redsun
Junior Member
Posts: 57
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Post by redsun on Aug 3, 2009 15:43:20 GMT -5
"Taken" - with Liam Neeson. If that role wasn't born for a 1975-era Charles Bronson I don't know what is. I could totally see him playing the loser-husband who turns out to be a badass former CIA man.
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Post by harmonica on Aug 6, 2009 4:47:53 GMT -5
I would have really loved it if he had worked with Umberto Lenzi in a "poliziottesco" like "Napoli Violenta.(Violent Naples)".
As I have mentioned before he would have been great as Travis Bickle.
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Post by chaney on Aug 6, 2009 10:42:31 GMT -5
ENTER THE DRAGON. Could see Charlie being cast in the lead had Warner Brothers got cold feet about casting an Asian in the lead of a Hollywood production. There were rumors that Bruce Lee himself had cold feet at the beginning of the film's making and held up production, so it's conceivable the studio could have looked to replace him. Charlie was an international star with a huge following in Asia.
Always thought Charlie's fight in RIDER ON THE RAIN somewhat foreshadowed the ENTER THE DRAGON tunnel battle anyway, minus 40 or so henchmen. The way Charlie plowed through those bodyguards, they could have kept them coming infinitely. Also think Charlie might have been interesting in the John Saxon role, co-starring with Bruce Lee.
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Post by harmonica on Aug 6, 2009 13:58:54 GMT -5
The Last fight in "Hard Times" is much more realistic than any fight in Bruce Lee's movies.
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Post by chaney on Aug 6, 2009 20:11:01 GMT -5
No argument here on the final HARD TIMES fight. Have always thought that fight was one of the big screen's best.
How about Charlie in the Charlton Heston role in THE OMEGA MAN, mowing down zombie-like creatures of the night with a machine gun? I could see him in that part.
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redsun
Junior Member
Posts: 57
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Post by redsun on Aug 7, 2009 12:15:32 GMT -5
No argument here on the final HARD TIMES fight. Have always thought that fight was one of the big screen's best. How about Charlie in the Charlton Heston role in THE OMEGA MAN, mowing down zombie-like creatures of the night with a machine gun? I could see him in that part. that is funny -- I used to be on an "Omega Man" board as well! Yeah, I could see that but I have trouble with Charlie as a military scientist -- military, yes, but not sure about the scientist part. Maybe if he was just an officer or enlisted man...
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Post by chaney on Aug 7, 2009 17:04:24 GMT -5
Charlie was reportedly director John Milius' original choice to play CONAN THE BARBARIAN when the film began pre-production in the mid 1970's. That would have been interesting and decidedly different than Schwarzenegger. Charlie certainly had the Mongol look going on in the 70's.
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redsun
Junior Member
Posts: 57
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Post by redsun on Aug 7, 2009 17:20:59 GMT -5
Charlie was reportedly director John Milius' original choice to play CONAN THE BARBARIAN Weird! I just associate Arnold with it but I guess he could have pulled it off - would have been a different sort of movie. Here's one -- I could see Bronson doing the Gene Hackman role in "Poseidon Adventure" -- it would have been different but I think the results would have been cool. Bronson playing an embittered preacher!
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MisterHandsome
New Member
"I'm trying to listen to the new Robert Palmer tape."
Posts: 24
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Post by MisterHandsome on Aug 7, 2009 23:21:32 GMT -5
What about Charlie in Gran Torino? I can see him playing a grumpy Vietnam vet.
Death Wish 4 writer Gail Hickman said Bronson was a pretty grumpy guy IRL.
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Post by harmonica on Aug 9, 2009 12:51:24 GMT -5
What do you think about "Mississippi Burning" in Gene Hackman's role?
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crego
Full Member
Posts: 190
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Post by crego on Aug 9, 2009 13:09:43 GMT -5
Very good ideas all around... It proves only one thing, I guess : Bronson was a great character, but he made poor choices, and his career as a star is a big let down. Sad, because I think that after the success of "DEATH WISH", he could have made another american career, and choose ambitious films, but he prefered "BREAKOUT" or "ST. IVES" or "WHITE BUFFALO". His only really good film in the mid-seventies was "HARD TIMES", but it was not a big hit. What a waste...
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Post by chaney on Aug 9, 2009 15:46:12 GMT -5
Unfortunately, the career of a lot of Charlie's contemporaries became pretty spotty by the late 1970's as well, suggesting there wasn't a lot out there for the character actor turned leading man type. Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, George Kennedy, Brian Keith all were making mediocre films or had turned to TV during this period. Even Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall didn't work a whole lot during those years.
In mentioning those latter two, I think Bronson could have done Hackman's role in BITE THE BULLET well, and he would have been interesting in Duvall's APOCALYPSE NOW part.
Perhaps the best example as an equivalent actor to Charlie during this period would be Robert Shaw, who played a lot of villains and character types before reaching stardom as Quint in JAWS in 1975. After that, even his filmography contains duds such as SWASHBUCKLER, FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE, and AVALANCHE EXPRESS, though he did have box-office hits in the form of THE DEEP and BLACK SUNDAY. I guess Charlie could have done either of those last two roles and maybe kept enough box-office power to extend himself better roles into the 1980's.
I'm reminded reading of a film Charlie and Jill wrote called "$1.98" about the coal mines. There was talk of Charlie trying to get that made during this period. Perhaps that would have been his ticket to more critical acclaim and a better choice of roles.
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redsun
Junior Member
Posts: 57
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Post by redsun on Aug 9, 2009 22:12:27 GMT -5
Very good ideas all around... It proves only one thing, I guess : Bronson was a great character, but he made poor choices, and his career as a star is a big let down. Sad, because I think that after the success of " DEATH WISH", he could have made another american career, and choose ambitious films, but he prefered " BREAKOUT" or " ST. IVES" or " WHITE BUFFALO". His only really good film in the mid-seventies was " HARD TIMES", but it was not a big hit. What a waste... He made some terrible choices after "Death Wish." I know some people like it but I think "White Buffalo" is a truly awful film. Some of the other post-DW, mid-70s films like "Breakout" and "Telefon" were ok, but not great. He did not have the killer instinct that Clint Eastwood had, it is sad to say, either that or some truly bad advice from his agents. It is too bad "From Noon til Three" did poorly at the box office because he was actually pretty funny in that, showcasing a totally different side to his persona. "Hard Times" was excellent. He should have been nominated for an Academy Award, dammit.
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crego
Full Member
Posts: 190
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Post by crego on Aug 10, 2009 0:49:23 GMT -5
Bronson was 53 when he finally became a bankable star in the U.S. Maybe it was a bit too late. He had already done hundreds of films and TV episodes, and surely didn't have the ambition and drive of a younger man. It's possible that he had bad taste, too. After all, he said "THE GODFATHER" was (quote) "The worst film I've ever seen".
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Post by harmonica on Aug 10, 2009 4:58:06 GMT -5
As I have said before it would have been great If he had made a prison movie like "Papillon" or "Escape From Alcatraz".If his collaboration with Siegel in "Telefon" had been better he could have been in "Escape From Alcatraz"
"1.98" sounds really interesting and Bronson was a man that knew the mines better than anyone else in Hollywood.With a good director it could have been a great movie.
Bronson is surly one of the most wasted talents in cinema history.
The main reason was the fact that he carried so much about the money.
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