16 replies to this topic

[Brian Flagg]

The Mechanic is a warmly nostalgic movie for me! The fact that a movie about assassins qualifies as “warm nostalgia” says just how up in the clouds I was as a kid...I guess you could say, as they do in the movie, that "I lived in my mind." I watched it when I was 13 one Saturday afternoon and was completely fascinated by it. Now, having seen it recently, I appreciate it on a whole new level. There's a scene that never left my memory all these years: when Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson) takes Steve McKenna (Jan-Michael Vincent) to a martial arts exhibition and discusses the concept of the "old master" and the "new master." I'd forgotten which film that came from; it turned out to be this one. I think I may be becoming obsessed with this movie, mainly because the Bronson character is sophisticated, philosophical, and a man of taste! He listens to Beethoven while plotting his next hit and admires paintings by Bosch in his Mulholland Drive home. Yes, Charles Bronson: Man of Taste. It's an interesting take on action movies. The two principals have a teacher-student relationship and I like the old master imparting his wisdom on the talented newcomer. I much prefer the character-oriented scenes over the by-the-numbers action sequences, and in my estimation The Mechanic succeeds when it is seen as a character study, rather than an action-adventure film. The movie boasts a knockout of a music score, an edgy, prickly, avant-garde effort by the “other” Jerry, Jerry Fielding.

Any fans of this movie?

[Loomis]

There was talk a while back of Stallone directing and starring in a remake.

[Bryce (003)]

Great film. Haven't watched it in a while, but it was of it's era and next to the first two Death Wish films and the Dirty Dozen, one of Bronson's best flicks.

No offense to Sly, but this one just shouldn't be touched.

[dodge]

Meanwhile, there's reportedly another movie about...yes, an older assassin training a young apprentice. Can't remember the names of the actors, whihc doesn't bode very well.

[Loomis]

Great film. Haven't watched it in a while, but it was of it's era and next to the first two Death Wish films and the Dirty Dozen, one of Bronson's best flicks.

No offense to Sly, but this one just shouldn't be touched.

I'll also mention that Sly was considering directing and starring in a remake of DEATH WISH.

Both the Stallone DEATH WISH and the Stallone MECHANIC were cooked up by MGM, the home of pointless remakes (ROLLERBALL, etc., etc.) and useless sequels (PINK PANTHER 2 and so on and so forth). Fortunately, though, Sly seems to have dropped both projects.

[Bryce (003)]

Meanwhile, there's reportedly another movie about...yes, an older assassin training a young apprentice. Can't remember the names of the actors, whihc doesn't bode very well.

Well, "Assassins" was nearly a remake of "Mechanic" with a twist or two or the story. Not a bad film either, but...well...yeah.

[Brian Flagg]

Getting back to the original movie, I know that director Michael Winner gets badmouthed as a "hack", but I think he did some interesting things with The Mechanic, especially the extended wordless sequence in the film's first fifteen minutes. I can't think of too many movie these days that would allow such a thing. It works beautifully, though, with the viewer seeing exactly how the hitman goes about his business.

[Safari Suit]

I think The Mechanic has one of the longest gaps in a film since the talkies started between the opening of the film and the first words of dialogue spoken. Winner did some interesting stuff with this movie. I think the reason he's so reviled is some of his later work, especially Death Wish II, is abysmally edited (by himself, under a pseudonym) and often mean spirited and misogynistic. To be honest I think it really has more to do with his abrasive personality and public persona, he is probably better known in the UK as a "celebrity" than as a director. Personally, I think he's a bit of a laugh, and that he made some entertaining films, one of which (Death Wish, natch) actually proved to be fairly significant in the development of popular cinema. He was certainly no auteur, but not an Ed Wood/Albert Pyun/Uwe Boll figure either.

[Brian Flagg]

I think The Mechanic has one of the longest gaps in a film since the talkies started between the opening of the film and the first words of dialogue spoken. Winner did some interesting stuff with this movie. I think the reason he's so reviled is some of his later work, especially Death Wish II, is abysmally edited (by himself, under a pseudonym) and often mean spirited and misogynistic. To be honest I think it really has more to do with his abrasive personality and public persona, he is probably better known in the UK as a "celebrity" than as a director. Personally, I think he's a bit of a laugh, and that he made some entertaining films, one of which (Death Wish, natch) actually proved to be fairly significant in the development of popular cinema. He was certainly no auteur, but not an Ed Wood/Albert Pyun/Uwe Boll figure either.

Good points, Safari Suit. I was going to mention Winner's personality. His blatant namedropping and a remark he made--I'm majorly paraphrasing-- about the masses being able to afford air travel being a crime like no other didn't endear him to the public, either. But who cares? It's not as though showbiz never had egotistical and insensitive jerks in its midst. Anyone ever read the stories about director Otto Preminger? Now there's a real ...love his movies, though. Same goes for Winner.

[tim partridge]

Hannibal Brooks is a genuinely decent film, in my opinion. I really enjoy Bullseye, too, which is breathless, tasteless fun with Caine and Moore. Even the Poirot flm he did was good.

The Wicked Lady remake I find to be a painful watch.

I much prefer anything Winner has ever done over say the films of Alan Parker.

[Safari Suit]

I would like to see The Wicked Lady some time, mainly because Tony Banks did the score. Unfortunately it's rather rare. Or perhaps fortunately.

[Brian Flagg]

I would like to see The Wicked Lady some time, mainly because Tony Banks did the score. Unfortunately it's rather rare. Or perhaps fortunately.

One of the reasons I started watching Michael Winner films--aside from having seen them as a kid--was the fact that the scores were often by Jerry Fielding: Chato's Land, Lawman, The Mechanic, The Nightcomers, and The Big Sleep are all fine efforts from the late great Fielding.

[tim partridge]

Fielding was great, but I also like Pino Donaggio, John DuPrez and Les Reed whom Winner teamed up with later on.

Christopher Palmer arranged the Tony Banks score for TWL, and I think you can hear his classical arrangers influence on the end result.

[danslittlefinger]

Never seen it. I'll look it up. Sounds interesting.

[jrcjohnny99]

Winner's made some very good pics in his time;
Hanniball Brooks is very entertaining, The Mechanic, Chato's Land and Deathwish are 3 of Bronsons best pics (and as someone posted above Deathwish was hugely influential and remains a terrific thriller).
The Sentinel remains one of my fave Winner pics; a wonderfully effective horror flick that scared the crap out of me when i first saw it back in the early 80s..

[Safari Suit]

Like Death Wish, The Sentinal features an early performance from Jeff Goldblum. Unlike Death Wish I believe he's dubbed in it!

Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about Winner's Wicked Lady film is that then BBFC boss James Ferman saw red about a scene involving horsewhips and bare breasts. He wanted to cut it, but Winner protested successfully thanks to support from others, including Robert Markham himself, Mr. Kingsley Amis. However, Ferman got his wishes when the film reached video and the scene was cut.

[Brian Flagg]

Chato's Land is a near-great film, and I wish that the R1 DVD didn't have those edits in the print. However, if encore Westerns channel airs it, it will be the uncut version, which features even more brutality.