1975 Directed by Walter Hill
In the depression, Chaney, a strong silent streetfighter, joins with Speed, a promoter of no-holds-barred street boxing bouts. They go to New Orleans where Speed borrows money to set up fights for Chaney, but Speed gambles away any winnings.
The great Walter Hill's detectable style is already fleshed out to a large degree with his debut, an impressive period drama/actioner, that's gifted with a peerless one-two punch of a top-billed cast in Bronson and Coburn.
This depression-era tale of bare-knuckle brawlers, and the con men who profit from them, is pitch-perfect tonally from start to end. Bronson is smartly cast, in one of his finest roles, as the largely stoic drifter simply looking to make some money outside of minimal paying part-time work. Coburn, of course, oozes fast-talking charm as Bronson's possible manager. It's the third time these two shared the screen, and they play off each other beautifully. It's hard imagining these roles played better by anyone else,…
Walter Hill directs this Depression Era-based fighting-drama, starring Charles Bronson and James Coburn. A straightforward but very well-crafted and engaging piece of work that I'd say is a high-point for everyone involved.
Bronson plays a travelling drifter who befriends a sleazy promoter of bare-handed brawls named Speed. He makes a living for himself in New Orleans, competing against tough opponents and making a good amount of money for Speed. Sadly enough, mishandling of the earnings and a bad gambling habit brings Speed into deeper trouble with the local mob, who continue to threaten him until he pays off his debts.
Like Hill's other works, it's a very male-dominated work, though it's not another one of Bronson's action romps where he…
Pretty much everything Walter Hill would touch upon in his amazing career shows up in this, Hard Times is a damn fine movie.
Walter Hill's first film is a great film and not just because it has Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Strother Martin in it, but because it has Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Strother Martin delivering peak fucking performances, still latched onto the prime of their on-screen mojo. They manage to spark humanity and machismo and mystery into characters that otherwise have literally no back story or personality on the page, which in return helps to mythologize these movie icons as the movie icons they are. Walter Hill had an enviable run there, right up through the 90s.
HARD TIMES is one of my TOP 5 Charles Bronson movies. Hell, maybe even one of my TOP 3 movies! And interesting enough, this si also the directorial debut of Walter Hill, who is one of my favorite directors. Its almost a perfect movie that can easily be put next to ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, DEAD WISH, BREAKHEART PASS, and couple of other Bronson's top films.
Hill's directing is excellent, fights are raw and gritty, and extremely fun to watch, while the atmosphere that faithfully evokes the period of depression era of the 30's is spot on. Partially that's achieved thanks to the fantastic and moody blues/jazz score from Barry de Vorzona.
As always, Bronson is perfect…
"Well, Chaney? We oughta say somethin'."
Always fun to watch a director's first feature and see almost everything that would make them great present and accounted for, definitely the case with Walter Hill here. His Jean-Pierre Melville-meets-Edward Hopper-with-a-lot-of-punching style is in full force, but what really makes this work is the very Hill clash of personalities between Coburn and Bronson - the latter laconic and assured, the former a consummate motormouth hustler.
Also, Coburn's character's name is Speed Weed.
Walter Hill’s debut and it’s pretty damn solid. He knows how to direct and it’s oozing in settings.
Walter Hill se estrenó en la dirección con El luchador. El mítico director de peliculas de culto como Los amos de la noche (The Warriors) o Límite: 48 horas, tenía la suerte de contar para su opera prima con dos actores de la talla de James Coburn y Charles Bronson.
Ambientada en el marco de la gran depresión, James Coburn interpreta a un vividor de las apuestas y Charles Bronson a un personaje con habilidades en la lucha y que hará cualquier cosa para ganarse un dinero y sobrevivir, por algo la traducción del titulo original es realmente "Tiempos dificiles".
Si algo destaca en la película es un guión efectivo que en 90 minutos nos cuenta la historia sin entretenerse…
Pretty dry for a Walter Hill movie about grifters and bum fights. It made me want to watch DIGGSTOWN again.
Perhaps the best use of Bronson onscreen besides Harmonica and Arthur Bishop. This is equal parts hard as nails and soft/sensitive AF in the way that only Walter Hill can do. Also, perhaps the best use of Jill Ireland in a Bronson picture. It’s just flat out great.
[Blu-Ray]
"Chaney, met die typisch verweerde Bronson-kop, blijft de gehele film een zwijgzaam enigma. Hoewel het hem een koele uitstraling geeft, wordt zijn karakter ook tamelijk ondoorgrondelijk. Dat hij tegelijkertijd een strijd voert om het hart van een vrouw, kan gezien worden als een poging hem menselijker te maken. Die verhaallijn ontstijgt echter nergens het niveau van een subplotje, waardoor het tegenovergestelde bereikt wordt. Een scène waarin Chaney de zorg op een jong katje op zich neemt, is in vergelijking veel effectiever. Pas in het, overigens prachtige, slotakkoord worden zijn ware bedoelingen openbaar gemaakt."
Viewed on MBOX
Charles Bronson is Chaney, a drifter. Looking for some dough, he becomes an illegal street fighter after meeting James Coburn's Walter "Speed" Weed in Depression Era New Orleans.
Bronson is tough as nails and says very little in this film and Coburn keeps his lips moving and both actors are very good in the picture.
Director Walter Hill makes his first of many movies "dads" love to love.
Makes me sad they don't make movies like this anymore. Small movie, small story, good budget.
In my mind, I liked this film a lot more, though it's been about twenty years since I last watched it.
My friend Ted has the Twilight Time blu-ray of this film and wow, that shit looks great. The narrative is extremely straightforward but Hill shoots his films, especially his films from this era, with such a gob-smacking sensibility for Panavision, the story is always secondary. For the now-unavailable TT release, you can see the fine film of grime on every tabletop, the plumes and tendrils of smoke from every cigarette, every tiny crow’s-foot around Bronson’s eyes. I especially like that Hill makes an effort to stage every fight scene in a different landscape. And it’s so great that this film is set in New Orleans.
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