Mr. Majestyk Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Mr. Majestyk Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 22, 2018

Richard Fleischer's "Mr. Majestyk" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Signal One Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials for the film; exclusive interview with cinematographer Richard Kline; exclusive interview with actress Lee Purcell; and new audio commentary with author Paul Talbot. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Fine, now hit the road

Mr. Majestyk is not one of the action genre’s masterpieces but deserves a closer look because it has three qualities that are routinely missing from contemporary action films. These are key qualities that until a few decades ago basically made action films worth seeing.

The first quality is the ability to tell a story that takes action seriously. What this means is that the film allows the action to occur naturally and then flourish as the story demands it. So instead of quickly evolving into an unusually long promo piece for grandiose but meaningless shootouts and explosions, the film times and controls the action so that it helps its story. The second quality determines the strength of the characterizations. Instead of introducing pre-approved characters that fit the ‘right’ cinematic profile, the film actually encourages its characters to establish their own profiles. The freedom to do so is crucial for the film's tone and style, and precisely the reason why so many other older action films have memorable characters and still look fresh today. The third quality is the casual rejection of the ‘safe’, which instantly wipes out the artificiality that clogs up contemporary action films and frequently makes them unbearably dull.

Charlie Bronson plays farm owner Vince Majestyk who has just hired a crew of seasonal workers to help him pick up his melons. But local gangster Bobby Kopas (Paul Koslo) demands that he releases the workers and hires his crew, and then immediately warns him that if he refuses to do business with him he is going to regret his decision. Majestyk not only rejects the ‘offer’, but pulls a shotgun and then sends the bully on his way home with a bloody nose. A few hours later, Majestyk is picked up by the police and booked in the local jail.

While behind bars, Majestyk meets Frank Renda (Al Lettieri), a notorious mafia hitman with an endless rap sheet, and instantly realizes that he is a genuine creep. However, later on the two are placed on the same police bus and when Renda’s men attempt to free him and create a huge melee, Majestyk helps him get away with him. While hiding in an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of town, Renda tries to convince Majestyk to come work with him, but he phones the police and offers to turn him in exchange for a pardon. The deal quickly falls apart and he is forced to defend himself from the hitman and his newest partner, the bruised up Kopas. In the ensuing chaos, Majestyk befriends a migrant activist (Linda Cystal) who decides to help him after she realizes that his decision to honor his arrangement with her people could cost him his life.

Bronson does his usual thing -- he plows through the baddies and leaves them hurting -- but this film is more like a ‘kitchen sink’ entry in his oeuvre. Indeed, it never doubles down on the action and actually does its best to make a point that life just isn’t fair for all kinds of different people. So, from time to time tough guys like Bronson’s farmer are left with no other option but to break the law in order to restore justice.

The acting is appropriately casual and authentic. Even the wild outbursts of Lettieri’s fuming maniac look legit. Koslo, a very underrated actor, is perfect as yet another small-time loser looking for trouble while fantasizing that he could be someone of importance.

Richard Fleischer shot the film on location in rural Colorado with cinematographer Richard Kline, who in a recent interview revealed that he considered it one of the best projects he was involved with.

Mr. Majestyk Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Richard Fleischer's Mr. Majestyk arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Signal One Entertainment.

The release is sourced from the same MGM master that Kino Lorber accessed a few years ago when they prepared their release of the film for the U.S. market. It is a decent master that for the most part keeps the film looking fresh, though a brand new 2K or 4K remaster done on modern equipment will undoubtedly introduce some meaningful improvements. One such improvement would be better density levels that will also strengthen delineation and help with the black crush in the darker/indoor footage. The better exposed and resolved grain would also help fluidity, though it has to be said that the current master does not suffer from digital tinkering. Also, there is room for meaningful improvements in the area of color reproduction. However, the current grading job is again quite nice and unlike so many other older masters the current master does not even reveal obvious inconsistencies in the management of native highlights. There are a few tiny flecks that pop up here and there, but there are no distracting cuts, damage marks, stains, or torn frames. All in all, the film can look better in high-definition, but the current master has a rather nice and stable organic appearance. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Mr. Majestyk Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very solid. I am quite confident that the audio was remastered by MGM because it is virtually free of the type of anomalies that usually pop up in the background when proper work isn't done. Frankly, maybe there is some room for additional stabilizations, but I have to speculate that these would be academic enhancements that very few people will actually appreciate.

Mr. Majestyk Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Colorado Cool: Interview with Richard Kline - in this featurette, cinematographer Richard Kline recalls how he was offered to work on Mr. Majestyk, and discusses the personality of Charlie Bronson's melon picker, the shooting of the film in rural Colorado, the quality of the action and specifically the planing and execution of the car chases, his collaborations with Richard Fleischer and the director's working methods, etc. The featurette was produced by Robert Fischer for Fiction Factory. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Colorado Chic: Interview with Lee Purcell - in this featurette, actress Lee Purcell recalls how she committed to playing the character of Wiley after initially turning down an invitation because of a play that she was working on in London, her impression of Elmore Leonard's script for Mr. Majestyk, her interactions on set with Richard Fleischer, the film's reception, etc. The featurette was produced by Robert Fischer for Fiction Factory. In English, not subtitled. (28 min).

• Promotional Materials - a gallery of vintage promotional materials for Mr. Majestyk..

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Mr. Majestyk. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Audio Commentary - in this new audio commentary, author Paul Talbot (Bronson's Loose!: The Making of the Death Wish Films) discusses in great detail the production history and style of Mr. Majestyk as well as the talents of the people that made the film. It is a very good commentary from a man who genuinely loves Charlie Bronson's work. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Signal One Entertainment.

Mr. Majestyk Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Earlier this week, I accidentally found out that Richard Kline passed away in August, so I decided to do a review of Signal One Entertainment's release of Mr. Majestyk because there is a good exclusive interview with the man on it. There is quite a bit of content with him on various Blu-ray releases, and I always found his recollections and comments about the industry and the people he worked with throughout his career incredibly illuminating. Obviously, I also enjoy Mr. Majestyk quite a lot, though I have to disagree with the opinion shared on this release that it is Charlie Bronson's best work. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.