Le Bagarreur

Of all the movies I have seen Mr. Bronson in "Hard Times" stands out to me. He should have been given an Oscar for this time piece.

We currently have Spiderman,Batman and Superman etcetera, as the contemporary super heroes of our day. Charles Bronson as Chaney outdoes them all without ever leaving the ground. You feel when watching this movie that you are right there in New Orleans. Charles Bronson as Chaney is hard as nails and yet you feel as if he could be your best friend. If you needed bullies to be knocked down you would want Chaney on your side.

Many times I have heard the question "what is a real man?". Chaney is I think the perfect picture of what a real man is, or at least the way most good men would want to be. Chaney is fearless,shrewd,compassionate.I could go on and on. Oh he also like the ladies.

I have seen this movie more times than I can count and I know I will watch it again. Whenever I recommend a Bronson flick this is the one. The rest of the cast was chosen to perfection, I could mention each. Just see the film you will not regret it.

I first saw this when i was a kid in the late 80s on a vhs. Had heard a lot about this movie from my grandfather and was dying to revisit this film for a long time.

Revisited it few days back.

To see Bronson in such a remarkable physical condition is truly inspiring. He was about 54 that time.

The film has a western n country feel to it, soothing n without the hustle and bustle. The music too is simple.

A man named Chaney (Charles Bronson) arrives somewhere in Louisiana during the Great Depression. We don't kno whether he is a hobo, an ex convict, a deserter or an asylum seeker but he sure is a freighthopper n a very good fighter.

He comes upon a street fighting competition n after observing a bare knuckled fight, he approaches the manager (James Coburn) of the losing fighter n asks the manager to set a fight for him but cautions the manager that he needs only enough money to fill a few in-betweens before moving on.

Before his first fight the opponent finds our hobo a little too old to be participating in such kinda fights to which our hobo responds to him with his knockout punch.

In one of the competition in the bayou side, our hero is cheated n not given his winning amount.

This one is replicated in Christian Bale's Out of Furnace where Woody Harrelson's character doesn't give the winning amount to Casey Affleck's character.

A bad image of the Southern sportsmanship.

Our hobo gets to fight Jim Henry (Robert Tessier) a well built, grinning, head-butting skinhead.

The film has good fights minus the blood.

The elaborate period recreations is top notch.

Inspite of the Great Depression, the debts n the gambling habits, James Coburn's character is seen sitting in his open balcony with his feet upwards.

Now that is something so relaxing n carefree attitude.

With this, his first directing job, Walter Hill showed his tendency for archetypal characters (see the later "The Driver" - where the characters didn't even have proper names - and, of course, "The Warriors"). Here, Bronson is 'The Fighter'...Coburn is 'The Hustler'...Martin is 'The Addict-Medic'...and so forth. Bronson's final opponent is simply named 'Street' while the big guy who damages The Hustler's automobile with a big hammer is just called 'Hammerman.' They all present striking, impressive figures; you don't easily forget any of them. They stride or shuffle through a page of history, in this case Depression-era New Orleans, nicely atmospheric as shown here. Times are hard. People need to be hard, as well. One way to make good money is in pick up fights, street fights in warehouses, on docks or, in one case of rich atmosphere, in the bayou.

Chaney, aka The Fighter, as played by Bronson, true to director Hill's method of archetypes, first appears on a slow moving train from places unknown. We never learn anything of his past history, even though there's about 50 years worth there. We learn only of his incredible hitting ability in the current time frame of the story's progression. In a way, Bronson was born to play this role: he's certainly not a young man here but he looks so tough we have no trouble believing he can wipe out men 20 years his junior. With the archetype of The Fighter, the story plays out like some Depression times fable, the tale of a mystery man or warrior arrived in a city to astonish all the onlookers with his formidable fighting abilities. The fights themselves are quite memorable; the viewer has the good fortune to witness these with the shouting hordes of betting men from the safety of a couch at home. We're a part of the spectacle, a guilty participant in a brutal spectator sport, a much more gritty version of modern boxing, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

The rest of the cast is super: Coburn was never better as Speed 'The Hustler' and Chaney's front-man/manager. It's mostly through him that we hear all the phrases and quips common to those places & times, and Coburn delivers them all with a gusto & panache few are capable of. You really believe he was born as the 19th century was ending, grew up in the twenties and adjusted to the Depression accordingly. You'll always remember his retorts to the bayou residents and his last insult about fish to Gandil, the bigshot. Speed and Chaney need each other and their relationship is another strong point; Speed is all about the money, sure, but you sense he has a strong admiration for Bronson's power and quiet nobility (this is confirmed at the end). As Poe, Strother Martin created & added another indelible character to the long list on his resume. Other actors would've been saddled with some of the odd dialog he has to deliver, but he just breezes through it like a song. Glover (Crispin's dad) is also very good as a loan shark, as is McGuire as the rich Gandil. Mention should also be made of the top two fighters (Tessier & Dimitri). The film needed characters who could pose a threat to Chaney and these two looked just as tough. Now if only Chaney would explain more about those 'in-betweens'... but he doesn't say much.

During the Great Depression, the mysterious drifter Chaney (Charles Bronson) befriends the promoter of illegal street fights Speed (James Coburn) and they go to New Orleans to make money fighting on the streets. Speed is welcomed by his mistress Gayleen Schoonover (Maggie Blye) and invites his former partner Poe (Strother Martin) to team-up with them. Meanwhile Chaney has a love affair with the local Lucy Simpson (Jill Ireland). Speed has a huge debt with the dangerous loan shark Doty (Bruce Glover) and borrows money to promote the fight of Chaney and the local champion Jim Henry (Robert Tessier), who is managed by the also promoter (Michael Mcguire). Casey wins the fight, they make a lot of money but Speed is an addicted gambler and loses his share in the dice table. But Doty wants his money back and Speed's only chance is Chaney accepts to bet his own money that he is saving and fight a winner that Gandil brought from Chicago. Will he accept the challenge?

"Hard Times" is a good film by Walter Hill with the reconstitution of the period of the Great Depression in New Orleans. Charles Bronson and James Coburn have top-notch performances in the role of a mysterious street fighter and a promoter of illegal fights respectively. The character Chaney is not developed and his origins and plans are not disclosed. Did he learn to fight in the prison? The question is not answered and the viewer only knows that he is an outstanding street fighter and loyal friend. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Lutador de Rua" ("Street Fighter")

Hard Times is one of Charles Bronson and Walter Hill's best films. This movie is rugged and has a great feel. Bronson looks in great shape in the film and the direction from Hill is terrific. In the genre of street-fighting pictures, this one ranks as one of the best.