Cheap Mr. Shatter (Video) (Monte Hellman, Michael Carreras) Price

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Customer Reviews of Mr. Shatter

I think the idea behind this movie was to combine the action of kung fu, whose popularity was in full swing thanks to Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon (1973) and the grittiness of Mario Puzo's The Godfather (1972). This hybrid fell short of this lofty goal. Actually, it didn't even come close to the mark, as this movie really sucked rotten eggs. I hesitate to mention this movie with those two, truly wonderful achievements in cinema history, but I wanted to give you an idea of what you're in for here.

Craggy faced actor Stuart Whitman, probably best known for his television work from the early 50's through the 70's, stars as Shatter, a hit man contracted to kill an African dictator. He completes his assignment, returns to Hong Kong to collect his fee, only to discover the double cross is on and finds himself in the position of being a marked man. It turns out he was hired through his normal channels, but only by someone who intended on using Shatter as a patsy, and now he is wanted by various governments and mafias.

As Shatter tries to sort out the mess, he meets a master martial artist Tai Pah (Lung Ti). Shatter makes a deal with Tai Pah, promising him half the money he intends to collect for his services render if martial artist will help keep Shatter alive long enough to get the money. This offers the showing of much martial artistry, and while interesting; it didn't really seem to be on par with some of the other Shaw Brothers' releases.

I do give credit where credit is due, as the plot, while fairly complicated, seemed well laid out, and also, the movie did follow it pretty much all the way until the end. Also, as the film was shot on location in Hong Kong, providing a sense of claustrophobia while in the city, but also giving some really beautiful views in and around Hong Kong. The biggest problem, in my opinion, with the movie was that it was just boring more often than not. The action would pick up, and then die out, making for a sense of herky jerkiness (stop, start, stop, start) kind of like driving a car with new brakes. While Stuart Whitman was a serviceable actor, I felt nothing for the character, cared not if he lived or died.

The star power in this movie comes from veteran actor Peter Cushing and Anton Diffring, Fahrenheit 451 (1966) and Circus of Horrors (1960), although neither actor appears for any great length of time in this film, but fans of Cushing might find interest here if they're looking to complete a collection.

I commend Anchor Bay on their release, as the movie looks really good in this wide screen format, and there are even some real extras, like a commentary track, a trailer, and a couple of TV spots. There is also a featurette about various Hammer releases, which I've seen included on other Anchor Bay releases of Hammer films. Even with the extras, the best I could give this film would be 2 ½ stars, as it was just a difficult and uninteresting release to sit through. Oh yeah, listen for Shatter's own personal theme music, in that 'wak ki cha' style of the 70's. Nowhere near as entertaining as John Shaft's theme music, but somewhat interesting.

Quite good for fans of Stuart Whitman.
The print is excellent but what makes this DVD worth purchasing is the audio commentary. The uncredited director Monte Hellman offers some insight into the trouble bound production. Stuart Whitman's commentary is recorded in a hotel room and is not as clear as I would have liked,though his stories are fascinating.

Downhill fast
In the early 1970's Hammer films saw their movies slipping, they tried new angles like adding more gore and nudity, but were still falling behind. They decided to join together with Shaw Brothers to make two joint productions that would combine the martial arts elements that Shaw Brothers used with some british actors and some of the elements Hammer was known for. The first result was Legend of the seven golden vampires or the Seven brothers meet Dracula as it called in the states once it was released several years after it was made. That film had it's share of good points and it's share of the bad, which is more than I can say for the second collaberation.

I wasn't expecting Enter the Dragon, but I thought it would have some decent action and maybe a fair spy - drama type plot because Hammer had put out some decent thrillers in the sixties. The plot is like a third rate 70's cop show, guys with lots of guns and very little charater or sense. The fight scenes are not of the terribly phoney variety, but just pretty lame and unspectacular with the sole exception being the final fight scene. It says something when you cannot make a tournament with fighters of varied styles the least bit interesting.

Stuart Whitman is really quite bad, maybe not at first, but he gets old quick. Anton Diffring and Petet Cushing have small roles, but they make the best of them. The sets and scenery are good and as usual, Anchor Bay did a good job of releasing a very sharp looking product. This film is actually qite hard to watch in one sitting because it just tends to drone on and on. The one star is largely for Cushing and Diffring.