Walter Hill’s impressive debut bristles with macho pride in recording America’s illegal sport of bare-knuckle fighting during Depression era New Orleans.
Witty, watchable and tight as the bruising fights it portrays, the film showcases Charles Bronson at his best as a strong and laconic hero alongside James Coburn’s sassy fixer and Gill Ireland’s vulnerable siren.
Unlike the majority of hagiographic US sporting portraits HARD TIMES is a strait-talking amusing affair that gets out and about in its Southern locations and in the high octane boxing ring. Solid performances underpin an entertaining snapshot of a tough but colourful episode in US history. MT
OUT ON DUAL FORMAT DVD | BLURAY | 24 APRIL 2017 | COURTESY OF EUREKA MASTERS OF CINEMA