Happy 62nd Birthday, Jet Li!!
I had never heard of Jet Li until I saw a trailer for LETHAL WEAPON 4 that mentioned him. Now, as a rabid fan of Hong Kong cinema, I consider him a legend. And the scene that started it all for me is this badass scene where he dismantles Riggs, Murtaugh, their guns and their family members. Enjoy, my friends!
Al Pacino finally won his long overdue Oscar with his excellent performance as Lt. Colonel Frank Slade in SCENT OF A WOMAN. This scene where he’s “just getting warmed up” is a personal favorite and no doubt helped him bring home the gold.
Happy 85th Birthday, Mr. Pacino!
Back in 1976, Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland did a movie together called FROM NOON TIL THREE. The western set, romantic comedy featured Jill singing the song “Hello and Goodbye.” The music was written by Elmer Bernstein, with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It would go on to be nominated for a Golden Globe award in 1977 for “Best Original Song.” In honor of her birthday, I’m sharing it with you today!
VIOLENT CITY opens with Jeff Heston (Charles Bronson) and Vanessa Shelton (Jill Ireland) living it up on a tropical island. They boat, they make love, and then spend some time enjoying the local island culture. Unfortunately, this is all a mirage and Jeff can’t escape the effects of his day job, that of a professional assassin. Soon a group of men are after him in a high speed chase on the narrow streets of paradise. Just when he thinks he’s gotten away, he’s double crossed and shot by his former associate, Jerry. Even worse, Vanessa gets in the car with Jerry and the two speed off. Waking up in jail, Jeff is visited by Steve (Umberto Orsini), the lawyer of his former boss Weber (Telly Savalas). Steve and Weber want him to come back and work for their organization. Jeff is more interested in finding Jerry and Vanessa, so when he finally gets out of jail, he turns their job offer down and continues on his odyssey into New Orleans. Jerry’s not too hard to find because he’s a professional race car driver. Jeff goes to his next race and shoots his tire out from long distance with a high powered rifle and watches as his car explodes in flames of death! Vanessa’s not so easy, not because he can’t find her, but because he loves her. He’d much rather make love to her than kill her, so that’s exactly what he does a couple of more times when he locates her. Even when he finds out she’s actually married to Weber, she’s able to convince Jeff that she only married him so she could be safe and that she despises him. She convinces Jeff that for them to be happy together that he should kill Weber. Does she really love him, or is she just using his badassery again?
In honor of Jill Ireland’s birthday (April 24, 1936), I thought I’d review a Charles Bronson film that features a strong performance from his beautiful wife. And speaking of beautiful, she has never been any more beautiful than she is in VIOLENT CITY. I mentioned earlier that the film opens in a tropical paradise. Let’s just say that Bronson and Ireland are in peak physical condition and absolutely striking as they walk the island streets. With his chiseled features and mustache, Bronson is the perfect image of masculinity. With her blonde hair, curvaceous figure and perfect tan, she’s a vision of feminine beauty. Bronson’s Jeff Heston is as tough as it gets, and we soon find out that no man can get the better of him. It’s a tribute to Ireland’s performance that we don’t necessarily blame him for continuing to give her second and third chances, even to his own peril. And she saves her best work for the end, when we all find out that she has more going for her than just beauty.
VIOLENT CITY was directed by the Italian filmmaker Sergio Sollima, whose other credits include the excellent spaghetti western, THE BIG GUNDOWN with Lee Van Cleef, and the solid “Polizziotteschi” crime film REVOLVER, with Oliver Reed. He gets more sensual performances from the stars than we’d get in future years, as they do lots and lots of loving on each other throughout the course of the film. The musical score is from the master composer himself, Ennio Morricone. It’s not quite ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST level, but it’s really good stuff and quite memorable. If I had one complaint it would be that I wish Telly Savalas had more screen time as Weber. His character added life to the film whenever he appeared. He could be a real asshole, but he seemed to have a lot of fun, and he makes one hell of a cocktail (the moonlight passion)!
My final word on VIOLENT CITY is that it’s a solid Italian crime film, with a lean, mean Bronson, good action sequences, and a more than adequate Jill Ireland as a beautiful femme fatale. I certainly recommend it. Happy Birthday, Jill!
VIOLENT CITY was initially released in America under the name THE FAMILY in hopes of drafting off the THE GODFATHER. See the trailer below.
Today is the 78th birthday of James Woods, one of the great actors of his generation. Capable of completely disappearing into his roles, Woods is known for his unmatched intensity and diversity. He can play anything from a badass action hero to the most evil scum of society, from a mentally handicapped adult to the most intelligent man in the room. He’s been one of my favorite actors since I first discovered him in the late 80’s in the movie BEST SELLER (1987). While he’s won multiple Emmy awards and Golden Globes, the fact he’s never won an Oscar for his acting skills is beyond my comprehension. As he was an Executive Producer of OPPENHEIMER (2023), I particularly enjoyed that film’s Oscar success! Happy Birthday Mr. Woods! Thanks for the countless hours of entertainment you’ve brought into my life!
ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984)
SALVADOR (1986)
THE HARD WAY (1991)
GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI (1996)
Rest in peace, the great character actor Nicky Katt. The details are still sketchy but it’s being reported that he passed away at the age of 54.
Katt was a child actor who transitioned into adult roles. He appeared in a lot of movies but I’ll always remember him as Clint, the absolutely terrifying bully in 1993’s Dazed and Confused. Here he is, scaring the heck out of poor Adam Goldberg.
(For a while, there were plans for a Dazed and Confused sequel in which Clint reformed and became a respected businessman while Adam Goldberg’s Mike went insane as he continued to obsess on that fight back in 1976.)
Director Ted Kotcheff has passed away.
Kotcheff directed a lot of classic films but perhaps the most influential was 1982’s First Blood. In today’s scene that I love, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is arrested by Sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy). Teasle may think that he’s keeping his community safe and teaching Rambo a lesson about respecting authority but, needless to say, he’s making a huge mistake.
As a big-time lover of B-movies in the 80’s and 90’s, I’ve mostly known Tim Thomerson as Dollman and Jack Deth in all those Trancers movies. I know there’s a bunch of those because Lisa hosted every one of them on #FridayNightFlix. But I found out a few years ago that he was also a well known stand up comedian who did a Charles Bronson impression. On his 79th birthday, I thought I would celebrate his stand up comedy. Be on the lookout for the Bronson impression that starts at about the 4 and a half minute mark. And this is definitely NSFW! Enjoy, my friends!
I love Billy Dee Williams. When I was a kid, I remember Florence from THE JEFFERSONS loving him. I also loved him as Lando Calrissian in the STAR WARS movies. I’m sure I had his action figure. As I got a little bit older, I started to appreciate his larger body of work in movies like NIGHTHAWKS with Sylvester Stallone and Rutger Hauer, and NUMBER ONE WITH A BULLET with Robert Carradine. On his 88th birthday, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate Billy Dee Williams, and one of my favorite action movie scenes. This scene from NIGHTHAWKS features three unbelievably cool actors in their prime!
Enjoy, my friends, and Happy Birthday Billy Dee!!
I’ve always appreciated the legendary Roger Corman, who was born on this day in 1926, because he gave Charles Bronson his first starring role in MACHINE GUN KELLY. I’ve heard Quentin Tarantino himself say that It’s the best movie that Corman ever directed. It was such an important movie for Bronson because it directly led to a HUGE break 10 years later when Alain Delon wanted him for his co-star in FAREWELL, FRIEND (1968). Delon wanted Bronson because he admired his performance as George Kelly.
Happy Birthday in heaven, Mr. Corman! Thanks for giving Charles Bronson, and so many greats, the break of a lifetime!
Through the Shattered Lens 