise is also exciting and downright cool: Bronson as a watermelon farmer who gets screwed by the man for protecting his property and then gets screwed when he attempts to secure his freedom via a poorly conceived plan. Cinemark Video Review. Lee Purcell came up with the idea for her gun moll character Wiley to carry a Bible. Usually at this point, someone adds: They just dont make em like that anymore. That may be definitely be true for Bronson. Add in a screenplay written by the great Elmore Leonard, whose outstanding short stories and novels have been adapted into the films 3:10 to . Charles Bronson takes center stage in this tale of vigilante justice and revenge set against the backdrop of the gorgeous Colorado landscape. Vincent Majestyk (Bronson) is a Vietnam vet and ex-con who turns to the simple life in rural Colorado, running a watermelon farm. I doubt I could call any Charles Bronson film that I've seen a masterpiece, but I have enjoyed most of them. By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and 3.5 Stars out of 5. Mr. Majestyk is a Charles Bronson movie of uncommon quality. Like a swift and savage punch to the mid-section, or a rifle-butt to the more tender part of the male anatomy just below, the first of this pair, Mr. Majestyk, addresses violence and revenge in a deceptively straightforward manner of screen proficiency that precisely suits the realism Bronson effortlessly embodied. Mr. Majestyk is a Charles Bronson movie of uncommon quality. A natural film grain is evident and during low light scenes, such as when characters are hiding out in an abandoned building or cabin, or shot through the windshield, it increases, but never to the . MR. MAJESTYK - Charles Bronson at his very best! Mr. Majestyk is a 1974 American action film directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Elmore Leonard. Terms and Policies Richard Fleischer has directed a winner. This film, The world of organized crime sucks melon grower Mr. Majestyk into its orbit in this film with its brazenly convoluted plot to which they resort in order to get and then keep the ball rolling. That same night, as Majestyk and Nancy have a drink at a bar in town Renda approaches and tells him he plans to kill him. This is another strong entry from Fleischer. But it isn't all cut and paste; there is some really good story telling here and bravura performances by the man who plays the main criminal. Most of Majestyks watermelon crop is destroyed, When Majestyk sees the damage Renda has done to his watermelons, he never yells or screams but instead intensely clenches his fist into a tight ball, uses his truck to ram a carload of thugs off the mountain road, UsefulNotes/Parental Guidance Suggested Rating. English, Director: Leonard, who wrote the film with an original screenplay, took the name Majestyk from a character in his 1969 crime novel The Big Bounce. Despite the usual rigors of on-location shooting and some grueling car chase stunts . One she is very loyal to him. Disgusted, Kopas decides to leave when he realizes Renda will also sacrifice him to get to Majestyk. Potentially dismissive viewers should be cautioned, though, from underestimating the unyielding strength and resulting follow-through of that central story-line. He then unhooks the trailer and leaves it behind the truck. Bullets and flipping cars and explosive chaos all commence within the first 20 minutes but within the framework of a free form yet dryly straightforward story that pits Bronson as the ultimate fugitive rancher that you want to see him be. Likewise, the films elaborate action set-pieces most memorably, the failed mid-town mob attack on the bus carrying Majestyk, Renda, and other inmates to the county jail; and, much later in the film, the Rocky Mountains-pass punishment taken by Majestyk and gal pal Nancy Chavezs (Linda Cristal) Ford pick-up over the roughest terrain imaginable occur on a direct line to Majestyks sole, melon-shaped concern. Mr. Majestyk is a 1974 action film directed by Richard Fleischer (Soylent Green) and starring Charles Bronson as Vince Majestyk, an ex-con and Vietnam veteran whose watermelon farm is threatened by small time mobsters. RT25: Celebrating 25 years of Rotten Tomatoes. The Ford truck was not modified to do the stunts, it was pretty much box stock. | The poor mobsters don't stand a chance.Steve Crook. ITS ME, MARGARET. Please register or login to enable Dark Mode. Before Majestyk punches Frank into the bedroom of the hunting cabin, you can clearly see it is a stunt double as his hairstyle does not match Al Lettieri's character. For sheer visual delight, the one scene from this picture that everyone remembers is the great watermelon shoot-out, one of the more colorful gunfight scenes you're likely to witness that doesn't involve blood for all of it's red. To recall the cinema of Charles Bronson, one can't get far without referencing his sterling epoch in 1970s era American film, a period eclipsed mightily by the star's work with director Michael Winner. Elmore Leonard as screenwriter, however, elevates the material to being fun without being overly stupid. This great looking throwback truck is the perfect example of a Ford truck on film that steals the show. I'm thinking to myself that there's no way any vehicle could stand up to that kind of punishment, so I wonder how many they wound up using. Too bad director Fleischer can't resist proving that he too can do cartoonish violence along with the best of them. Action and thriller with a two-fisted Charles Bronson. Dismissed as workmanlike, solid, or merely effective, Bronson was somehow seen as less of an actor for the very realistic and naturalistic qualities he brought to the screen. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie. Used the latest Establishing Shots to discuss my new fascination with Charles Bronson as an action body: a very strange choice until you begin considering how he uses his personality to be unassuming to make the work of violence all the more surprising. | Purcell talks about the opposing on-set behavior of self-contained Bronson and larger-than-life Al Lettieri, their contrasting characters and personalities undoubtedly carrying over to their memorable screen rivalry, as well as the open and collaborative spirit director Fleischer encouraged while filming. Charles Bronson stars as the title character, a melo. A Fantastic effort from director Richard Fleischer, Bronson stars (in a great performance) as Vincent Majestyk, owner of a rich stretch of property that he uses to grow melons. The plot isn't hyper-convoluted, but it's definitely more ambitious than the average "Death Wish" sequel in which Charles blows away random street scum. What are you favorite Ford trucks from film or television? | Mr. Majestyk is a 1974 action drama film directed by Richard Fleisher and starring Charles Bronson.The screenplay was written by Elmore Leonard, who later adapted it into a novelization of the same name.. Vincent Majestyk (Bronson) is a Vietnam vet and ex-con who turns to the simple life in rural Colorado, running a watermelon farm. Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. Vince Majestyk a melon farmer trying to get his melons picked is disrupted when his charged for assaulting the no-good Bobby Kopas and finds himself in jail. Made by fans in Aotearoa New Zealand. Vince must stand up for his farm and his workers in the face of Frank's efforts to eliminate him. Director Richard Fleischer may not go so far as to suggest that Majestyk dreams in melons although some viewers could suspect that he just might but the melon monomania does make for an action premise unusually suitable to Charles Bronsons straight-edge and hard-driving screen persona. However, when it comes to Ford, we have seen that they are still bad to the bone. Pedro Pascal Has an Update for Last of Us Season 2 Filming. Between this and Hard Times, it's a tough decision. Renda lures Lundy, his most competent goon into a trap in an attempt to find Majestyk. MR. MAJESTYK - Charles Bronson at his very best! In most drive scenes the pickup truck would definitely be torn to pieces, but not here. There are. She later worked for some time as a realtor, presided over her own import/export business and invested wisely to become . Alternate Versions Spoilers ahead: Does Bronson win? Who would of thought that Charles Bronson would give his best performance as a melon farmer! And it keeps going, showing that these trucks do not have a death wish. He arranges for Kopas to drop the assault charges against Majestyk, and orders his men to find the "melon picker" so he can have the satisfaction of killing him personally. The script of Mr. Majestyk was Elmore Leonard's attempt to concentrate on the plight of Chicano migrant workers, instead the film that hit screens was extens. What such readings failed to take into account, however, was that the latter was a deeply complex and darkly satirical take on those themes, while the former was more a tale of survival and self-preservation than of pure vengeance. You definitely won't be disappointed. About three minutes later, after having disposed of the one vehicle by pushing it over the cliff, the steering wheel is now a completely different style wheel, in blue, with thicker spokes and a clearly-visible horn ring. prison, jail, criminal, convicts or violence, western, outlaw, cowboy, shootout or gunfight, action, explosives, exciting, action-packed or villain. Majestyk is a simple guy who just wants to get his melon crop in, but he steps on some toes, winds up in the drunk tank, and then accidentally foils a ham handed attempt to break a big time criminal out of the same jail. Starring: Charles Bronson. hes calmer hijacking a prison bus than i am getting up to get a glass of water but then somebody will mention the melons and he'll do an exaggerated 'that's what im TALKIN ABOUT' hand gesture--he just wants to pick those melons! Unfazed by Kopas' threats, Majestyk knocks him down and drives him from the premises. And, as it opened 45 years ago today, we thought it was the perfect time to show Bronson kicking ass and taking names in a F-100 that is, well, also kicking ass and taking names. Some time after the hit men shoot up most of the fresh melons stored in Majestyk's barn during his absence, Majestyk returns and loads the few undamaged melons into a trailer. And that business is watermelon farming. 2023 Lariat Ultimate Auto Hold function? It's a cooler presentation . When Majestyk tries to wrestle the gun away from Renda in the Mustang, his hat falls off, but in the next shot, when the car screeches to a stop, Majestyk's hat is back on. One of the series of tunnels used in the production: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobili/44123978700/, https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobili/44123978700/in/photolist-2ae5VBs-DJiLTC-qEknDj-81ASUK-brksJa-5Dfw2A-6hFXMM-duzDMK-duzDDg-duFeKd-duFfz9-9vQmRM-8edm2S-7NqUsB-4EcKQi-PxGYm-8AVeXX-e4ZMVt-njUMa-JammU8-JajTuw-JamAFM-K6LsAD-K6LoFK-JETcMb-FnNUwG-JETaio-JajUtq-JYPQFn-JYPPKe-KVy44L-JETbLJ-JYPRoV-6GqoQn, The Ford Motor Company used scenes licensed from the movie showing extreme driving of Majestyk's 1968 Ford F-100 pickup truck during commercials for its 1976 Ford trucks.[1]. It's Me, Margaret. The movie was filmed in the American state of Colorado, particularly La Junta, which about three hours south of Denver in the same state. "Mr. Majestyk" certainly isn't a non-stop spitfire of action sequences, but there are a couple of explosively violent moments that are unforgettable. At first glance a movie where so much violence circles around one mans fruit farm would seem laughably ludicrous. | Renda learns the charges for which he had been imprisoned have been dropped. Al Lettieri worked for director Richard Fleischer the previous year in 'The Don is Dead'. Renda offers his captor $25,000 for his freedom, but Majestyk declines. Blu-ray turns out to be a great format for home video mainstay Mr. Majestyk, whose four decade manifestations through Beta Max, VHS, and DVD have tended toward grit-and-grain in a visual presentations perhaps too redolent of the grit-and-grain mid-1970s. Learn more. and the Majestyk'. Well, he's too much for any of them when the crap hits the fan, and of course he can't be bought off. Anyone has a Job2 KR, Platinum or Limited scheduled yet? But when a Mafia hitman (Al Lettieri) destroys Majestyk's crop, the farmer's fuse is finally blown. Letterboxd is an independent service created by a small team, and we rely mostly on the support of our members to maintain our site and apps. Especially if the man in question is the great Charles Bronson. The picture is missing from the back cover of Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release for 2021, but is still there on 2014 bare-bones release. The movie is low budget but effective. I can see him farming anything, but not watermelons (or maybe blueberries). Al Lettieri worked for director Richard Fleischer the previous year in 'The Don is Dead'. The final action sequence becomes the opposite of Violent Saturday, with the hero trying to draw the villains out instead of the other way around.
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