BY DARREN ALLISON
In a
2014 interview with Robert Markowitz, Walter Hill stated ‘I think in casual
conversation I would have told anybody I wanted to direct. At the same time I
knew Hollywood was a closed off place...’ Working as a script writer, Hill
began climbing his way up after working on the script for Hickey & Boggs
(1972). He was then asked by Peter Bogdanovich
to co-write The Getaway (1972), a movie he was lined up to direct with Steve
McQueen. Whilst the script was in its early stages, McQueen fired Bogdanovich
from the project and immediately enlisted Sam Peckinpah to replace him. However,
Walter Hill was given the chance to stay on and instructed to begin rewriting
the script fresh from page one. Six weeks later the script was complete and the
film went on to become a major success. A slice of good fortune perhaps for
Hill, but he still maintains that it was the success of The Getaway that
ultimately determined how he came to be a director. Hollywood may had been
closed off, but it provided Hill with a rare opportunity. In 1973, Hill began
writing the script for Paul Newman’s The Mackintosh Man. It was also the same
year he met producer Lawrence Gordon. Following differences during the writing
of The Drowning Pool (1975), Newman’s revival of private eye Lew Harper, Gordon
invited Hill to Columbia in order to write his next film, Hard Times (1975). Gordon
also agreed that should Hill decide to write the script he would also allow him
to direct the movie.
Whilst
Hill would later come to be known as a great action auteur, he made a rather
wonderful debut with this pulp triumph. Not only would it conjure an evocative
period atmosphere, but also boast memorable performances from both Charles
Bronson and James Coburn.
Bronson
plays a drifter suddenly caught up in the fight game during the Great
Depression. Chaney, a down-on-his-luck loner, hops a freight train to New
Orleans where, on the seedier side of town, he tries to make some quick money
the only way he knows how - with his fists. Chaney approaches a hustler named
Speed (James Coburn) and convinces him that he can win big money for them both.
Hard
Times still holds up extremely well andBronson keeps his performance low key whilst
maintaining the strong, silent tough guy persona. Bronson was in his fifties
when he took on this role, which did concern Walter Hill to a certain degree.
Nevertheless, Bronson’s Chaney still presents an imposing figure - lean,
chiselled and certainly still got the moves. However, it’s Coburn’s Speed that
almost steals the show. It’s a wonderful, if somewhat sleazy portrayal. For
Speed it’s just about the money, Cold and ruthless, he’s a character who likes
to spend many as fast as he can get it. In many respects it is Bronson who
helps elevate Coburn’s performance – simply because he allows him so much.
Bronson was never going to outwit or outtalk Coburn in the dialogue department;
instead Bronson uses his fists or general physicality in order to convey his
talking. It’s a nicely balanced pay off that works perfectly well and shines on
screen. Strother Martin is also worthy of mentioning as Poe, the ‘cut man’ who
completes the team between hustler and bruiser. Always a classy character
actor, Martin seems to provide a magnetic quality every time he appears on
screen. Jill Ireland again plays
Bronson’s love interest, at Bronson’s request as I believe. Her character of Lucy
is rather one dimensional and adds very little to the overall narrative. It
could have arguably been eliminated completely without ever really upsetting
the nicely paced flow of the film. Hill would later comment that he removed a
great deal of her scenes in the final edit, much to Bronson’s disapproval.
Eureka’s Masters of Cinema Blu-ray presentation is quite beautiful. Naturally the colour palate is reflective of the era, consisting of bleak browns and murky industrial greys – this is the Depression after all. But Hill’s direction also allows us to dip into some nicely rendered daylight scenes; even a countryside trip and these scenes retain a nice, if perfectly natural clarity. The film’s opening title sequence in particular -which features Chaney’s freight train journey, is especially rich and vivid with colours bursting out like never before. From here on, it becomes blatantly obvious that the 4K restoration was entirely worthwhile. Black levels are also deep and solid; whist the uncompressed PCM audio is both clear and free from distortion. Eureka’s Blu-ray also includes a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track.
Eureka’s bonus features are also rather good. Firstly, there is a generous interview with director Walter Hill who speaks about his early career, his association with Sam Peckinpah, how he came to work with Lawrence Gordon and eventually found himself working towards Hard Times and beyond.
There are also new interviews with both producer Lawrence Gordon and the film’s composer Barry DeVorzon which are both informative and interesting. There is also an NFT audio only Interview with director Walter Hill. I’m a big supporter of these interviews and this one is also very good. However, I still think that these archival recordings can sometimes benefit from subtitles. Audio between interviewer and interviewee are generally acceptable in terms of quality. Yet, when opening up to audience questions, the boom mic often falls short in picking up what is actually being asked, As a result, the viewer is sometimes left trying to piece together what the director is specifically responding to. It’s not ideal.
The original theatrical trailer for Hard Times rounds off what is a very nice collection.
Walter Hill’s Hard Times provides a memorable and much admired piece of filmmaking. The temptation to perhaps turn it into an over the top gut crunching, bloodletting affair was intelligently restrained. Yes, it’s tough, but also tasteful; it retains a degree of moderation which in turn elevates it to an entirely higher class of picture. Hard Times is reflective of classic 70s cinema and is still regarded among most, as one of Hill’s very finest moments.
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