The late great Charles Bronson has been one of our favorite furious actors for decades. From his early appearances in 50s genre movies like House of Wax (credited under his real name Charles Buchinsky) through to his co-starring roles in 60s hits like The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape and Once Upon A Time in the West through to his 70s classics like Death Wish. He was a one of a kind action hero who made an indelibable mark in the history of cinema.
The folks at Kino Lorber already know that which is why they’ll be releasing two Bronson gems August 12th on newly remastered high definition Blu Rays. Fans certainly won’t want to miss out on picking these up!
First up is Richard Fleischer’s crackerjack crime drama MR. MAJESTYK (1974), from a screenplay by Elmore Leonard. In the film, Bronson plays a Vietnam vet turned melon farmer who gets caught up in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a feared mobster. Majestyk is easily one of Bronson’s greatest iconic characters. A tough as nails rebel that doesn’t back down to anyone that stands in his way. Co-starring Al Lettieri, Paul Koslo and Linda Cristal.
Synopsis: Charles Bronson is Majestyk, an ex-con and Vietnam vet whose efforts to run a farm are thwarted by narrow-minded locals and corrupt cops. But when a Mafia hitman (Al Lettieri) destroys Majestyk’s crop, the farmer’s fuse is finally blown. With his rifle in hand and his girlfriend (Linda Cristal) at the wheel, he goes after the syndicate assassin. And from high-speed back-road chases to an explosive backwoods confrontation, mobster and maverick stalk each other: two of a kind, antagonists to the death.
Tom Gries’ BREAKHEART PASS (1975) is an often overlooked Western-adventure classic starring Bronson as John Deakin a prisoner being held on a train traveling through the Rocky Mountains towards its destination: an embattled remote U.S. Army fort. When Deakin’s fellow passengers mysteriously begin getting killed off one by one, he finds himself in an all out fight for survival. The action moves fast n’ furious and the film has several thrilling sequences that will have you cheering for Bronson to bust out alive. Co-starring Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna, Jill Ireland, Charles Durning, Ed Lauter and Sally Kirkland. Based on a novel by Alistair MacLean.
Synopsis: Charles Bronson (The Magnificent Seven, Death Wish) is at his dynamic, heroic best in this suspenseful, action-packed mystery/western based on the best-selling novel by Alistair MacLean (Where Eagles Dare). At the height of the frontier era, a locomotive races through the Rocky Mountains on a classified mission to a remote Army post. But one by one, the passengers are being murdered! Their only hope is John Deakin (Bronson), a mysterious prisoner-in-transit who must fight for his life – and the lives of everyone on the train – as he uncovers a deadly secret that explodes in a torrent of shocking revelations, explosive brawls and blazing gun battles.
