Un killer di nome Shatter

Kicking, shooting and beating aplenty in this Hammer/Shaw Brothers co-production starring Whitman as a hitman with a conscience. Not much here you haven't seen before, but Whitman is OK, the music is kinda funky and, while he doesn't have much screen time, it's always great to see Peter Cushing.

Long unavailable on home vid, this was just one of the many projects that cult maestro Monte Hellman ghost-directed. So when the good folks at Roan decided to release this on LD, I jumped at the chance to get a copy. At forty bucks, it was worth it. But I had to order off the Dollar Menu for the rest of the week.

It was a long-held belief that Hellman only directed a small portion of the film before being sacked and replaced by producer Michael Carreras. But in the running commentary, Hellman, upon seeing the movie for the very first time, was surprised to see that at least 80% of the final cut is his.

Though no "Background to Danger," this is a very passable B-adventure, with Whitman a fine hero/foil. Whitman's Shatter is another in the long line of Hellman loner-man-on-the-outside-looking-in protagonists. The film also bears striking similarities with the long forgotten "Karate-the Hand of Death" (1961)about an American Karate expert returning to Japan after the war and runs afoul of some mob types. "Shatter" is a decent way to spend an hour and a half on a rainy afternoon, and a find for Monte Hellman completeists.

Shatter (1974) was the second time Shaw Brothers and Hammer Films worked together. This time around the results are not as wild and as entertaining as their previous collaboration (The Seven Golden Vampires) but it's worth your while.

Stuart Whitman plays your stereotypical all American actor (a type of role that would later be defined by two other great actors Scott Glenn and Fred Ward). He stars as Shatter, man of many skills. Like all people of his ilk, he has completed a job and all parties want him. Like all movie professionals he runs into the same problems (i.e. reneged contract, can't trust anybody, etc.). Peter Cushing guest stars as an English Special Agent as well as several Shaw Brothers' players (Lily Lee as the love interest and Ti Lung as Shatter's protectorate). Throw in Wei Lo (staff director of the Shaws) in a cameo and bit parts from Fung Hark-On and Lee Hoi Sang and viola! You have Shatter! Despite the lack of an interesting action direction (like Liu Chia Hua) the fight scenes are above average and they aptly showcase Ti Lung's skills (it's a shame that he never made it big time, his English wasn't bad and he has charisma).

Fun for all, recommended for Hammer Films fans and Shaw Brothers marks.

Stuart Whitman was a good choice to play the burly and rough-edged hitman of the movie, but it's a pity that he doesn't get much of substance to do. The main fault is a slow-moving screenplay; after the first 20 minutes, it takes about half an hour before things really start to move again, and even after that point things don't really move that much faster. The various action scenes are only okay at best. Though the behind-the-scenes problems the movie suffered from don't make for any real glaring problems, there are still some notable holes here and there. However, the movie does give us a really scenic tour of early 1970s Hong Kong; if you are curious about what it was like to live there back then, the movie may be worth a look.

Shatter, an international contract killer, has been assigned to assassinate the President of a small African country and collect his fee from a bank in the Far East. On arrival in Hong Kong his life is threatened and when the bank denies all knowledge of payment arrangements, he realises he has been drawn into a dangerous game where there are no rules. Amongst the players are the Mafia and several foreign intelligence services and the stakes being played for are deadly.

Stuart Whitman as hitman Shatter looks suitably shattered and world weary. He does a fine job in a film that isn't a James Bond-style film. It's more of a gritty action thriller that benefits from aforementioned Whitman's presence, Peter Cushing ( who can make anything good), Hong Kong location, and Ti Lung's fighting. A lot of kung fu fighters lack Bruce Lee's brand of to-the-point, bone-crushing speed and dynamically charged school of hard knocks, but Ti Lung achieves this to a certain degree. I was impressed. Without the kung fu fighting and other attractions I had mentioned, it can be rather dull, lacks spark and muddled; it isn't great, but just ok.