Charles Bronson

James Coburn

Jill Ireland

Strother Martin

Margaret Blye

Michael McGuire

Felice Orlandi

Edward Walsh

Bruce Glover

Robert Tessier

Nick Dimitri

Frank McRae

Maurice Kowalewski

Naomi Stevens

Lyla Hay Owen

John Creamer

Robert Castleberry

Becky Allen

Joan Kleven

Anne Welsch

Fred Lerner

Jimmy Nickerson

Chuck Hicks

Walter Scott

Max Kleven

Valerian Smith

Bob Minor

Larry Martindale

Charles W. Schaefer Jr.

Leslie Bonano

Ronnie Philips

Ron Centanni

M.C. Gainey

Brion James

Laura Misch Owens

Walter Hill

Bruce Henstell

Bryan Gindoff

Paul Maslansky

Jane Feinberg

Lawrence Gordon

Fred Lemoine

Mike Fenton

Barry De Vorzon

Roger Spottiswoode

Philip H. Lathrop

Calvin Maehl

Eddy Lawrence Manson

Gabriel Puccio

Wilbur Kinnett

Donald C. Rogers

Norman Webster

Elaine Gyorke

Sandy Siegel

Arthur Piantadosi

Allan Gordon

James T. Woods

Lynda Gordon

Robert Hernandez

Albert Sendrey

Karen Rasch

David Coleman

Carl Manoogian

Dennis Dolan

J.W. Coffman

Howard R. Schuster

Alex Tavoularis

Trevor Williams

Jim Coe

Jerry MacDonald

Ernest Anderson

Gerald Endler

Jack Bear

Joe Torrenueva

Dennis W. Peeples

Buzz Feitshans

Vivienne Walker

Michael Daves

Michael Colgan

Bonnie Prendergast

Joe DiBella

Phil Rhodes

Ferdinand Zoren Veltman

Nathan Haggard

Donald F. Johnson

Drama

Action

Crime

Hard Times

Columbia Pictures

Claridge Productions

Major Studio Partners

United States of America

English

martial arts

sports

bare knuckle boxing

gangster

new orleans, louisiana

louisiana

great depression

street fighter

fighting

illegal fistfight

streetfighting

prizefight

neo-noir

boxing

1930s

action hero

Another great Walter Hill film with a strong cast. Bronson, Coburn, and Martin are all favorites of mine. A depression-era street fighter hooks up with a compulsive gambler and a morphine addict. I've watched it multiple times over it's 40 plus year life. It's worth your time...

You're not going to do it for free.  

Hard Times sees Charles Bronson play Chaney, a drifter who travels to Louisiana during the Great Depression and begins competing in illegal bare-knuckled boxing matches that are set up by his new found partner Spencer 'Speed' Weed (James Coburn). Directed by Walter Hill on his directorial debut & produced by Lawrence Gordon, the film also stars Jill Ireland, Strother Martin, Margaret Blye, Michael McGuire & Robert Tessier.

Hard Times, if you pardon the pun, pulls no punches, it's tightly scripted (Walter Hill in conjunction with Bryan Gindoff & Bruce Henstell) and thankfully doesn't get moralistic and didactic on the depression and hard times era in general. This features tough men earning a living, the respect is there, but it is brutal, with the violence on show very effective. It may be too strong for some, but Hill has pulled it together astutely to make sure we know these are masters of their craft during a very troubling time in history. It is by definition, an honest living for our pugilists. The bitterness that is here is reserved for those outside of the fight floor, as Chaney observes a bear in a cage as it roars in almost anguish, that whole scene then says so much without Bronson's Chaney actually uttering anything. To which it sounds weird to call Hard Times an evocative period piece, but it is. The locations are perfect for the story unfolding, kind of acting as a rich counter point to the violence played out amongst the men. The land worth fighting for perhaps?

Tough and with no little bite, the film benefits from having Bronson as the lead. Yes, Coburn takes the honours for acting gravitas, but Bronson keeps Chaney enigmatically interesting. Chaney is loyal and has the potential for love. We know next to nothing about him, but such is the restraint that Bronson shows in the portrayal, we are grateful to not have had back story filler to bog the story down. This is about this point in a man's journey and in particular the next phase of that journey, one which we, thanks to Bronson, are personally involved with. It's a great understated performance from Mr. Buchinsky. Jill Ireland too is excellent with a touching performance as the down-and-out girl who captures Chaney's attention, while Strother Martin is ever reliable as a dope addict forced to work unlicensed as a medic who Speed has brought in as Chaney's cuts and bruises guy.

A smashing and undervalued 70s movie that takes this part of history and refuses to entertain by basking in histrionics and parable's for the masses. Blood, brains and brawn cloaked in an evocative cloud of hope. 8/10

Hard Times (1975) - Trailer HD 1080p

HARD TIMES (Masters of Cinema) New & Exclusive HD Trailer

Josh Olson on HARD TIMES

Hard Times( 1975)

New Orleans, 1933. In those days words didn't say much.

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A review by ky1958

Written by ky1958 on Mon Feb 20 2017

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