Le cercle noir

In a three year period in the early 70s (72/73/74) director Michael Winner made three violent thrillers with leading man Charles Bronson. Sandwiched in between The Mechanic and the wave making Death Wish, is this effective piece. A film that is for sure the weakest of the three but still a film worthy of reappraisal.

The screenplay is by Gerald Wilson who adapts from John Gardner's novel A Complete State of Death. Joining Bronson in the cast are Martin Balsam, Norman Fell & Paul Koslo. The plot sees Bronson play a tough New York cop, Lou Torrey, who is forced to leave the service after shooting dead a teenager during a pursuit. Later, he is hired by the LAPD and finds himself in the middle of a plan by a Mafia don (Balsam) to avenge the slayings of Mafia dons back in 1931 (The Night of Sicilian Vespers). His plan involves using Vietnam Veterans as hit men as opposed to the conventional Mafia ways of eradication. It's a big operation, a dastardly operation, and as the bodies start to pile up; it's evident that this case calls for the toughest of detectives to get to the bottom of it.

Ah, the tough cop movie. In fact, ah, the tough grizzled no nonsense cop movie. It's a formula that the cinema and TV loving world would get plenty of during the 1970s. The decade would start with a bang as Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman laid down markers in Dirty Harry and The French Connection respectively. Which, to be frank, is a tough standard for any one to have to follow. Enter Michael Winner and Charles Bronson. Bronson had done some fine work in the 60s, with his weather beaten face, raspy voice and machismo seeping from every pore, Bronson was every inch a tough guy actor. Yet there was more talent in his armoury, talent that sadly was very rarely tapped into by directors more concerned with using him as a macho prop. Something that Winner does here. Dialogue for Bronson is kept to a minimum as Winner rides in on the crest of a tough cop driven wave. Which while that doesn't do Bronson any favours as an all rounded thespian, it does however let him excel at the physical side of his character, and in the process of doing that he also gives Torrey the moody method treatment.

Ultimately it's only those who are in it for the action and violence that will get something from The Stone Killer. For although it's a nicely layered story (in spite of the daft core of the villain waiting 40 years to enact revenge!), it's swamped (enjoyably so) by Winner's eagerness to lay down action and adrenalin rushes whenever possible. He may not be the best director with actors, but he is more than capable when it comes to gun play and chases, both of which greatly serve The Stone Killer well. The stunt work and choreography is top notch here, something that more than makes this a worthwhile excuse for a night in with the beer and snacks. There's also nice snapshots of early 70s Americana in the story, with weird Hippies and the Militant Black Activists nestling alongside the Mafia. All of which gives Bronson the chance to brood and flex his muscles some more.

It's escapism so it is. Nothing more, nothing less. View it as such and it entertains, because this really isn't deserving of the scorn that is often poured down on it. 7/10

A Dirty Harry clone? The Stone Killer is an interesting film, Bronson portrays a plain-clothes cop named Lou Torrey, Torrey has a penchant for being a little violent at times and it costs him his badge in NYC. Torrey eventually picks up a Lieutenant position at the Los Angeles department and gets knee deep in some real problems. War veterans (Vietnam) with itchy trigger fingers, anti-war sentiment, druggies, prostitutes, civil rights issues, a mafia-related vengeance plot that has been in the works for forty two years as well as a host of other problems. I had to watch this film twice in order to really follow the films somewhat confusing pace, there are some subplots which confused me a little bit but upon the second viewing I had, the film made a lot more sense to me than in my initial viewing. There are some scenes that go straight from Los Angeles to New York City and back throughout the film but the pace is easy to keep up with. There is a ton of action to feast your eyes upon, many gun fights, a few car chases, etc. Bronson acts in his usual tough-guy role as Lou Torrey and plays it very well in my opinion. The ending is not as satisfactory as I would have liked, but Director Michael Winner is known for having unique endings/twists to his films. As far as rating the film goes, The Stone Killer in my opinion is just a notch or two below other Bronson/Winner collaborations such as 'The Mechanic' or the classic 'Death Wish', but all in all I would recommend this film to any Bronson fan, or anyone who appreciates old, dated action films. I certainly enjoyed it.

I sought relaxing and undemanding action entertainment, I found …. Charlie Bronson! What's better after a hard and long working day than to sit down in a comfortable couch, switch off all still operational brain functions, and watch Charlie kill off some random street scum? During the 70's and 80's, Bronson mastered in depicting unorthodox coppers/relentless vigilantes in ultra-violent and gritty movies, and personally I love each and every single one of them, even though – admittedly – they're not the most sophisticated or even memorable form of art! In this same period, Charlie collaborated a number of times with director Michael Winner, who himself isn't exactly known for his subtlety and flair either, so a joint venture of these gentlemen is a guaranteed piece of uncompromising trash. "The Stone Killer" boosts a slightly more ambitious storyline – one based on a novel by John Gardner – but eventually it just remains a raw 'lone cop' thriller. After the umpteenth "shoot first, ask questions later" incident, lieutenant Lou Torrey gets transferred from gloomy New York to sunny California. There, during a banal prisoner's transport, he stumbles upon a convoluted crime network that brings him all the way back to New York. Torrey, thanks to the help of bizarre informants and dissident interrogation techniques, gradually uncovers the plot of a mafia war to end all mafia wars. Bronson's acting performance is more automatic pilot than ever, but Michael Winner serves numerous exciting car chases and vigorous shootouts, including a wildly out-of-control finale. Did I mention that the film is violent?!? This is early 70's at its best, full of racial slur, realistic dummies falling from the nineteenth floor and gay musicians getting run over by a Cadillac! Oh, and this movie proves that Charlie Bronson is the most efficient shooter ever! With him, each shot is a hit. Whether from inside a shaky helicopter or from an impossible angle on a staircase, it's always bullseye!

I liked this film, despite being a bit thrown by the jumpy, confused directing of (I presume) Michael Winner. Bronson is good, as are all the actors playing the major characters. But I think I got most pleasure from the mob-style Fedora hats that almost everyone seemed to be obliged to wear perched high on their heads. Surely by 1973, this style of headgear was way out of date? It looked vaguely ridiculous but at least it kept me amused. There was a 'Dirty Harry' vibe about the film and some of Roy Budd's music was quite close in style to that of Lalo Schifrin. Overall, an enjoyable film but maybe not because of the story.

Michael Winner has directed the great Charles Bronson in several films, all of which can be described shortly as 'bad-ass'. Their collaborations include some truly great films including the 1974 vigilante masterpiece "Death Wish" and the hard-boiled Western "Chato's Land" (1972). All the films that the actor/director team Bronson/Winner made together are highly entertaining, and while "The Stone Killer" certainly isn't one of their best collaborations (in fact, its arguably their weakest besides the hugely fun but very silly "Death Wish 3") it is definitely another testosterone-driven flick that will not leave my fellow Bronson-fans bored.

Bronson stars as Lou Torrey, a tough New York detective who gets transferred to LA. Soon after arriving in LA, hints lead Torrey to a Mafia-Don's plot to use Vietnam Veterans as assassins... My fellow reviewers seem to either love or hate this film, the division being between Bronson fans and non-Bronson fans. As a huge fan of Charles Bronson, I tend to be on the 'love it' side, though, as mentioned above, it is nowhere near one of the most interesting flicks of his. It pales in comparison to other Bronson/Winner Vehicles such as the first two "Death Wish" films, "Chato's Land" or "The Mechanic", but then, these are all great 70s cult favorites, and while "The Stone Killer" is, in my opinion not quite as good, it is still a decent enough film that promises action and bad-assery. Bronson is his great self once again. To me personally, the man's presence alone makes it impossible for a film not to be at least entertaining. Apart from Bronson, the film features another truly great cult-actor, the magnificent Martin Balsam, who plays the role of a mob boss. Michael Winner has been unfairly scorned by critics throughout his career. Fact is, that the man is actually an outstanding director of gritty cult-cinema, who has been successful in any genre he has worked in, be it Action/Thriller ("Death Wish", "The Mechanic"), Western ("Chato's Land", "Lawman") or supernatural Horror ("The Sentinel"). Some folks only seem to be satisfied when they can claim intellectual superiority over other people's work. Some people seem to complain about this film's lacking depth and not bringing up any ideas. I wonder what these folks expect. This is a Bronson flick: It's meant to be hard-hitting, bad-ass entertainment, not melodramatic drivel. "The Stone Killer" features Bronson, loads of action and is filmed in typically stylish 70s style. What else could one ask for? Recommended to all my fellow Bronson fans.