5.0 out of 5 stars Bronson

C.E. · February 11, 2010

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } Bronson was one of my favorite if not my favorite film from last year so it was an easy purchase to make this one of the first Blu-Rays I owned that I wasn't re-purchasing from DVD. Like its protagonist Bronson isn't an easy film to explain.On one hand you can say its a biopic of Michael Peterson, a british prisoner who has rechristend himself in his fighting name of Charles Bronson and made a name for himself by causing riots and taking hostages so many times He's now serving a life sentence in his own prison to protect guards and other convicts from him. The movie isn't so simple though taking what I call a more gonzo approach to the idea of a biopic of a man who's so off kilter a personality. The best critics and even director Nicolas Winding Refn admit that the film is operating on different levels. The normal biopic features Peterson narrating his life, the story of young man who leads an existence engaging in fights at an early age until at nineteen He decides to rob a post office. He's sentenced to seven years in prison and once in decides to make the most of it engaing in fights and other violence.Then theres another angle as Bronson puts on a suit, paints his face and narrates his life story to a crowd, telling jokes and basically as He says from his opening becoming famous through his actions as a prisoner. This is more the surreal aspect of the film exploring a duality between the personality and the person I found interesting. Even the lifestory reenactments seem to use a technique. The film opens on a vicious fight with a caged Bronson squaring off against six guards scored to a normal song that does provide the feeling of general disturbance of the man. Certain scenes want to show this reality while the movie switches soundtracks to a more classical score when Bronson is retelling his life becoming more of the showman He wants to be. We go from rock and roll to Wagner at the drop of a hat to emphasize a more larger than life quality to the story.Refn's an interesting director who totatlly seems to have changed his direction from his films like the Pusher series which were more realistic compared to this. This change of tone and style definitely makes him a filmmaker I'm more interested in seeing after this film but I'll be remiss if I didn't mention Tom Hardy's performance. The film has become mainly recognized for Hardy's work reminiscent to Eric Bana as Mark Brandon Read in Chopper. Unlike Bana who became known outside of Australia because of Chopper though, Hardy's been working for nearly ten years in films like Black Hawk Down and Layer Cake. He's mostly been a character actor in small roles gaining some leads in other films. After this though I can definitely see this changing as He totally owns his role as Bronson. He bulked up considerably shaved his head, but more than that He has an almost animal intensity in the performance. He's funny, He's brash but at the end you do in a way see the wounded animal existing underneath the persona- again something reminiscent of Bana's performance in Bronson. I enjoyed Refn's direction but I can definitely recommend the film from the performance of the lead actor.The film is a biopic of an interesting person that thankfully doesn't glorify the man. There is a free Bronson campaign but it never seems to argue for this idea. In the end its a entertaining film with great direction and an amazing performance. Like I said this is one of the first Blus I purchased so I'm not as good at others at judging picture and the like. I've heard some reviews that have said the pictures good but not great but to me the picture popped with an amazing ammount of sharpness and detail while still retaining a film like appearance. The sound though is spectacularly good benefiting the dialogue and music selection. Magnolia thankfully isn't a company that skimps on extras for either DVD or Blu-Ray and there is a great selection of features including a making of that includes some of Bronson's family, select interviews with Refn, Hardy and actor Matt King. Theres also a feature on training Tom Hardy as well as behind the scenes footage and everything is rounded out with recorded monologues from Charles Bronson himself. The last feature should be something interesting like interviews with Mark Read were on Chopper, but truthfully asides from the rambling nature the audio isn't very good.Thats a good ammount of material rounding out an excellent disc. Like I said I loved the film and would definitely recommend the Blu Ray for fans of the movie. However you can see the movie though its a definite recommendation from me.

5.0 out of 5 stars This is going to sound weird...

A.E. · November 2, 2010

But then again, this movie is kind of weird so I think that's okay. In fact, I'm probably going to use that phrase a lot in this review since my revelations about this film have all come over me with a strange air of `weirdness'.This may sound weird, but when `Bronson' ended I instantly brought to mind `American Splendor'. I know, they are SOOOO different, but the one thing they have in common is the one thing that makes them both so amazing; they are odd. I guess I should elaborate. They are odd takes on a generic genre. All too often the biopic (which happens to be one of my favorite film genres) tends to become repetitive. The same general plot outline is used in the storytelling, and unless the subject is interesting enough on their own and the performances are beyond stellar, they can all begin to run together. `American Splendor' was one of those refreshing films that took be by surprise because it understood how to do something unique and different with the genre. `Bronson' does that too. It breaks away from the norm and delivers something that is odd. Sure, that oddness may deter some and it isn't without detractors, but the way that the film uses comedic breaks and fantastical interludes and blistering techno savvy music makes `Bronson' stick out like a sore thumb.I gobbled it up.This may sound weird, but Tom Hardy is hot. Ok, so that isn't weird par-say; but it is weird coming from me. What I mean by that is that the man is a marvel of physical appearance. The fact that he is naked often in this film (his battle outfit of choice) doesn't hurt either. Apparently, if I do 2,500 push ups a day for five weeks I can look like him too. I started yesterday.Breaking away from my obsession with his body (not an `I want to take him to bed obsession' but an `I wish I looked like him' obsession), the performance he delivers is FLAWLESS. It's funny because I just got done raving Colin Firth for his marvelous performance in `A Single Man' (toting it as the best of last year) and I'm almost tempted to say that Hardy was better. The performances are so different, yet they are both so complex. The way that Hardy taps into the chaotic drive that lays springloaded in the back of Bronson's mind is intoxicating, and the way that he plays to the strengths of the oddness of the script is just spot on. He really understands how to layer this character in all the right ways, creating multiple personalities that don't feel dislocated but at the same time never feel completely coherent. It is also a vanity free performance (I mean, he looks amazing but there is not an ounce of validation there), a fearless one, and I always commend the actor who is willing to `go there'.Tom Hardy goes there, and then some.This may sound weird, but the fact that not all of this is true only makes this film all the more amazing. I know that biopics get lamblasted at times for not staying true to reality, but the fact that Bronson's reality is one steeped in the fascination with fame makes the fabrication of his world all the more pertinent to understanding who he really is. He is a celebrity, but not the usual kind. He is the self imagined kind, and so making his world even more macabre helps us get inside his head and relish every moment of it.If you want something out of the norm that will touch you unexpectedly and stay with you longer than most other films, grab hold of `Bronson' and don't let it go!

Surreality drama.

P. · April 12, 2012

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } I did not know much about Michael Peterson aka Charles Bronson's lifestory or prison rooftop protests at Strangeways until I watched Tom Hardy's excellent carbon-copy rendition of this aggressively amusing character in the film. I remembered in retrospect there being something on the news about the rooftop protests that I would not have recollected without watching this movie; nor would I have known and understood what it was like for a person who was both romantically-inclined and poor to rob a Post Office at gunpoint to have passed on him the gruelling sentence he is enduring today; also later in the movie he does it again when trying to supply his desired fiance with a wedding-ring(?) among other things from a jewellers.He is a notorious character especially for one who read about him in the news and reads his books about life inside, but this film paints him not as a villain, but as he truly is-an anti-hero who has fallen foul of the system and consequently bitten off more than he can chew in the form of prison terms.Both witty and violent, this film makes for a thrilling discovery in a surreal moving-picture artform that keeps you on the edge of your seat like at a boxing-match wanting more of the same excitement it delivers throughout.A lot of good movies are sold cheaply on the market now, and this is one of them, so buy it while it remains at a low price because you'll still want to see it if it increases in value as a future classic and would be missing a good movie if you didn't, so don't be put off whatever price it is. Hazel O'Connor's 'Breaking Glass' was a case in point. I had to pay quite a lot for a copy from Bolo, even though that is an obscurity now.Some of my favourite scenes included the clown sequence, the dogfight and the artroom bust-up. The latter was hilarious, done only as it could be by Tom Hardy's (of 'Stuart' fame) trademark madness. The clown was enough to terrify the living daylights out me with its unnerving schizophrenic disposition, as was the nurse/prisoner dual-personality act he performed at one point.A memorable movie for its excellent performances, characterisatiion and surreal story progress. It is the first of its kind, in my opinion, to resemble 'A Clockwork Orange' for humour, pathos and fantasy so successfully.

Topfilm

C. · November 24, 2020

Het blijft een klassieker, Tom hardy is en blijft een legendarische acteur

Tom Hardy ... A beast at his best

M.M. · June 25, 2025

Tom Hardy outstanding performance in this role. For me it's truly his best work to date.

Awesome movies. great seller

A.C. · February 15, 2017

Decent shipping i suppose if your fairly patient. It is advertised as said. Quality movie and performs how you expect a blu ray should perform. Awesome movies. great seller.

私はとても好きです。

A. · March 28, 2019

なんといってよいのかわかりませんが、独特な映画です。空気の　間　が伝わるような黙っているシーンや、迫力のある声。フールーで観たのにまたどうしても観たくて購入しました。自分に元気がない、昔は違った、そんな風に思って落ち込んでいるときに観るとなぜか元気が出ました。