Blu Ray Review: Two westerns with Charles Bronson released

Kino Lorber is doing a great job of releasing Charles Bronson movies that cover his long movie career in the States and overseas. Bronson was a top start in European countries, and by the middle of the 1970s had finally achieved top level stardom in his own country. Kino Lorber is releasing many of the actor’s finest films. Two of his best westerns are the company’s latest releases.

BREAKHEART PASS

By the time this film came out in 1975, Charles Bronson had hit it big in the US with the massive success of Death Wish (1974), which would later spawn many sequels and help define the actor’s career. Having appeared in several westerns, most notably Sergio Leone’s Once Upon at Time in the West, Bronson was cast in this film for a one million dollar payday and a percentage of the film’s profits – quite a lucrative deal for the time. Unfortunately, it was not a success at the box office. However, as a western of the 70s, it holds up quite well as late as the 21st century, with a breakneck pace, a lot of action, and a supporting cast that includes such welcome veterans as Richard Crenna, Charles Durning, Ed Lauter, and western movie stalwart Ben Johnson. Bronson’s real life wife Jill Ireland co-stars. The film holds up for its utilizing elements of mystery and suspense within the trappings of a traditional western, and, in the 70s-movie tradition, it is filled with the sort of action and violence that many such films were investigating during this decade. Kino Lorber’s blu ray is from a 2K master and includes a new Audio Commentary track by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson that is typically enligntening, informative, interesting, and entertaining. The blu ray is available here: BREAKHEART

CHATO’S LAND

Michael Winner’s violent, edgy western from 1972 (shot in Spain in 1971) features Charles Bronson as a half breed who kills a sheriff in self defense and is then pursued by a posse. Far from being a typical revenge western, there are scenes of brutality (including an ugly rape scene) that are cinematically unsettling, but purposely so. At the time of its release, Chato’s Land was considered by some critics as an allegorical response to the Vietnam war. Now, in the 21st century, it holds up as a strong, uncompromising, and disturbing action drama. Jack Palance, James Whitmore, Simon Oakland, Richard Basehart, Ralph Waite, Richard Jordan, and Victor French round out the powerhouse cast. This is Charles Bronson first film with Michael Winner, who went on to helm some of the actor's best movies, including Death Wish (and it’s first two sequels), The Mechanic, and The Stone Killer. Bronson’s performance is filled with non-verbal nuance that sets the tone for the entire production. The blu ray is available here: CHATO

Both of these exciting Charles Bronson westerns are highly recommended. They are sold separately.