Shatter Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Shatter Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson April 6, 2021

"We fought every day" is how director Monte Hellman described his working relationship with producer Michael Carreras while filming Shatter (aka Call Him Mr. Shatter) on an archival commentary track rehashed on this Shout! Factory disc. Hammer Films and Hong Kong-based The Shaw Brothers signed a three-picture deal, which also included Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) and a third film that never got made. The Seventies were a decade in which Hammer experimented with different styles and melded multiple genres into a single movie in order to appeal to more diverse and younger audiences. Shatter fuses the international espionage and Kung-Fu action genres together.

Hellman says that the opportunity to shoot entirely in Hong Kong enticed him to direct Shatter. He immediately saw deficiencies in Don Houghton's script but felt that his vision and direction could overcome them. Budgetary constraints and personnel problems hindered the production, however. Hellman was never allowed to have a full crew since the Shaw Brothers' craftsmen were contractually obligated to work on other extant productions. Consequently (and inevitably), Hellman and his depleted crew fell behind schedule after filming for three weeks. An overanxious Carreras fired Hellman and stepped in to direct the remainder of the picture. Filming and post-production took at least an additional six months. The release of Shatter in the UK and US was delayed by many months. The result is rather a mess: a confection of ideas that Houghton, Hellman, and Carreras brought to the project.

Mr. Shatter fires back.

The main titles display split-screens of faux stock footage depicting military upheaval and civil unrest in some African country. The film's regular widescreen photography shows Gen. Ansabi M'Goya (Yemi Ajibade), a dictator in the East African nation of Badawi, arriving at an embassy hotel suite. A relaxed Ansabi begins undressing and uncorking an champagne bottle. He thinks this will be an afternoon of lovemaking with his girlfriend/mistress, whose also in the room with him. Unbeknownst to Ansabi, a lurking sniper nearby has a camera that also doubles as a gun! The so-called Mr. Shatter (Stuart Whitman) creeps up and fires bullets at Ansabi, killing him. The mistress apparently was paid to set up Ansabi as she isn't shot at. It turns into a more bloody affair than Shatter expected as he also has to pull the trigger on Ansabi's goons.

While he manages to get into Hong Kong unscathed, Shatter is furious about the nebulous details of his contracted hit. He believes that international banking executive Hans Leber (Anton Diffring)—through an overseas contract with American government agencies—appointed him carry to out the hit. So, he demands his payment. But Leber claims that it was neither him nor the CIA who signed him on to execute Ansabi. Leber wants Shatter to get out the country. Read: he better stay away from all the authorities, too. As a frustrated Shatter begins searching for answers, Paul Rattwood (Peter Cushing), a British intelligence officer, arrives with his minions to confront Shatter. They rough him up and Rattwood delivers a similar ultimatum to Shatter: he better get out of Hong Kong or else. It seems that everyone in the country is against shatter until he meets bartender Tai Pah (Lung Ti), who's also a Kung-Fu expert martial artist. Tai Pah agrees to help Shatter under the condition that he split half the monies he hopes to eventually receive from a to-be-determined contractor for assassinating Ansabi. The masseuse Mai-Mee (Lily Li), who is Tai Pah's sister, becomes Shatter's love interest. One of the clues to Shatter's enigma may be enclosed in M’Goya’s attaché case, which contains papers listing mob drug processing facilities. Is the international mafia syndicate involved? If so, could Shatter be a cut-out?

Shatter has a lot of shortcomings. One is a gaping plot hole: How does Tai Pah know Shatter or get to know him so fast that he agrees to know his partner. Connected to this is sibling Mai-Mee's instant attraction to Shatter. He's really an antihero so what does she find so appealing in him? She hangs on him like a prostitute. All female portrayals in Shatter are plainly abominable. Also, Lung Ti is an excellent martial artist and action-oriented performer so why are his fight scenes intercut (or cross-cut) with reaction shots of Shatter, who's also part of the action but definitely doesn't know the art of Kung Fu.

In spite of the myriad of production difficulties and continuity errors, Shatter has some things to recommend to it. It shows Hong Kong from a bygone era that we'll never see again on celluloid. Additionally, Peter Cushing makes the very most of his small number of scenes. Sadly, it was the last film he'd make at Hammer.

Shatter Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shout! Factory has released Shatter on US Blu-ray on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 (which houses 31.29 GB of content). Shout! presents the film in 1.85:1, which I've determined is the original theatrical aspect ratio for Shatter. The transfer was made from a 2K scan of the uncut original film elements. Originally, the UK censor cut some shots from a couple of violent scenes. Anchor Bay's 2002 DVD didn't reinstate any of them but the excised footage was restored for the 2005 German DVD released by CMV Laservision. I haven't seen those transfers but it seems that all excised shots have been reinserted on this version. Keep in mind as you watch Shatter that it was lensed by three directors of photography. Lighting and contrast can appear very different for the same scene. Natural light through the window (e.g., Screenshot #15) diffuses shots by making them either a little blurry or more hazy. They take on a softer look. Minor damage marks (e.g., the small tear above Shatter's hair in #1) crop up periodically. Red, pink, lavender, and green show nice saturation and definition. Shout! encodes the transfer at a mean video bitrate of 36000 kbps.

Shout! gives viewers twelve chapters for the 91-minute feature.

Shatter Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout! supplies a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono mix (1643 kbps, 24-bit). Spoken dialogue is all in English, although any number of actors from China and Hong Kong who had speaking parts likely had their lines dubbed. Lung Ti delivers his own in English. Shatter's sound track recording largely derives from direct sound so range and depth varies depending on the camera distance (as well as location of boom mikes) in relation to the actor(s) photographed. The track isn't especially crisp but dialogue is still intelligible. When a martial arts training sequence is staged on a rooftop (e.g. Screenshot #5), pops and crackles mar the track for several seconds. The groovy score by David Lindup sounds like warmed-up Blaxploitation instrumental music.

Optional English SDH accompany the feature.

Shatter Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Scream has ported over all four extras from Anchor Bay's 2002 DVD.

• Audio Commentary with Uncredited Co-director Monte Hellman and Star Stuart Whitman, Moderated by film festival Coordinator Norman Hill - this feature-length track was initially recorded for The Roan Group's 1998 letterboxed LaserDisc. Hellman and Whitman are interviewed separately. Norman Hill acts as moderator and queries Hellman about the spate of production troubles on Shatter, his work as a protégé to Roger Corman, and his admiration for the films of John Huston and Sam Peckinpah. Whitman's remarks are cut in between those by Hellman and don't often relate to the same topics at hand. In English, not subtitled.

• The World of Hammer: "Chiller" (24:59, upconverted to 1080p) - a TV episode that aired in 1990 and which excerpts clips from nine Hammer productions, including Shatter. Each title is introduced by Oliver Reed, who also does the narration. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:31, 1080p) - a grainy 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen British trailer of Shatter. Although dirt is present, it's surprisingly clean for its age.

• TV Spots (1:02, upconverted to 1080p) - two US TV spots. They're unrestored and look mediocre in quality. You'll notice that the movie was re-titled Call Him Mr. Shatter for the American release and the titles have the Avco Embassy banner.

Shatter Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Shatter is a hodgepodge of different ideas and visions as conceived by three filmmakers. Screenwriter Don Houghton's script is only partially realized by Monte Hellman, who was jettisoned by Michael Carreras after only three weeks of principal photography. Star Stuart Whitman gives a hammy, over-the-top performance as a maligned international hit man trapped between swarms of assassins and corrupt bureaucracies. It's a role that easily could have been played by Charles Bronson. I do like a lot of the on-location shots of Hong Kong and all of Peter Cushing's scenes. At least Shout! Factory has presented the uncut version for the first time on Blu-ray. Don't expect an expensive restoration any time soon. The commentary track with Hellman is most valuable because he specifies which scenes he filmed and others he didn't. I give Shatter a marginal pass. RECOMMENDED to Hammer completists.