Charles Bronson appreciation thread
 

Today marks the 4th anniversary of the death of the man once named "Most Famous Actor in the World". Bronson is my favorite actor and many of his films are among my favorites, including <i>Once Upon A Time in the West</i> which is my #3. I just wanted to open a thread for people to discuss their favorite Bronson flicks and remember The Man.

Magnificent Seven and Great Escape. Nuff said.

Two words: Death Wish. I also named my dog after him.

Definitely worthy of being anyone's all-time favorite actor. You can't get more bad-ass than Bronson.

My favorite underrated Bronson movie, that you are simply not a man without owning, is Honor Among Thieves. Also starring the equally bad-ass Alain Delon. There are so many awesome Bronson moments in this movie, with certain smirks & looks he gives Delon's character that just make me grin every time I watch this movie.

I just recently picked up <b>Honor Among Thieves</b> and might watch it tonight. Delon is another one of my favorites. I just recently watched the two of them with the incomparable Toshiro Mifune in <b>Red Sun</b>.

Loved the work he did in the 70s - my personal faves:

The Mechanic
The Stone Killer
Mr. Majestyk
Breakout
Telefon

My favorite Bronson movie is "From Noon Til Three" (1976). As I remember it, this film was a witty screwball western comedy (!) with Bronson playing against type (pretending to be a famous gunfighter but who is really a coward). If someone has a better recollection, please help out! The film also co-starred his wife, Jill Ireland.

I always enjoyed seeing Bronson's weatherbeaten looks and gruff demeanor. I can't think of an actor today who matches Bronson's toughness. All of the new Hollywood actors are pretty-boys with manicured fingernails!

Love Bronson. Death Wish is my fav, soft spot for 10 to Midnight, and of course OUATITW

Bronson fanatic from way back. I even had a card catalog of Bronson films, and collected books based on his movies, or the books that inspired them. Throughout the 80s he did seem to make the same movie over and over again, but he could do no wrong as far as I was concerned.

It's been a long time but I think he may have been a criminal who ended up at Ireland's house. They spent an afternoon together and fell in love. He left to rescue his partners and was arrested, but she thought he was dead. Meanwhile, the town found out about the affair and thought it was a huge scandal, but the romance of it turned Ireland's house into a tourist attraction with guided tours and everything. He gets out of jail a few years later and eagerly returns to Ireland, but she doesn't even recognize him because the story has taken on a life of its own and she remembers him to be much more handsome and debonair that he really was.

If I remember right she wrote a book about it that became a best seller. After Bronsan got out of jail nobody would believe him when he told them his name.



Other good ones:
Breakheart Pass
Hard Times
The White Buffalo

Short notice! By coincidence, I noticed that TCM will be broadcasting "From Noon Til Three" Thursday night (9/6) at 11:30 PM (PST) or Friday morning (9/7) at 2:30 AM (EST). If you have a recording device, this is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy this offbeat Charles Bronson comedy/western.-smile-

My absolute favorite Charles Bronson movie is Hard Times (1975). Bronson at his absolute bad ass best!

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Death wish started a whole movie subgenre (rape revenge)

But my fav Bronson movie and one of my fav movies of all time is the Great Escape

IT was sad to see Charles whore himself out with really pad straight to video movies late on in his career

One of my favorite Bronson films is "Red Sun". I saw when I was 13, back when it came out in 1972. It also stars Torshiro Mifune and Ursula Andress. I remember I went to a 10am showing, and stayed and watched it a total of three times! Cowboy's and Samurai's, this was something totally new. Years later they remade it into a comedy, Shanghai Noon!

I'm betting it's letterboxed too. Can upgrade my fullscreen Encore copy.

:thumbsup:

my favorite is Once Upon A Time In The West.

i would also recommend, like someone else mentioned already, The Mechanic.

For me, it's The Magnificent Seven and The Dirty Dozen. Though I do have a soft spot for some of his later work, such as Kinjite.

:up: That's my list too.

For me he had some great roles in great movies. The Great Escape is a high point as is the Dirty Dozen. But i also really liked Hard Times and for sheer rediculousness i always enjoy watching Death Hunt and especially Deathwish 3.

The Mechanic
Telefon
Death Hunt
The Great Escape
The Dirty Dozen
Death Wish

What, no love for <b>HOUSE OF WAX</b> (1953)?

The Stone Killer and Telefon should definitely be out on DVD. The Stone Killer is one of the better low budget 70's thrillers.

As for what IS available, the ones I really like are Mr. Majestyk (Al Lettieri was such a great villain who tragically made very few movies), The Mechanic, Hard Times and Breakout.

Towards the end of his career, Cannon Films was the only one willing to give Bronson starring roles and they put him up in some real crap that has tarnished his reputation. If he had gotten his break a decade earlier (he was already in his 40's when he made those big ensemble pictures that got him stardom), he could have had a much better career.

That is a little incorrect, Cannon Films would only make the movies that Bronson wanted and thought he should still make. He was a very stubborn man about what his image should be and how it should be portrayed. He had been offered many other roles that he could have made great contributions to but he wasn't interested in them, however it finally took Sean Pean to get him to take one of those roles but by then it was late in his career and there was not much interest anymore.

I love Bronson he is my favorite actor and I probably seen every film and read everything that is available on the man. I was not Cannon Films that tarnished him, he just didn't realize that he should have moved on to different types of roles before it was too late. The Indian Runner, The Sea Wolf and Yes Virginia There is a Santa Clause just some of the roles that he eventually decided to take at the urging of those close to him. He could have been a great elder statesman in lots of different types of roles if he would have just taken them.