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MAJESTYK YEAR: 1974 SCORE: **** |
Charles Bronson's different in Richard Fleischer's MR. MAJESTYK than in the early-seventies' Michael Winner crime trilogy because, for one, unlike THE MECHANIC, THE STONE KILLER and DEATH WISH, Vince Majestyk, a hardworking watermelon farmer, is somewhat of a smart-ass, and, written by Elmore Leonard, there's a little more breathing-room for the character and his situation/predicament...
A lethal hit man, played by villain's villain Al Lettieri, wants Majestyk very dead as Paul Koslo's initially antagonistic Bobby Kopas is more of a talker than a doer. In fact, both Bronson and Lettieri point this out: The first before hitting the goading blond-haired punk in the balls with a shotgun (after having attempted to pawn off cheap labor to his farm), while the latter tries keeping him in line...
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Paul Koslo alone in the middle as Bobby Kopas |
As Majestyk goes from a prison cell to stealing a prison bus with Lettieri's Frank Renda on board. And after an offer he could and does refuse, and a "double-cross" involving Lee Purcell as a Bible-reading moll, the chase is on...
Making the third act a harbinger to the kind of FIRST BLOOD plot-line where the main character uses his own rough, rustic environment to snare more potentially dangerous, city-set criminals unfamiliar with his proverbial mountainous backyard: Not only does he have the higher ground, it's
his ground...
With tight dialogue; a subtle romance with field worker Linda Cristal; and bloody action sequences that provide more of a foundational distraction than Leonard's sharper, character-driven stories, MR. MAJESTYK is one of the best 1970's Charles Bronson vehicles because he shares the film with others around him.
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Charles Bronson goes balls out against Paul Koslo |
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Charles Bronson in MR MAJESTYK |
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Charles Bronson and Paul Koslo in Mr Majestyk |
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RIP Paul Koslo: Here's a four picture montage from MR MAJESTYK with Charles Bronson |
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Al Lettieri, Lee Purcell and Charles Bronson ride to captured freedom in MR MAJESTYK |
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Al Lettieri and Paul Koslo in MR MAJESTYK |
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Lee Purcell in MR MAJESTYK |
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That's not real blood... Taylor Lacher and Al Letierri in MR MAJESTYK |
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Charles Bronson in MR MAJESTYK |
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