Leofwine_draca

A fun little experimental movie from the great Beat Takeshi, whose finest work was in the long 1990s. BROKEN RAGE is a short, one-hour, and extremely low budget combination of traditional yakuza flick with slapstick comedy, and it's fair to say that fans of the director and star will enjoy it, although others may be puzzled by what plays out on screen. The first half hour sees Takeshi as the usual yakuza hitman, while the second half restages the action of the first, except in an exaggerated comic style. Takeshi is very funny, as are some of the supporting actors, and the Internet commentary amuses too.

I saw this under the title PICKUP ALLEY. It's a typical British crime thriller of its era, perhaps more lavishly made and bigger budgeted than some, given that various European locations play out as a backdrop and that Victor Mature is a pretty big import to lead as the detective. This time around the authorities are on the hunt for a villain played, unusually, by Trevor Howard, who acquits himself very well when cast against type. The huge ensemble cast is packed with plenty of familiar faces including Sid James and Sydney Tafler, all of whom deliver the usual solid turns, although Mature is a little stiff as the protagonist, his star overshone by those below him. The exciting action includes rooftop chases that make this feel like a BOURNE film of its day.

HUNTERS ARE FOR KILLING is a little-known TV movie made as a vehicle for then burgeoning star Burt Reynolds, a couple of years from making DELIVERANCE. It's a small town drama in which Reynolds plays an ex-con who arrives home to find himself an outcast in his own birthplace. There's some back story involving the reason he was in prison in the first place, a couple of minor twists, and a manhunt climax which is relatively well staged. Reynolds gives a taciturn performance in this one, reminding me somewhat of Charles Bronson, but the storyline is involving enough to make this fairly watchable. Martin Balsam plays the sheriff.