Le Bagarreur

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.