Customer Reviews

The Hit

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A British gangster turns informer and testifies against a dockful of his mates; as sentence is handed down, the crew gaze at him and burst into song -- Vera Lynn's "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when..." Years later, living a placid exile in a sleepy Spanish village, the informer gets a knock on the door, and two univited guests from his homeland show up; one is a jittery soccer hooligan, the other, is, well, white-suited, sunglasses wearing, and almost silent -- the Angel of Death and his acolyte. Their job is to drive the informer several hundred miles to the French border, where he will be delivered to one of those who vowed revenge and is now free. The catch? The informer goes smilingly and willingly. He has known this day would come, and has spiritually prepared himself for it. As the three journey north, his cheerful composure and penchant for cockeny existentialist philosophizing and non-stop chatter begins to crack the facade of the killers who are transporting him; and then everything starts to go very, very wrong. The question is: Has the informer had a conversion experience, or is he a seasoned hustler who has devised a brilliant survival gambit?

Stephen Frears, not yet a hack, directed this fabulous example of BritNoir in the mid-'80's, where it was barely exhibited in the US. The sun-drenched Spanish locations are a special joy, contrasting with the increasingly grim story, and Frears builds up an admirable amount of tension, leading to explosive bursts of orchestrated violence. This film is genuinely unpredictable, thanks in large part to a literate, Pinter-esque script, the fact that the action is character-generated, and three generations of great UK actors are on hand to deliver the crowning glory of the film, its performances, I've saved the best for last:

Terence Stamp, in his return to the big screen after a lengthy absence, gives his greatest performance, better even than the much-vaunted "The Limey," as the smiling martyr. His charm and serenity un-nerve his would-be killers, and starts to un-nerve us as well;

Tim Roth, in his first feature film, as the soccer hooligan driver on his very first hit; when you see this squirrely apprentice, you know that he is the weak link, and watch how Stamp zeroes right in on him because he sees this too. Watch also how Roth delivers a head-butt as though it was a daily occurrence.

The Angel of Death -- John Hurt as the veteran assassin. He is the voluable, handsome, sun-tanned Stamp's polar opposite, he speaks monosyllabically, if at all, will not indulge his captive's fondness for philosophy, and is seemingly oblivious to all but the job at hand. He has no discernable personality, and Hurt, with his dry croak of a voice, shaded eyes, pasty white skin that seems to blanch from the Spanish sun, as though he's not used to daylight, and increasingly filthy white suit, makes him a frightening incarnation, keeping superhuman cool as a simple assignment falls apart and becomes a bloodbath. Not since Charles Bronson in Once Upon a Time in the West have I seen an actor do more with so few lines and an inexpressive visage.

Extra credit goes to Laura del Sol, veteran of Carlos Saura's flamenco musicals, as the gorgeous hostage the killers are forced to take on board in one of the film's escalating plot complications: she speaks not a word of English, but she incarnates a will to survive - and an instinctive loathing of the Hurt character - that marks her out as a Mediterranean life force, in contrast to Hurt's Northern European death-drive; just as Stamp's equanimity in the face of death begins to drive the Roth character nuts, her Magnani-like sexuality begins to take its toll on Hurt's impassive murderousness.

Anyway, if you want to see a genuine little sleeper of a movie, decked out with a great cast, you could do worse then The Hit. Criterion once again shows fabulous acumen in rescuing a great one from oblivion. A great addition to the British tradition of off-beat gangster movies, like Get Carter, The Long Good Friday and Performance.

After reading all the reviews stating how awful the dvd quality of "The Hit" was, I decided to buy the vhs. This is easily one of the most original mob movies ever made, with an outstanding cast and awesome music by Paco De Lucia. Years ahead of its time in terms of style and violence, I can see how a brilliant film like this would influence directors like Quentin Tarantino.

The movie begins in London, 1973, where veteran criminal Willie Parker (Terence Stamp) betrays his friends in exchange for immunity from the court. Ten years later, in Spain, Parker is abducted from his peaceful village by a group of amateurs, who "sell" him to hitman Mr. Braddock (John Hurt) and his rookie assistant (Tim Roth). Braddock and his assistant have been hired by Parker's former "partners-in-crime" to kill Parker, but the more they talk to Parker, the more puzzled they are. Parker is a totally willing victim who doesn't even try to escape from them, and throughout the movie he has several opportunities. Braddock and his assistant also take a beautiful woman (Laura del Sol) hostage, not realizing the consequences this will have on their original "assignment". After getting to know Parker, Mr. Braddock and his assistant begin to have doubts about killing him, but the violent confrontation at the end shows that some characters were hiding their true feelings about the bleak situation.

Terence Stamp and John Hurt were awesome, as was Tim Roth in his impressive film debut. What sets this apart from other mob movies is that this film focuses on the inner conflict that rages inside hitmen when they discover that their "target" is actually a likable person. It also takes an interesting view on death itself. A film this brilliant certainly deserves a Criterion Collection dvd release, but until then I recommend the vhs version.

Any quick synopsis of the plot may give you the idea that this is like so many independent films that came after it but its not. The three things that make this different and better are the three actors involved. The young hood who acts tough but really may not have the stomach for this kind of thing is Tim Roth, the true professional hit man who has little patience for his young accomplice and would be apprentice is John Hurt. And the target for the elaborate hit is the always exquisite Terence Stamp who knows it has been coming all the years and has become very philosophical, almost welcoming it when it finally appears. Stamp too was a pro and that makes both Hurt and Roth admire him, even revere him perhaps for accepting things like he does. There is action but most of it is character interaction, which is very good. Visually the most exciting scenes are in Spain where Stamp has been hiding it out in a very comfortable country villa, but the trip back to Paris presents several interesting villages and vistas. Frears later did Dangerous Liasons which I also like but this smaller film is my favorite of his primarily because of the Stamp character and Terence Stamp himself. If you've seen anything of his from Billy Budd to Fellinis Toby Dammit to Pasolinis Theorem to The Limey, you know he is one of the most interesting screen presences you will ever encounter, The Hit was made when he hadn't been seen in a picture for a while so the fact that the character he plays in The Hit has also been out of circulation for awhile gives the role an added dimension.
Later Reservoir Dogs made Tim Roth famous and for good reason but here you get his debut doing it all for the first time. And Hurt is always scary as hell like he's haunted with some knowledge about human nature that you nor I nor anyone will ever know about.

Artisan is the worst!

Having never seen this film, I was extremely excited to see that it was to be released on DVD finally...until I noticed that Artisan was going to release it. Sure enough, Artisan has done it again, offering The Hit in a pan & scan format. Surely this is not an action cheapie, and as such deserves better treatment than Artisan is putting out.

If you don't care about format, ignore my review. If you do care, I suggest that you be careful buying any Artisan DVDs, as they are releasing loads of P & S titles these days.

Would someone in authority please advise Artisan to raise their price point and release these films in a double-sided disc offering both formats, a la Warner Brothers?

This early effort of Stephen Frears is a remarkable example of the film genre that it helped to inspire. Made in 1984, it is one of the early "road" films which has become a Hollywood cliche (interesting or unusual characters driving cross country, often shot in the desert: see Thelma & Louise, Wild at Heart, etc.)

On the surface, this is a straightforward tale of a mafia style abduction and murder; and it can be viewed and enjoyed on this level only. Yet, when you look beyond the action and study the characters, the possibilities for the motivations and circumstances of their actions become infinite.

I have viewed this movie many times, and I still am trying to decipher the subtext(s): Is Braddock intentionally making the job more complex than it needs to be? Does Willie (the intended victim) really believe in the spiritual peace he claims to have found, or is it just a pretext to stay alive long enough to save himself through trickery? Who exactly is the young Spanish girl?

This is one of those films which can be viewed again and again, each time presenting something different to the viewer....

"The Hit" is a wonderful and endearing early effort from top Brit director Frears. A slick kidnap, road movie with a kooky edge, blending in beautious spanish landscapes with theories on mortality and teenage crushes. But its the charming, oddball characters that really sell this. Terance Stamp is perfect as the doomed, yet gleeful Willy, and is able to be sympathetic, enigmatic and wickedly comic. John Hurt is brutal and troubled as the Hitman who develops a quite surreal relationship with his female hostage. However the most winning performance here belongs to a remarkably young Tim Roth as the lippy sidekick. His portrayal of Myron is spunky, goonie and...adorable! This is the sort of movie you watch at 2:ooam and it gains a kind of dreamlike quality. The ending is so painfully ironic.

This fresh cinematic spin on the infamous "Hit Man" doesn't seem to be well known and that's a shame. 'The Hit' is very sly and cunning, stepping far astray from the usual efficiency associated with these individuals, and contains ingenious plot twists guaranteed to keep you guessing. Though it is British the film remains accessible to all moviegoers; the accents are easy to understand and the dialogue is not completely bound to British standards.

A pair of hit men, Braddock, a wily veteran and Myron, a greenhorn, track down former gangster Willy Parker, who squealed on his former partners and has been hiding out in Spain for ten years. The hit men intend to take Willy to Paris to meet his former boss before he is summarily executed but an unexpected complication occurs that throws the plan into disarray. Attempting to alleviate the problem only causes it to snowball beyond belief and soon the two hit men are forced to take a hostage along the way. Willy's lackadaisical approach to his certain demise displeases his "escorts" who expect him to be quite fearful of his impending doom. The hostage is a bit of puzzlement as well and Myron takes it upon himself to look after her interests. As events continue unfolding causing more chaos it isn't long before Myron is questioning Braddock's control of the situation.

To say anymore would be an unforgivable transgression; suffice it to say that 'The Hit' is a movie you won't regret having spent time watching. Besides being directed by Stephen Frears it also features Terence Stamp, John Hurt and Tim Roth - his film debut - in the three key roles. The screenplay allows for a few terrific action sequences, frequent suspense, laugh-out-loud humor and even some very memorable scenery in Spain. The theme music performed by Eric Clapton is among the best of his compositions and he gets an assist from Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame. 'The Hit' is a movie deserving of cult status for its many offbeat touches and unconventional manner of storytelling. Do yourself a real favor and set aside some time to watch this film - but beware! You'll find that once isn't enough!

John Hurt is the star here, a polished professional hit man without emotions . . . until things start to come apart. Saddled with a smartass punk assistant, Hurt is assigned to hit a stool pidgeon who turns out to be amateur philosopher, facing death with equanamity. As the job goes from bad to worse, turning into a kind of road trip from hell, Hurt resigns himself to a sort of passivity, accepting situations that madden him, relinquishing control of himself in a state of detachment that is troubling to see. You almost want him to kill all these people and regain his deportment, rather than accept one insult after another to his dignity as a professional.

Hurt is perfect in the role, and the supporting cast make up an excellent ensemble, of sorts. The hero is doomed of course, but the journey to the end is well worth the trip. Outstanding.

This is one of my favorite "unknown" classics from the 1980's, and one of the few 80's films that managed to cling to the gritty, purposeful aesthetics of the great action films of the 1970's.

The plot is simple: A couple of hit men are driving a mob informer to his place of execution. During the trip, tensions arise. What makes this film a beauty, beyond Stephen Frears exuberant, coming-into-his-own direction, is the brilliant casting.

John Hurt is a lean, grizzled grim reaper behind a pair of shades. Every word he speaks radiates pure death, and his flat gaze marks whoever it falls upon. Hurt, who has tremendous range as an actor, slips into the role of the killer "Mr. Braddock" with a still, icy ease. I have enjoyed Hurt's work for a long time, and I really think he is one of the best character actors in the world. Tim Roth plays Braddock's young sidekick with a combination of cockney attitude and simmering venom. This was Roth's first movie role, and it is all the more remarkable for that reason. Roth is another remarkable craftsman, able to simply dwell in a roll. In an interesting bit of trivia, Hurt and Roth would team up again a decade later in the excellent historical drama, Rob Roy, playing characters in the same kind of deadly symbiotic relationship. These two actors play off one another with expert ease, one the older master (Hurt) and the other the barely controlled apprentice (Roth).

The last piece of the acting puzzle is Terrance Stamp, who has had about as strong a mid to late career as an actor could hope for. He has aged very well, his features hardening into lean stone, much like Clint Eastwood. Stamp plays the mob informer that is going to be hit, and through some amazing acting he is able to portray a kind of transcendental peace that is truly moving.

The format for this DVD edition is, to say the least, a disappointment. The viewing public seems to be far more educated these days than studios and DVD packagers seem to realize. All buyers really want is the widescreen edition anymore and are willing to pay more for it. Hasn't that become obvious? Regardless of the poor production of this DVD, this is still a film worth having and I still recommend it. -Mykal Banta

A forerunner to "Sexy Beast", the outstanding 1984 Brit-Noir "The Hit" is a lushly filmed, "*****" (five-star) movie by director Stephen Frears ("My Beautiful Laundrette","High Fidelity", "Dirty Pretty Things"). It features a dream cast (Terrence Stamp, John Hurt and the big screen dubut of Tim Roth). A five-star film, a critically acclaimed director/cast, and a beautifully-filmed Mediterranean locale. Any one of the aforementioned attributes should warrant respectful treatment of the film's transfer to DVD. Unfortunately, Artisan "Entertainment" botches the job once again (check out customer reviews of Artisan's DVD release of "The Last Emperor" to see the pattern emerging here). Not only is the DVD in "pan & scan", but the print is quite dark and noticably "jittery" in several places. The audio, while acceptable, exhibited no improvement over the the s-vhs copy I had already archived from a cable airing. I understand that "The Hit" is likely destined to "cult" status, with a limited arthouse audience, but does this justify the shoddy, inattentive treatment? Scour your cable listings until Criterion gets hold of it.