Mr. Majestyk is a slow developing but ultimately entertaining action-thriller starring Charles Bronson who is in his element.
Mr. Majestyk
(2K Restoration)
(1974)
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Crime
Kino Lorber| PG – 104 min. – $29.95 | December 7, 2021
Date Published: 11/28/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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Kino Lorber provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3½/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Vince Majestyk (CHARLES BRONSON) is an ex-con and Vietnam vet whose efforts to run a farm are thwarted by narrow-minded locals and corrupt cops. But when Mafia hit man Frank Renda (AL LETTIERI) destroys Majestyk’s crop of melons, the farmer’s fuse is finally blown. With his rifle in hand and his girlfriend Nancy (LINDA CRISTAL) at the wheel, he goes after the syndicate assassin.
Quick Hit Review: Mr. Majestyk is kind of your typical 1970s vengeance-thriller, pretty slow in the early-going with time taken for the set-up and a finale that was quite entertaining, with some impressive for the era stunt work. Charles Bronson is in his element here backing up his tough look with often brutal action (interestingly enough, this came out just a week prior to Death Wish). From what I read, this movie was initially written for Clint Eastwood and although I think Eastwood would’ve killed it in the role, Bronson was great in his own right. Working opposite Bronson in the antagonist role is Al Lettierei, a name I wasn’t familiar with until I checked out his resume, but he played Sollozo in The Godfather. Although the part is rather simplistic, just an efficient and effective assassin who ultimately goes up against the wrong guy, his on-screen charisma makes the role work. In the (quasi) romantic part with Bronson is Linda Cristal as an immigrant worker and union rep, getting a crew together. Not a whole lot between those two but she has her moments at least. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1980’s The Jazz Singer) with a script by the legendary Elmore Leonard, in a rare movie not based on one of his novels. As a side, the other one was Joe Kidd from 1973 that starred Clint Eastwood.
On the whole, even with the slower moments and what could’ve been a tighter set-up that I felt meandered at times, Mr. Majestyk was still an entertaining film even if it’s not as memorable amongst Bronson’s other thrillers like Death Wish, The Mechanic or even 10 to Midnight, but it’s a solid outing. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3/5 |
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This new edition from Kino Lorber comes with a matted slip cover with the interior cover being reversible. Features include an Audio Commentary by Film Historian Paul Talbot, author of the “Bronson’s Loose” books; Interviews with Director of Photography Richard H. Kline (13:59) and Actress Lee Purcell (27:57); and also the TV Spot (0:32) and Theatrical Trailer (1:33). |
VIDEO – 4½/5 |
| Kino Lorber releases Mr. Majestyk onto Blu-ray for a second time, this one receiving a new transfer, a 2K master from presumably the original camera negative. The movie, presented with a 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer looks great with the natural film grain still present. Colors appear nicely balanced and the picture seems fairly clean outside of a few minor specs that do show up from time to time, which I noticed both while watching and upon closer inspection. Since I don’t own the 2014 Blu-ray but apparently that one was sourced from a poor MGM transfer so presumably this is a solid upgrade. |
AUDIO – 4/5 |
| The disc comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track and I would assume this is the same one from the 2014 edition. Even so, dialogue comes across with good clarity and the action scenes might not pack a punch for a stereo track but still there’s decent enough depth. Nothing extraordinary but this is more than a satisfactory lossless track. |
OVERALL – 4/5 |
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Mr. Majestyk is a slow developing but ultimately entertaining action-thriller starring Charles Bronson who is in his element. This Blu-ray release by Kino Lorber features a good slice of bonus material and well done video and audio transfers. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.