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 December 17, 2021

Richard Fleischer's "Mr. Majestyk" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include archival program with cinematographer Richard Kline; archival program with actress Lee Purcell; archival audio commentary with author Paul Talbot; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

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, Mr. Majestyk arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Kino Lorber's new release is sourced from a recent 2K master, which isn't the same master that was used for the label's first release of Mr. Majestyk from 2014. I no longer have the older release in my library, but I have this Region-B release from Signal One Entertainment, which was sourced from the same older MGM master that was accessed for the U.S. release.

There are different areas of the technical presentation that I like quite a lot. For example, plenty of the daylight footage looks lusher and healthier, which is why it quickly creates the impression that it has a wide range of stronger organic qualities. Usually, but not always, this footage boasts superior depth as well. Most of the color values are more convincing, too. However, as it has been the case with other recent 2K masters, there is quite a bit of black crush that collapses existing detail and occasionally even destabilizes the native dynamic range of select visuals. The most obvious examples emerge during indoor and darker footage, but trained eyes will recognize the effects of the crushing even during well-lit and even outdoor daylight footage. I found this quite frustrating because a few times, mostly in darker areas, I had trouble seeing absolutely everything that was happening on my screen. Oddly enough, on the Region-B release, which produces plenty of dated visuals, the same footage was quite a bit better balanced. You can see examples in screencaptures # 15, 18, and 23. Additionally, the film can look slightly softer than it should, though the difference is largely insignificant and even on a very big screen delineation and depth remain very good. Image stability is excellent. A few specks and blemishes can be spotted, but there are no distracting large cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. So, I feel like this release offers a trade-off that was entirely avoidable. Most of the visuals look lusher and healthier, with the daylight footage producing the best results, but in darker visuals existing detail is lost because of moderate to strong black crush. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A 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 DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I think that the lossless track reproduces the native qualities of the original soundtrack quite well. However, there are definitely some dynamic fluctuations that a proper restoration of the film would have addressed. From time to time it feels like the audio becomes a bit flat for no apparent reason, thought it could very well be that the unevenness is inherited because the film does have a certain 'kitchen sink' quality. If I had to guess, I would say that there is room for optimizations, but I am unsure how significant they might be.

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

• 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).

• 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).

• Audio Commentary - in this archival 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 initially appeared on British label Signal One Entertainment's release, which was produced in 2016.

• Promotional Materials -
  
  1. Vintage U.S. Trailer. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).
  2. Vintage U.S. TV Spot. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art for Mr. Majestyk.

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

Kino Lorber's second release of Mr. Majestyk is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master, which I think offers the healthiest presentation of the film that you can get at this time. However, I also think that this master -- and virtually all other exclusive 2K masters the folks at Kino Lorber have recently commissioned -- could have been graded better. For some reason, it tends to produce plenty of crushing in darker areas that eliminates existing detail. A minor adjustment can instantly make a pretty dramatic difference. The release brings to the U.S. the excellent, previously exclusive, programs with cinematographer Richard Kline and actress Lee Purcell, as well as the terrific audio commentary by author Paul Talbot, the ultimate authority on everything that has anything to do with Charles Bronson, that initially appeared on this Region-B release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.