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Incarcerated thug Oliver Reed breaks himself, his crime partner, and another cell mate out of a maximum security prison in England; he's after his wayward wife, who has announced her desire to divorce Reed to be with another man and have his child. Occasionally confusing or confounding drama with indecipherable dialogue (at least to the untrained ear) and a twist finish that is more ridiculous than clever. After an obtuse start, director Douglas Hickox keeps the pace bristling with violence or the threat of violence, while brooding Reed and buddy Ian McShane are a fine tough-guy pair. The cinematography, art direction, and editing are all quite stylish, and fans of the crime genre will enjoy it, but the female characters are batted about like useless playthings and Edward Woodward has a thankless role as an inspector who's never around when needed. ** from ****

A dramatic story of revenge and doublecrossing, as a criminal breaks out of jail and set out to kill his cheating wife. Just an appetizer for that great Michael Caine-thriller "Get Carter"(1971) from which it seems inspired. Not surprisingly -like "Carter"- in the end no one seem to win, reminding us on that old saying about digging your own grave. But it does have it's moments; like the escape scene, the biker cops and the laundry, and the car wrecking scene. A fine cast as well, including Edward Woodward as the cop out to protect St.John from Reed's wrath.

With a gossamer wing-span, this curiosity from the early 70's is a quirky hybrid of Demetrius and the Gladiators versus Darker than Amer. Flight of fancy aside, the determination of this director JUST TO GET THIS RELEASED must have been mind-boggling. Without Jill St. John as his muse, Mr. O. Reed would have canoed upstream without his proverbial paddle.

Shocking one instant, lovingly discerning the next, this mild upgrade of post-War alienation seems to say escape is all there is for this Bluto-type force of nature with plenty of rope on hand. He just won't give up his sense of "Come and get me, (warden, coppers)"! He's there when he needs to be or so it seems. Justice is a foreign word when bad haircuts and razor-thin wit run the terrain. References to St. Matthew would hardly seem out of order. Tough and grinding like a Mac Truck. A relentless 8 out of 10 for a special "action" flick. Reminiscent of Get Carter, but a bit more brutal on the senses. Highly recommended

There were a number of brutal thrillers made in Britain in the early 70s ("Get Carter" and "Villain" were others) and this may be the nastiest of the lot. There are few likeable characters and a lot of unpleasant violence in the film, although it can boast a strong cast and stylish direction from the underrated Hickox, who made the excellent (if equally violent) "Theatre of Blood" the following year.

To this day SITTING TARGET is one of the most bleak and disturbingly violent thrillers Britain has ever produced . I remember watching this one TV in the early 1980s and being slightly shocked as to how nihilistic it all was . If there's any type of message in this film it's that there's no honour amongst thieves and that it's bad news to drive a motorcycle while the petrol tank explodes . It's also one of the few British films to show the mind numbing living death of long term imprisonment and this alone makes it worth watching . It's also interesting to note that Ian McShane is playing a villain . It might not be surprising casting with hindsight since we'll all remember McShane for his scene stealing role in DEADWOOD but before that HBO series he was always cast as likable good guys