Love and Bullets (1979)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Stuart Rosenberg

Writers:

Wendell Mayes (story)
Wendell Mayes (writer) ...

Release Date:

14 February 1979 (Denmark)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

From the writer of "Death Wish" [DVD tag line: Finland]

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Charles Bronson	...	Charlie Congers
Jill Ireland	...	Jackie Pruit
Rod Steiger	...	Joe Bomposa
Henry Silva	...	Vittorio Farroni
Strother Martin	...	Louis Monk
Bradford Dillman	...	Brickman
Michael V. Gazzo	...	Lobo
Paul Koslo	...	Huntz
Val Avery	...	Caruso
Sam Chew Jr.	...	Cook (as Sam Chew)
Billy Gray	...	Durant (as William Gray)
Jerome Thor	...	Senator
Joseph Roman	...	Coroner
Albert Salmi	...	Andy
John Hallam	...	Cerutti

Runtime:

103 min | Germany:93 min (DVD version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1979) | USA:PG | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

John C Lincoln Hospital - 250 E. Dunlap Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Company:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Trivia:

Stuart Rosenberg replaced John Huston as director.

Quotes:

Jackie Pruit: Say, what's that word for people who always think everybody's after them when they ain't?
Charlie Congers: Paranoia?
Jackie Pruit: That's the fella!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Exterminator (1980)

Soundtrack:

Stand By Your Man

As the 70s drew to a close

I like Charles Bronson. In some film fan circles this is considered a crime, but I've learned to live with it. Ánd then there is "Love and Bullets". Considering the production values this must have been a major release in it's day. And watching the trailer you could guess why people went to the cinema for it. Seeing it in the day and age of Jason Bourne is a different story: A crook is on the phone. He calls his boss who is outside. We hear the phone ring, the boss hears it, walks into the house and after an excruciating long period of time reaches the phone. In a Matt Damon outing this scene would probably take 15 seconds, even if he had to use the 1979 model of a phone used here. Look at the geographical distance covered in the film. Bourne, Bond or any given thriller hero might cover this mileage in 2 minutes. Bronson takes about an hour. He walks, he sleeps and has to deal with Mrs Jill Bronson again. And as I've said before: she was an acting disaster. I hope their marriage was okay, she nearly ruined some Bronson movies all by herself. Lalo Schifrin's music is intriguing, but the very short motive is overused a zillion different times. But overall Charlie is okay, Rod Steiger is ridiculous (but hopefully on purpose), the scenery helps and the final scene makes you smile as you do in most classic Bronson outings. And as opposed to other reviewers: it is on DVD and has been for a long, long time through Carlton Entertainment in Europe. Sound of outdoor scenes is awful. All in all, this was the last big budget film for Bronson. It should have been slightly better. It could have been.