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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 10199
Released: April 6, 1999 |
| Our Price: $6.88 |
| Used Price: $5.34 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG
Release Date: 1-MAR-2005
Media Type: DVD
Description of Hard Times:
Walter Hill's colorful directorial debut has quite a cult following for its toughness and violence; it may well be his best film, in fact. Charles Bronson plays a silent street fighter in New Orleans in the '30s managed by the cool James Coburn. Jill Ireland, Strother Martin, and Michael McGuire costar in this spare existential Depression dirge. It owes a lot to its noir origins that Hill adores so much, yet there's something very fresh and vital about its subject and approach. That's really what made so many of these films from the '70s so endearing. An added bonus is the love and affection displayed by the real-life husband and wife team of Bronson and Ireland. --Bill Desowitz
Hard Times Reviews:
Solid performance 
2009-11-21 - Definitely one of Bronson's best. James Coburn also fits in perfectly. They both put on an amzing show. Very entertaining to watch no-nonsense, down-to-earth "Chaney" going about his business!!
Don't Buy This Pan N Scam Product 
2009-11-10 - Wish a reivew had alerted me, but I should have checked the aspect ratio before purchase anyway. The movie is pan and scan other than the credits. A real rip-off. I'm not waiting to rate the movie, guess I'll do that whenever I get to SEE the whole thing. Whatever the strengths of the movie, DO NOT BUY THIS DVD PRODUCT.
"That's Chaney - he don't say much."
2009-11-08 - He don't talk much, doesn't Charles Bronson. Clint Eastwood, by comparison, is considered a chatterbox. First time director Walter Hill puts Bonson's trademark laconism to very good use in HARD TIMES, probably my favorite Charles Bronson picture. HARD TIMES strays from Bronson's shoot-'em-up formulas, although it does have its share of action sequences. But this film is more a gritty period piece and a low-key character study. Its enigmatic central character plays to Bronson's tight-lipped, no-nonsense persona. Some folks don't think Charles Bronson was much of an actor. But his spare performances always led me to believe there were hidden reserves, something of consequence going on, beneath the inscrutable expression and the lack of loquaciousness. To me, this translated a subtle depth to his characters, that merely by Bronson's weathered presence, a back story is intuited.
Chaney is a drifter, riding the rails, and like everyone else struggling mightily during the Great Depression. He eventually ends up in New Orleans where he tries to build up a nest egg by engaging in bare knuckle brawls. He lands a shifty promoter named Speed, who at first looks him over and observes: "You look a little past it." As played by James Coburn, Speed is always working a hustle and flashes that toothy grin. Speed is a rogue, and he has an interesting dynamics with Chaney. Coburn and Bronson play off each other beautifully, Coburn's brash likable heel striking a nice counterpoint to Bronson's craggy -faced dude of few words.
We go into the film not knowing much about Chaney. He exits with us still in the dark about his past. We know that he likes cats, that money motivates him, although he does show kindness towards and even halfway courts a lovely but cynical woman (played by his real wife Jill Ireland). We learn that he does demonstrate a reluctant loyalty towards his manager pal, and that he's not as much of an underdog as initially perceived. At the end of the film we realize just how much of a hard mo-fo he is. In a way, Chaney is a precursor to other cinematic over-the-hill fighters like "Honey" Roy Palmer (Diggstown) and Jerry Ferro (The Hammer).
Charles Bronson was one of the top box office draws in 1975, having just scored big the year before with Death Wish. He was 53 years old when he shot HARD TIMES and was still in phenomenal shape. He always did have a chiseled figure, and he looks amazing here and did most of his own stunts. Yet he also sported that face that was so rugged and weathered it looked like a Thomas Guide map (but a Thomas Guide map that could smack you across the room). Somewhere Lance Henriksen is probably jealous.
I like that HARD TIMES doesn't try to sermonize about the human condition. That sort of message usually goes over better if it's not being beaten into your head. The movie allows you to read between the lines, lets you make connections without them being pounded into you with pretentious exposition. I like that there's a kind of code of honor amongst these shady characters. There's no real animosity among the fighters. It's all business, making money, surviving and moving on. When Speed fails to pay off his debt, he gets a visit from the loan shark's enforcers, who then takes it out on his car. Speed protests feebly, but he's just going thru the motions. He minds, but he doesn't really mind. It's what's expected. Chaney, by virtue of his enigmatic, laconic presence, achieves an almost mythic aura. He's not quite up there with the Man with No Name, but Chaney, a kindred spirit and fellow mysterious loner, can sidle up to a bar next to him and won't be rebuffed.
There's convincing attention to detail dedicated to the look and feel of the film. Thanks to this, a strong supporting cast, and a taut script, I could feel the palpable reek of desperation from these characters, hard men and women eking out and making do in the poverty-ridden climate of 1930s America. I like that the fights, staged in dank warehouses and on seedy piers, are well-choreographed and don't come off as too showy. Chaney and his opponents are honest fighters - even the bald and intimidating and disconcertingly grinny Jim Henry (Robert Tessier) - and I soaked in the grueling, no-nonsense brutality. HARD TIMES is an unsentimental, tough-minded period melodrama. It's also a great fight movie.
My Favorite Bronson Film 
2009-07-20 - Charles Bronson, best known for his Death Wish movies, stars as Chaney, a lone wolf who travels from town to town to make some quick cash by fist fighting. Along the way he hooks up with an illegal street fight promoter and hustler named Speed (James Coburn). They make some cash, but Speed's carelessness with his money gets him into trouble with some local thugs.
This is a wonderful film set in 1933 New Orleans. The character's are richly developed and played wonderfully. The location is fantastic, and the script is well written.
The DVD transfer is acceptable but could have used some cleaning up; it's still decent for a film made in 1975. Unfortunatly, this is full screen only and the audio is mono.
For entertainment value I give the film 4 1/2, but as a whole package this DVD rates a three.
A great movie that holds its entertainment value 39 year later.
2009-05-16 - This depression era film captures the era brilliantly. The story is good and believable, involves the trickery and honor amongst junior gangsters, and provides lessons in the values of honesty, perseverance, determination.
James Coburn is priceless as supporting actor, as is Strother Martin, fresh off the set of Burch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. My favorite scene is when he boxes with Bob Tessier, the reputed unbeatable street fighter (Which is the European name of the film) and realistically and uncommonly uses combination punches and counter-punches. He obviously had boxed before and knew how to box. He liked to do his own stunt work, and this movie shows it.
His relationship with his actual wife in the movie is also special. The directness with which they dealt with one another causes one to believe that is how they really were in "real life". I highly recommend it; while not a exactly in the family film category, my 11 year old got its message and loved it. I highly recommend this film, which I consider a classic.
