Mr Majestyk

Starring:Charles Bronson, Al Lettieri, Linda Cristal, Lee Purcell, Paul Koslo, Taylor Lacher, Frank Maxwell, Alejandro Rey, Jordan Rhodes, Bert Santos, Alma Lawrentz, Richard Erdman, Ken Bell, Edward Reyes, James Reynolds, Vern Porter, Luis RamÃrez (VI), Larry Cortinas, Maxwell Reed (II), Tom Hickman
Director: Richard Fleischer
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Vince Majestyk (Charles Bronson) absolutely has to get his watermelon crop in, come hell or high water, and nothing in the world is going to stop him. Trouble comes, however, in the form of Bobby Kopas (Paul Koslo), who tries to force Majestyk to use a crew of winos rather than Majestyk's hand-picked migrant crew. After Majestyk cleans his clock, Kopas swears out an assault complaint, and soon the melon grower finds himself in the county lockup. In jail he meets hit man Renda (Al Lettieri), and the two regard each other with hostility and suspicion. In a segment worthy of action director John Frankenheimer, Renda's pals try to break him out of a prison bus in a street shootout. Instead, Majestyk commandeers the bus and drives off with Renda, with the intention of using him as a pawn to get the charges dropped on himself…so he can get his melon crop in, of course. The script for Mr. Majestyk was written by none other than Elmore Leonard himself, and the rhythms of his hard-bitten prose are clear throughout. As expected with a Leonard story, there are plenty of plot flip-flops and more than a little tongue-in-cheek humor (the flinty Bronson even gets a few of the good lines). A word of warning: Vegetarians and those with sensitive temperaments may be disturbed by the machine-gun slaughter of hundreds of defenseless watermelons, in one of the movie's more sublime scenes. It's not great stuff, but Mr. Majestyk is a fast-moving '70s action flick that doesn't take itself too seriously and isn't above a blithely ridiculous plot device or two. --Jerry Renshaw

Description

Cinema's most rugged tough guy, Charles Bronson, threads his uncompromising coolness through a tight weave of car chases, shootouts and bare-knuckle brawling in this gritty, forceful action film (LA Herald-Examiner)! Bronson stars as 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.

Customer Reviews:

satisfied.......2007-03-14

I purchased this movie as a gift, so haven't viewed it, but it arrived in a timely fashion, so I was pleased.

Bronson, an action-violence king!.......2007-01-09

Like Clint Eastwood, Bronson never had real success until he went to Europe in 1968... Then he hit, and hit big... In one year he becomes a star, and an action-violence king...

Bronson has a strong Slavic face, invisible slit eyes, a gently menacing smile-something like Jack Palance, but more humane...

Social themes are not the usual stuff of Bronson films, but in 'Mr. Majestyk,' he looks tough, yet manages to convey a sympathetic streak in the character he portrays...

He stars as a cool fighting loner who finds his efforts far to be carried out, and solves his problems with muscle and firearms - this time a formidable shotgun..

Vince Majestyk, a Colorado melon grower who haven't clipped his melons yet, gets trouble from a local racist labor racketeer Paul Koslo (Bobby Kopas) who attempts to force him to do business with him, using his crew rather than the hand-picked Chicano migrants he employed...

Majestyk straight advise to the unscrupulous punk is clear: Not to interfere... In this moment, Richard Fleisher's film looks as an action picture about labor and race troubles.... But the script twists it on throwing our genuine working man in prison on false charges...

Accidentally in the same jail is gangster Frank Renda (Al Lettieri).

When Renda's mafia associates stage a breakout for their boss, Majestyk seizes Frank and frustrates their carefully-schemed plan... He then offers to exchange the mafia thug for his own freedom... However, his own plan is ruined when Frank escapes from him, promising bloody revenge...

Al Lettieri, the ruthless hoodlum, is probably best known as Solozzo in "The Godfather," and as a loan shark in 'Rocky.'

Dragging along with Bronson, while he battles the mafia and cops, is Linda Cristal (Nancy Chavez), the beautiful Labor Organizer who provides all the necessary help to our hero... Nancy is quite clear with her Latin accent: 'If you want to go to bed with me, why don't you say so?'

If you like to watch the machine-gun slaughter of hundreds of defenseless watermelons, this is the movie to watch...

bronson kicks ass with a shotgun.......2005-02-18

I loved this movie when it came out and have seen it a few times on TV. Can't wait to see it again on DVD with all the violence.
This movie and the Getaway with Steve McQueen were must see Movies in the 70's. You can add Dirty Harry and Magnum Force too.
Bronson is so cool. He could make you freeze just by looking at you. He wastes some dudes with a shotgun that was way cool in the 70's and still good now. Violence back then was better, more dramatic, more shocking, more cool than the current overkill fake stuff that they make now. It was more real back then.

bad for a bronson movie.......2004-10-08

i read review that said it was good not really not much action
more talking

Melon farmer vs. the mob.......2004-08-17

This is about your average (no better, no worst) mid-'70s Charles Bronson actionier. Vince Majestyk is a Vietnam vet turned small farmer. All he wants to do work his crops, but then he is harrased by a small time hood (Paul Koslo)assalt. After he is arrested for assault. There he meets mob hit man Renda (Al Lettieri). In a botched escape, Vince tries to return Renda to prison, but then Renda gets away. After that Renda swears vengence on Majestyk. What follows is harrasment and then escalating violence until the final shoot out at a cabin in the woods. This movie would fit in perfectly with the bunch of southern justice movies at that time ("Tick, Tick, Tick", "Rolling Thunder", "White Lightning", ect) except for the geographic location in Colorado. Otherwise it fits in prefectly with backwood justice and angst against big city vs small town. Production values (helmed by Richard Fleischer of "Conan the Destroyer" fame) are just about average; good but nothing exceptional. Acting is the same story, no real stand outs. Do not get me wrong, it is pretty good, just nothing special.

Average customer rating:

satisfied
Bronson, an action-violence king!
bronson kicks ass with a shotgun
bad for a bronson movie
Melon farmer vs. the mob

Mr. Majestyk [Region 2]
Starring: Charles Bronson , Al Lettieri , Linda Cristal , Lee Purcell , and Paul Koslo
Director: Richard Fleischer
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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