Best Walter Hill Movie

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directorial work only

Poll Results

OptionVotes
The Warriors (1979) 10
The Driver (1978) 4
48 Hrs. (1982) 3
The Long Riders (1980) 3
Southern Comfort (1981) 3
Brewster's Millions (1985) 1
Crossroads (1986) 0
Streets of Fire (1984) 0
Broken Trail (2006) (TV) 0
Extreme Prejudice (1987) 0
Red Heat (1988) 0
Johnny Handsome (1989) 0
The Prophecy (2002) (V) 0
Undisputed (2002) 0
Supernova (2000/I) (as Thomas Lee) 0
Last Man Standing (1996/I) 0
Wild Bill (1995) 0
Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) 0
Trespass (1992) 0
Another 48 Hrs. (1990) 0
Hard Times (1975)0


, Sunday, 24 June 2007 14:03 (eighteen years ago)

im probably the only one here who rates 'last man standing' and 'extreme prejudice'.

, Sunday, 24 June 2007 14:05 (eighteen years ago)

i like all of his movies. but some are more walter hill-ish than others. i don't know if it really makes a difference if brewster's millions was directed by him, you know? there is a lot of paycheck work involved. and then there is stuff like trespass which seems like it would be paycheck work and ends up being some sort of genre greatness. the warriors will probably win. but, man, do i love the long riders and southern comfort. i love streets of fire too!

scott seward, Sunday, 24 June 2007 14:14 (eighteen years ago)

and i'll take last man standing and extreme prejudice over 48 hours any day.

scott seward, Sunday, 24 June 2007 14:16 (eighteen years ago)

the supernova story is a strange one:

"Supernova is a perfect example of a studio screwing up everything. MGM had their minds on a 'sexy and hip' type movie while director Walter Hill was making a dark, 'logical' sci-fi movie. After the studio screwed with his movie, he took off. The movie was then taken charge by such directors as Francis Ford Coppola, and Jack Sholder (The Hidden). Well to make a long story short, MGM directed this movie, not as they say in the credits, 'Thomas Lee'. The movie ended up being about an entire crew doing nothing but screwing each other (literally), while bad stuff happens around them. That's it.

I highly recommend everybody who has seen this movie to check out the DVD. There they can see all the deleted scenes that the studio cut out. Check them out, then you think about it. Would you like to have seen the type of movie portrayed in the deleted scenes, or in the current turd that was released to the entire world? IMHO, I'd like to see the movie in the deleted scenes. Let's just hope that MGM has learned it's lesson with such flops like this and Rollerball."

scott seward, Sunday, 24 June 2007 14:19 (eighteen years ago)

What's Trespass about, Scott?

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 24 June 2007 14:51 (eighteen years ago)

Is that the Crossroads starring the Karate Kid?

milo z, Sunday, 24 June 2007 15:13 (eighteen years ago)

Maverick director Walter Hill, who had a big hit with 48 Hrs., indulges his customary yen for violent and disturbing scenes in this overlooked action film, which was also released under the name Looters. Set in the economically-depressed town of East St. Louis, IL, the film's release was delayed several months because its riot scenes were too similar to those that actually took place in the summer of 1992 in L.A. Bill Paxton plays Vince and Bill Sadler plays Don. They are a couple of good-old-boy firefighters who are tipped off that some stolen gold treasures have been hidden in an old warehouse. They find and enter the building but witness a brutal murder. The gangland killing is part of a turf battle between two rival drug lords. When one of them finds out that the firemen have seen the execution, he orders the witnesses murdered. But they have found the treasure and have kidnapped one gang leader's brother. An elaborate and violent series of skirmishes and chases ensue. Rapper-actors Ice-T and Ice Cube have roles as leading gang members.

scott seward, Sunday, 24 June 2007 15:14 (eighteen years ago)

The Long Riders is really excellent. Hill's a really underrated director.

Alex in SF, Sunday, 24 June 2007 15:17 (eighteen years ago)

Also Last Man Standing is quite good if you can over the fact that you've seen the source material a zillion times.

Alex in SF, Sunday, 24 June 2007 15:18 (eighteen years ago)

I didn't see Undisputed. It did not look good.

Alex in SF, Sunday, 24 June 2007 15:21 (eighteen years ago)

i didn't see undisputed either. i barely remember it's existence.

scott seward, Sunday, 24 June 2007 15:52 (eighteen years ago)

I remember seeing the previews and thinking "oh Walter".

Alex in SF, Sunday, 24 June 2007 15:53 (eighteen years ago)

those first 3 films - Hard Times, The Driver, The Warriors - are sooooo great (and Long Riders is also good, but it's been ages since i've seen it)but it does get rather spotty after that.

gershy, Sunday, 24 June 2007 17:02 (eighteen years ago)

Anyone seen Wild Bill? If so, gimme a quick review before I put it on my Netflix queue.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 24 June 2007 18:53 (eighteen years ago)

cool i never knew he did The Driver. But my vote will always go for Warriors.

Ste, Sunday, 24 June 2007 22:26 (eighteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

ILX System, Sunday, 24 June 2007 23:01 (eighteen years ago)

I thought Undisputed was pretty good, actually.

The Yellow Kid, Monday, 25 June 2007 03:29 (eighteen years ago)

Wild Bill -- excellent Jeff Bridges and Ellen Barkin in a Western elegy. Even David Arquette is tolerable.

Undisputed is so-so, but Peter Falk is obscenely hilarious.

Of the 7 I've seen, The Long Riders, Wild Bill and Geronimo are my favorites. Tried to watch Hard Times last month, but it's only out as a pan&scan DVD!!!

Dr Morbius, Monday, 25 June 2007 13:28 (eighteen years ago)

gotta be The Warriors

m coleman, Monday, 25 June 2007 13:35 (eighteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

ILX System, Monday, 25 June 2007 23:01 (eighteen years ago)

yay!

Ste, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 08:45 (eighteen years ago)

i thought 'streets of fire' would do better. isnt it some sort of cult movie?

, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 13:28 (eighteen years ago)

also i saw 'undisputed' yesterday. its such a sweet and goofy movie! a sweet goofy prison boxing movie.

, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 13:29 (eighteen years ago)

Those top 4 are in reverse order it seems to me.

Ned Trifle II, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 13:38 (eighteen years ago)

the ILXors' fave at age 13 romps again

Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 13:43 (eighteen years ago)

how did I miss this thread!? I've been on a Hill kick lately, just watched Extreme Prejudice and the Driver for the first time. I'd take Southern Comfort, Extreme Prejudice, Undisputed and Trespass over The Driver. I need to see Streets Of Fire, The Long Riders and Red Heat (probably the only mid-80s Schwarzenegger flick I haven't seen).

da croupier, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 14:06 (eighteen years ago)

I probably would have voted for Southern Comfort if I had to pick just one.

da croupier, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 14:08 (eighteen years ago)

man, i wish i'd represented for Red Heat.

g-kit, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 15:40 (eighteen years ago)

one year passes...

http://www.mezcotoyz.com/store/inventory/Summer%202008%20Exclusives/18010.jpg

velko, Saturday, 5 July 2008 02:37 (seventeen years ago)

ten months pass...

is Extreme Prejudice worth a look? I just watched an old Siskel and Ebert rave.

Bud Huxtable (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:36 (sixteen years ago)

totally entertaining with a nice 'wild bunch' ripoff element to it.

gangsta hug (omar little), Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:39 (sixteen years ago)

it has powers boothe playing with a scorpion and referring to himself in the third person, nick nolte at his buffest and a totally superfluous team of mercenaries led by michael ironside used as fodder during the bloody climax. in other words, yes.

da croupier, Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:41 (sixteen years ago)

rip torn as nolte's shotgun-wielding deputy!

gangsta hug (omar little), Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:43 (sixteen years ago)

Michael Ironside and Rip Torn? In one movie? Sold.

Bud Huxtable (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:44 (sixteen years ago)

Torn was in it? may need to revisit it myself.

tried to watch red heat but couldn't get past jim belushi.

da croupier, Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:45 (sixteen years ago)

johnny handsome has its moments

da croupier, Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:46 (sixteen years ago)

ironside's mercenaries include clancy brown and william forsythe as well

gangsta hug (omar little), Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:47 (sixteen years ago)

No votes?!

Bud Huxtable (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:48 (sixteen years ago)

Should rename it It's a B Action, B Action, B Action, B Action World.

da croupier, Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:48 (sixteen years ago)

tbh i would have voted for extreme prejudice if i'd seen the poll in time

gangsta hug (omar little), Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:49 (sixteen years ago)

seeing as how "the driver" came in second i can't say i get that poll at all

da croupier, Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:49 (sixteen years ago)

Though had I seen it beforehand Southern Comfort would have tied.

da croupier, Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:50 (sixteen years ago)

I enjoyed Southern Comfort more than Deliverance, actually.

Jeff Bridges aside, I thought Wild Bill wasn't worth the time

Bud Huxtable (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 4 June 2009 16:52 (sixteen years ago)

Southern Comfort had a great Ry Cooder soundtrack...

henry s, Thursday, 4 June 2009 17:14 (sixteen years ago)

I thought Undisputed was pretty good, actually.

― The Yellow Kid, Monday, June 25, 2007 3:29 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark

^^^^

i liked undisputed. it's pretty bare-bones, but tough in that walter hill way. it's nothing remarkable, but if you think you might like a prison boxing movie with wesley snipes and ving rhames, it's worth a look.

would you ask tom petty that? (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 4 June 2009 17:21 (sixteen years ago)

one year passes...

The Driver is playing at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens today.

your generation appalls me (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 26 March 2011 15:38 (fourteen years ago)

Undisputed's good, but Undisputed 2 & 3 are a hundred times better.

ℳℴℯ ❤\(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam), Saturday, 26 March 2011 17:29 (fourteen years ago)

and The Driver beats the hell out of Michael Mann's LA glitz.

your generation appalls me (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 27 March 2011 01:34 (fourteen years ago)

Virtually every Walter Hill movie beats the hell out of Michael Mann's entire oeuvre.

Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Sunday, 27 March 2011 02:46 (fourteen years ago)

At least up to and including 48 Hours. I'm not going to rep hard for Crossroads or Brewster's Millions.

Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Sunday, 27 March 2011 02:49 (fourteen years ago)

the driver is the perfect vehicle (get it) for ryan o'neal, even more so than barry lyndon - he just has to take up space in the frame, nothing more

buzza, Sunday, 27 March 2011 03:54 (fourteen years ago)

man this poll was hard times for hard times, my favorite of the bunch.

The Driver beats the hell out of Michael Mann's LA glitz.

would love to poll The Driver vs. Thief but the 7 or 8 total votes not worth it.

Cosmo Vitelli, Sunday, 27 March 2011 03:55 (fourteen years ago)

Undisputed's good, but Undisputed 2 & 3 are a hundred times better.

― ℳℴℯ ❤\(◕‿◕✿ (Princess TamTam)

hills failure to discover scott adkins will haunt him forever imo.

, Monday, 28 March 2011 00:06 (fourteen years ago)

Ryan O'Neal's character only says 350 words in the entire movie.

it was just on some weird cable channel i get (family net? where you have to bleep out 'god' but ladies getting shot in the face is ok). it's soo economical & hard-boiled, some scenes almost dont work but all in all it's pretty good. isabelle adjani in this time period is just stunning imo (i also watched 'subway' this wkend)

johnny crunch, Monday, 28 March 2011 01:04 (fourteen years ago)

eleven months pass...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_to_the_Head

whaddya know. first theatrical feature he's directed in ten years. and it's a stallone vehicle.

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 10:30 (fourteen years ago)

it seems uncharacteristic in a lot of respects but his first feature, hard times, is pretty great. it's not as peculiar and exciting as the driver or the warriors, but it's extremely absorbing and convincing.

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 10:32 (fourteen years ago)

i did not know this (from wikipedia):

Hill read Alex Jacob's screenplay for the Lee Marvin film, Point Blank and considered it a "revelation" in terms of style and format.[2] He decided to tailor his own scripts in that manner, as he described it, "extremely spare, almost Haiku style. Both stage directions and dialogue."

makes a lot of sense though doesn't it?

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 10:34 (fourteen years ago)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgarwright/6057245137/

RudolfHitlerFtw (Hungry4Ass), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 10:53 (fourteen years ago)

the Stallone movie's release has been postponed, not sure exactly what's going on there.

Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 12:19 (fourteen years ago)

From memory, Southern Comfort. From memory, definitely not Johnny Handsome.

Fonz Hour (Eazy), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 14:09 (fourteen years ago)

Hard Times playing in Brooklyn in a few weeks, I'll finally see it.

Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 15:05 (fourteen years ago)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgarwright/6057245137/

― RudolfHitlerFtw (Hungry4Ass), Tuesday, February 28, 2012 4:53 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

holy shit, that is awesome.

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 18:02 (fourteen years ago)

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/sylvester-stallone-will-reportedly-recut-bullet-to-the-head-himself-for-a-november-release

Clancy Fans and Fancy Clans (Eazy), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 03:24 (fourteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

great line in Hard Times by James Coburn's fight fixer, to a madam, before grabbing a whore and heading upstairs: "I don't need a sales pitch, mama, I just came to get my hat blocked."

Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Friday, 30 March 2012 04:52 (thirteen years ago)

New Orleans locations, art direction look so great in a good widescreen print of HT. Apparently Bronson was pissed how Hill cut down Jill Ireland's part (what's left is utterly disposable -- she and Bronson don't even kiss).

Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Friday, 30 March 2012 12:02 (thirteen years ago)

Strother Martin's opium-addict cut man seems entirely gratuitous -- Bronson hardly gets marked -- but he's just there to give Strother cadence to lines like "Some are born to fail, others have it thrust upon them."

Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Friday, 30 March 2012 15:17 (thirteen years ago)

if only Walter Hill had directed some SNL shit, this thread wd be getting some attention

Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Friday, 30 March 2012 17:43 (thirteen years ago)

48 hours began as an SNL sketch right?

omar little, Friday, 30 March 2012 17:51 (thirteen years ago)

if only Walter Hill had directed some SNL shit, this thread wd be getting some attention

― Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Friday, March 30, 2012 1:43 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

if it makes you feel better brewster's millions was like my favourite movie when i was 8

A Little Princess btw (s1ocki), Friday, 30 March 2012 17:53 (thirteen years ago)

God, I had no idea he ever sank that low.

Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Friday, 30 March 2012 17:56 (thirteen years ago)

five months pass...

Good Grief, that p&s Hard Times dvd is horrid. I got it from netflix but missed Morbs warning upthread. A bunch of scenes literaly cut in half image-wise. Why were they still doing this in 2004 (when the disc was issued)?

50 Shades of Greil (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 26 September 2012 20:46 (thirteen years ago)

bc they don't want to invest in a new transfer and use the 1980s one.

the driver should have won this, of course.

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 26 September 2012 21:12 (thirteen years ago)

three months pass...

he'll be appearing at a NYC screening of Southern Comfort next Monday

http://www.92y.org/Tribeca/Event/Walter-Hill.aspx

saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 23:10 (thirteen years ago)

Twilight Time have announced limited edition blus of Hard Times and The Driver for release in June.

Big Sambola & The Tailspinners (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 1 February 2013 20:18 (thirteen years ago)

Stallone film is out

Gukbe, Friday, 1 February 2013 21:07 (thirteen years ago)

GK likes it, but I don't trust him: http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-critic-reviews/bullet-to-the-head/

Gukbe, Friday, 1 February 2013 21:08 (thirteen years ago)

one month passes...

Re-watching The Long Riders tonight. The casting (real-life brothers playing real-life brothers) works really well, and plot-wise it's basically Justified 150 years earlier, told entirely from Boyd's POV.

誤訳侮辱, Sunday, 17 March 2013 01:06 (twelve years ago)

one month passes...

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/944123_593874047297932_938811487_n.jpg

Sheela-Tubb-Mann, You Real Know-It-All (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 9 May 2013 19:58 (twelve years ago)

^^out next month

Sheela-Tubb-Mann, You Real Know-It-All (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 9 May 2013 19:58 (twelve years ago)

omg how weird I am watching the driver RIGHT NOW! and it is awesome but the lovefilm player suddenly cut out & is now doing the "infinite buffering" thing. 20 minutes before the end :-(

Moldy ★☆☆☆☆ (wins), Thursday, 9 May 2013 20:02 (twelve years ago)

I just watched Hard Times last night and it was awesome! Some beautiful location shots and I loved the visual contrast between the two leads - Coburn all teeth and limbs, Bronson stocky and tight-lipped. Strother Martin as the quack with "a weakness for opium" was great too. Bronson's crappy apartment and cat reminded me of Le Samourai a bit

Number None, Thursday, 9 May 2013 20:09 (twelve years ago)

three months pass...

The Driver now on Blu-Ray

http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/the-driver

Miss Arlington twirls for the Coal Heavers (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 10 August 2013 05:22 (twelve years ago)

Stallone film is out

― Gukbe, Friday, February 1, 2013 4:07 PM (6 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

GK likes it, but I don't trust him: http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-critic-reviews/bullet-to-the-head/

― Gukbe, Friday, February 1, 2013 4:08 PM (6 months ago) Bookmark

he's way too generous, and i actually liked the movie.

i wanna be a gabbneb baby (Hungry4Ass), Saturday, 10 August 2013 12:48 (twelve years ago)

three months pass...

i'm going to rank them now. (just the stuff that he directed, not the films he wrote but did not direct, which are fairly many.)

The Driver
Hard Times
Southern Comfort
The Warriors
48 Hrs.
Extreme Prejudice
Last Man Standing
Johnny Handsome
Streets of Fire (have very mixed feelings about this one)
Geronimo: An American Legend
Trespass
The Long Riders
Another 48 Hrs.
Red Heat
Wild Bill
Undisputed
Brewster's Millions
Bullet to the Head
Crossroads (has some nice moments, but concept is just too aggressively stupid for me to give it anything like a pass)

Haven't seen:
Supernova (not so good, I hear)

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 22:47 (twelve years ago)

the 1st four are totally unfuckwithable, with 48 hours close behind. the rest, to my mind, are all quite mixed. not really sure how I feel about Streets of Fire. I think I'd have to see it on a big screen.

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 22:48 (twelve years ago)

could easily switch Southern Comfort/The Warriors

latter is more audacious but also maybe a bit more flawed
former is close to perfect

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 22:49 (twelve years ago)

I have to admit with a few exceptions, I'm really glad even his lesser films exist, I get a lot of pleasure watching them

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 22:51 (twelve years ago)

I'll take this challenge! My rankings:

The Driver
Hard Times
Southern Comfort
The Warriors
The Long Riders
Extreme Prejudice
Trespass
48 Hrs.
Johnny Handsome
Last Man Standing
Undisputed
Wild Bill
Streets of Fire
Brewster's Millions
Red Heat
Another 48 Hrs.
Wild Bill
Undisputed

Have not seen:
Bullet to the Head
Crossroads (has some nice moments, but concept is just too aggressively stupid for me to give it anything like a pass)
Geronimo: An American Legend

Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 22:51 (twelve years ago)

do the two appearances of wild bill signify your ambivalence?

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 22:52 (twelve years ago)

I like many of these movies without falling in love with'em

the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 22:54 (twelve years ago)

when you start to think too much about 48 hrs it begins to fray (the characterizations don't completely make sense, and the villain isn't interesting) but it's so much fun to watch. i just try to keep the misogyny out of my mind i guess. i would never show that to students, because you just don't see that kind of bawdy man-humor (and all the contempt for women it implies) in movies anymore, and they would probably be startled.

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 22:54 (twelve years ago)

No, they signify that after I copied it to paste it higher up, I forgot to delete it. (Same with Undisputed.) The higher rankings are the accurate ones.

Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 22:55 (twelve years ago)

(I have to admit that as directors of manly action movies go, I prefer don siegel. not to mention howard hawks. but hill was about as good as we got in the 1980s, a few films by john mctiernan aside.)

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 22:57 (twelve years ago)

A long time ago I wrote about Extreme Prejudice for my blog.

Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 22:57 (twelve years ago)

(spielberg is good at action, but I don't really think of him as an "action director." hill started out as a stranger animal, but by the 1980s he wears the label comfortably.)

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 22:58 (twelve years ago)

i kind of like red heat, but it doesn't feel like a walter hill movie, whatever that means. brewster's millions is probably his most uncharacteristic film and also very nearly his worst. I don't blame hill for bullet to the head btw; stallone is just a horrible presence these days, and it sounds like he really crowded hill out of a lot of the decision-making.

can we attribute hill's fallow years solely to the failure of his big westerns in the 1990s and the underperformance of stuff like johnny handsome and last man standing? (i don't count trespass and undisputed, since those were barely released.)

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 23:10 (twelve years ago)

mostly agree with your ranking amt. 48 hours i always liked a lot more than bev hills cop

bullet to the head frankly would've been a lot better if sly didnt push wayne kramer off the picture. I thought hill did a solid job though...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7PvtbkH0I (Hungry4Ass), Tuesday, 26 November 2013 23:41 (twelve years ago)

i think his best moment though might be this one shock zoom in the deadwood pilot

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 27 November 2013 00:45 (twelve years ago)

too bad the rest of the series

flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 27 November 2013 00:46 (twelve years ago)

seven months pass...

great interview: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/17/walter-hill-action-movie-interview

love this guy so much, too bad he can't seem to make good movies anymore :(

I dunno. (amateurist), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 22:36 (eleven years ago)

I guess I need to watch 48 Hours.

guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 22:51 (eleven years ago)

The amount of hack work he wrote and/or directed is crazy: Brewster's Millions, Red Heat, Another 48 Hours, Undisputed.

guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 22:53 (eleven years ago)

he directed a couple okay movies (the Warriors, the Driver) and a lot of crap. don't get the love. He's no Don Siegel.

Οὖτις, Tuesday, 22 July 2014 22:58 (eleven years ago)

He's better than OK: add The Long Riders, Southern Comfort, Extreme Prejudice, bits of Wild Bill (I don't get Streets of Fire.

guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:12 (eleven years ago)

he directed three flat-out great movies in a row: hard times, the driver, the warriors

southern comfort is near-great

48 hrs and a few others are very good

I dunno. (amateurist), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:12 (eleven years ago)

i don't really get streets of fire either, though a lot of walter hill cultists really love it

seems like a misfire to me, albeit a almost grotesquely strange one

I dunno. (amateurist), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:12 (eleven years ago)

yeah i like extreme prejudice, it's like three movies in one--for better and for worse

I dunno. (amateurist), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:13 (eleven years ago)

Streets of Fire is a cheapo MTV-indebted future shock movie with a good-looking cast.

guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:14 (eleven years ago)

He's no Don Siegel.

who is?

I dunno. (amateurist), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:14 (eleven years ago)

xpost

yeah i get that hill was trying to do MTV w/ streets of fire but it doesn't really come across like MTV per se, it's like hill's weird-ass version of MTV

I dunno. (amateurist), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:15 (eleven years ago)

Dan Hartman's theme song says all I need really.

guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:15 (eleven years ago)

also the music is terrible

haha xpost

I dunno. (amateurist), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:16 (eleven years ago)

In the last two weeks, I bought Southern Comfort and Hard Times on Blu-Ray. They look amazing, and honestly I'd forgotten just how good they are. Hard Times is black-humored and surprisingly humanistic, and Southern Comfort is one of the most tense movies of that period, and gets male group dynamics pretty much perfect.

Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:17 (eleven years ago)

(I have to admit that as directors of manly action movies go, I prefer don siegel. not to mention howard hawks. but hill was about as good as we got in the 1980s, a few films by john mctiernan aside.)

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, November 26, 2013 4:57 PM (7 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I dunno. (amateurist), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:17 (eleven years ago)

there are some dumb plot holes/plausibility issues in southern comfort but it's mostly a brilliantly directed film... powers boothe is so good.

I dunno. (amateurist), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:18 (eleven years ago)

as far as '80s pure action directors i think mctiernan is probs the best for sure (at least stateside), unless we count james cameron i guess.

hill is right up there with them, though, as well as john carpenter though i guess he was working less in action and more in sci-fi and fantasy (as did cameron, of course.)

andrew davis had a really great run at the end of the decade; at face value code of silence and above the law look like generic action films but they're really pretty stellar gritty chicago thrillers (the package seems even more generic but is just about as good.)

honorable mention to spielberg and richard donner, since the former released the indiana jones trilogy and the latter did the first two lethal weapons.

LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:46 (eleven years ago)

'extreme prejudice', though, is really the ultimate overlooked '80s action flick. the central conceit of nolte facing down boothe across the border is pretty sweet but throw in the black ops CIA guys and a bank robbery and it just takes it next level. and that cast is incredible.

LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:47 (eleven years ago)

I tried to watch Long Riders a while back, but I didn't really like it & bailed halfway through

set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 23:50 (eleven years ago)

Driver, The Warriors, and Deadwood Pilot. Good job, Walt.

Insane Prince of False Binaries (Gukbe), Wednesday, 23 July 2014 00:19 (eleven years ago)

The Long Riders is so close to being great. I actually like the brothers-playing-brothers thing, I think the robberies are well staged, but there's something just slightly off about it...I think it's that he has no idea how to shoot peaceful domesticity. Anytime they're not being hunted or committing crimes, the whole thing just falls flat.

Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Wednesday, 23 July 2014 01:00 (eleven years ago)

i found long riders kind of soporific. honorable, but soporific. good acting though -- keith carradine especially.

i don't know exactly what's wrong with it... maybe it feels too studied, too reverent, esp. compared with the hill films that came before it.

I dunno. (amateurist), Wednesday, 23 July 2014 01:05 (eleven years ago)

james cameron isn't the best when it comes to staging/shooting violence (in that respect, none of these guys can hold a flame to tsui hark or sammo hung etc.), but he's pretty great at action movie plotting and pacing... or at least he used to be.

I dunno. (amateurist), Wednesday, 23 July 2014 01:06 (eleven years ago)

i should add though that the car chases in the driver are some of the most beautifully edited/shot sequences in all of american cinema

I dunno. (amateurist), Wednesday, 23 July 2014 01:07 (eleven years ago)

that's esp. apparent on a big screen, they are captivating

I dunno. (amateurist), Wednesday, 23 July 2014 01:08 (eleven years ago)

i think my thing with long riders is it's real pretty to watch but the cast aren't quite up to that level. like walter either needed to dial himself down or them up. it felt like a superbly shot lifetime movie or something idk

set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 23 July 2014 01:22 (eleven years ago)

"Studied" and "reverent" definitely get close to my problems with it. I own the DVD (also own The Driver and The Warriors, but the latter is the terrible "Ultimate Director's Cut" with all the comic-book-art inserts; I need to get the earlier Paramount DVD from eBay) and should watch it again.

Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Wednesday, 23 July 2014 01:56 (eleven years ago)

There's a Japanese Region 1 Blu-Ray of Extreme Prejudice.

Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Wednesday, 23 July 2014 02:11 (eleven years ago)

three weeks pass...

Got the aforementioned Japanese Blu-Ray of Extreme Prejudice in today's mail; watching it now. It looks fantastic. A totally pristine restoration, not a speck of dirt anywhere, full widescreen - totally worth the $50 it cost me (including shipping).

Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Thursday, 14 August 2014 01:19 (eleven years ago)

three months pass...

Charles Taylor on the grungy 1972 Hill-scripted private eye film reuniting "I Spy" stars Bill Cosby and Robert Culp, Hickey & Boggs:

Los Angeles looks like it’s on its last legs, the kind of decaying city where the Greyhound station would be the brightest spot in town. It’s a street-level view of the city, what you see driving or walking, not the view from the high-rises springing up round town. The partners’ office is round the back of an ancient brick building next to the rear door of a shoe store that doesn’t look as if anyone ever goes in. But no one ever seems to be anywhere in this Los Angeles. This is a noir that takes place mostly in daylight and yet, from scene to scene, it feels almost as empty as any shadowy street at night. All the locations are in rundown, nearly deserted parts of the city, an elephant’s graveyard of urban life. By the time the movie climaxes on a deserted stretch of beach, you barely notice the Pacific rolling in, and the sun shining through what looks like the only clean air in the movie. You feel as beat out as Hickey, dropping to his knees in the sand. He and Boggs seem so stunned they made it to the end of the case that they can barely take notice of the bodies all around them. They can only mutter that “nobody came … nobody cares.”

https://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/bebopsilence-hickey-boggs

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9d/Hickey_and_boggs_Poster.jpg

things lose meaning over time (Dr Morbius), Monday, 17 November 2014 16:11 (eleven years ago)

It's nice to see that one get upgraded. MGM put it out as a MOD disc a few years ago, and it looked surprisingly good, like the transfer had been meant for a proper physical release before the business changed.

Don A Henley And Get Over It (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 17 November 2014 16:36 (eleven years ago)

Kino Lorber puts out the Blu on Dec 2... Tarantino's New Beverly in LA is showing it next week.

things lose meaning over time (Dr Morbius), Monday, 17 November 2014 16:52 (eleven years ago)

one year passes...

Walter Hill's got a new one coming soon, TOMBOY, A REVENGER'S TALE, starring Michelle Rodriguez. IMDb synopsis:

Following an ace assassin who is double crossed by gangsters and falls into the hands of rogue surgeon known as The Doctor who turns him into a woman. The hitman now a hitwoman sets out for revenge, aided by a nurse named Johnnie who also has secrets.

nomar, Sunday, 26 June 2016 22:43 (nine years ago)

Wish it was Mickey Rourke in the lead.

Any Given User (Eazy), Sunday, 26 June 2016 22:58 (nine years ago)

nine months pass...

Maron interviews:

http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-805-walter-hill

to pimp a barfly (Eazy), Monday, 24 April 2017 12:56 (eight years ago)

i really need to get on that Japanese region 1 blu ray of Extreme Prejudice mentioned upthread.

nomar, Monday, 24 April 2017 16:08 (eight years ago)

eight months pass...

I've hardly seen any of this guy's films but Streets Of Fire is a really mixed bag, the hero is surrounded by better acting than he's delivering, he's excessively reckless even for the character and passes up an early opportunity to shut down the villain.
Liked the Cooder tracks, loved the Jim Steinman end song.

Robert Adam Gilmour, Tuesday, 26 December 2017 23:38 (eight years ago)

eight months pass...

Had another look at The Driver... really a deadpan existential comedy when it works (80% of the time). Bruce Dern never better. Apparently Isabelle Adjani felt she made a bad choice in doingf a genre film for her first Hollywood project, and got offered only crap in the USA after it flopped.

a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 4 September 2018 18:08 (seven years ago)

where can you even watch The Driver?

5th Ward Weeaboo (Whiney G. Weingarten), Tuesday, 4 September 2018 18:17 (seven years ago)

at the Metrograph yesterday!

also the Blu released in 2013, which i've never seen. I think the Alamo video store might have it.

a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 4 September 2018 18:23 (seven years ago)

it's kind of shameful that Extreme Prejudice remains unaccounted for on blu-ray stateside. Shout! Factory should get on that.

omar little, Tuesday, 4 September 2018 18:28 (seven years ago)

XP...and the DVD is still in print and cheap (The domestic Blu is one of those OOP Twilight Time limited editions meaning $$$$)

Ubering With The King (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 4 September 2018 18:28 (seven years ago)

I watched it on Blu-Ray in 2013 and the print was good.

The Silky Veils of Alfred (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 4 September 2018 19:35 (seven years ago)

or maybe it was the DVD; my library had it.

The Silky Veils of Alfred (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 4 September 2018 19:35 (seven years ago)

the TRANSFER

a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 4 September 2018 19:36 (seven years ago)

one year passes...

it is INSANE that the two songs on the Streets of Fire soundtrack by "Fire Inc." are 6 and 7 minutes long respectively

na (NA), Tuesday, 12 November 2019 21:36 (six years ago)

i mean i love "Nowhere Fast" as much as the next guy but it's 6 minutes with no changes in dynamics or tempo or anything, just relentless uptempo '80s hard pop

na (NA), Tuesday, 12 November 2019 21:37 (six years ago)

one year passes...

How is it that there's no Streets of Fire thread and very little discussion itt? I would've thought it was right up ILX's alley.

Just saw it for the first time. Yes, it's dumb as a brick and all style/no substance. But oh what style! I guess yr enjoyment will depend on how you feel about the notion of Hill making a spiritual sequel to The Warriors which also functions as a film adaptation of 'Holding Out for a Hero', with all of the depth and narrative complexity of the latter.

I'll acknowledge that it isn't actually good but I could probably make a quick list of fifty things I loved about it.

Stefan Twerkelle (Old Lunch), Sunday, 14 March 2021 01:04 (four years ago)

I saw The Warriors in a theater during its first release. I was probably one of the only people who ever deliberately chose to see this because it was said to be based on Xenophon's Anabasis. I left the theater a bit disappointed that the Xenophon angle had been so muted, but on the whole I was a satisfied customer. It had panache.

Judge Roi Behan (Aimless), Sunday, 14 March 2021 02:15 (four years ago)

ten months pass...

Well this looks promising

https://mzsworldstore.com/products/pre-order-a-walter-hill-film-hardcover-signed

Ned Raggett, Friday, 21 January 2022 00:44 (four years ago)

Should be awesome; Chaw is great. His segment on 48 Hours in last year's Netflix series Voir is worth a watch too.

Les hommes de bonbons (cryptosicko), Friday, 21 January 2022 00:57 (four years ago)

Pre-ordered. Hill has deserved serious analysis for a long fuckin' time. (I'm very curious how Chaw will deal with Extreme Prejudice, a movie I love unreservedly.)

He really had one of the greatest streaks of any director ever... Hard Times, The Driver, The Warriors, The Long Riders, Southern Comfort and 48 Hrs. in less than a decade? Jesus.

but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 21 January 2022 01:21 (four years ago)

one year passes...

For some reason, the release of "Extreme Prejudice" made a big impression on me. I remember the print ad in the paper, I vaguely remember the Siskel & Ebert review. That was back in 1987, when I would scour listings and magazines and make spreadsheets of upcoming movies I wanted to see, mostly Hollywood and genre stuff, because I was 12. And yet, I never got around to actually seeing the movie ... until tonight. It's got a heck of a pedigree, not just Walter Hill or some lingering John Milius madness but a cast of all sorts of familiar faces: Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Rip Torn, Michael Ironside, María Conchita Alonso, Rip Torn, William Forsythe, Clancy Brown, Larry B. Scott (from "Revenge of the Nerds"), "Tiny" Lister, a bunch of other background randos I recognized.

And you know what? Despite its pedigree, it's just not that good. It's like 30 minutes of movie stretched out to just over 90, and while it aims for "The Wild Bunch" it's got a lot more in common with an episode of "The A*Team." The score, too; Ry Cooder gets a credit for handling the traditional Mexican music that sometimes gets a spotlight, but most of the music is a totally incongruous synthed-out score from Jerry Goldsmith, which does the grimy, sweaty locations no favors. Kind of a bummer, imo. Feels rushed and incomplete, less an unpolished gem and more just kind of a dull rock.

Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 24 October 2023 00:48 (two years ago)

two months pass...

New Bluray of Southern Comfort happening:

https://vinegarsyndrome.com/collections/frontpage/products/southern-comfort

2-disc Set: 4K Ultra HD / Region Free Blu-ray
4K UHD presented in High-Dynamic-Range
Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm interpositive
Commentary track with Walter Chaw, author of A Walter Hill Film: Tragedy and Masculinity in the Films of Walter Hill
"Battle in the Bayou" (17 min) - brand new interview with co-writer / director Walter Hill
"Behind Enemy Lines" (26 min) - brand new featurette with editor Freeman A. Davies and assistant editor Lisa Zeno Churgin
"Soldiers, Not Mailmen" (17 min) - brand new interview with costumer Dan Moore
"Into the Unknown" (15 min) - brand new interview with film historian Wayne Byrne on Southern Comfort and the legacy of Walter Hill
Archival featurette featuring interviews with: co-writer / director Walter Hill and co-writer / producer David Giler, along with actors Powers Boothe, Keith Carradine, Peter Coyote and Lewis Smith (27 min)

Ned Raggett, Monday, 1 January 2024 21:27 (two years ago)

I watched it on Blu-Ray in 2013 and the print was good.

― The Silky Veils of Alfred (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, September 4, 2018 2:35 PM (five years ago) bookmarkflaglink

or maybe it was the DVD; my library had it.

― The Silky Veils of Alfred (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, September 4, 2018 2:35 PM (five years ago) bookmarkflaglink

the TRANSFER

― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, September 4, 2018 2:36 PM (five years ago) bookmarkflaglink

an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 1 January 2024 21:40 (two years ago)

Trespass is a really fun movie

Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 1 January 2024 22:13 (two years ago)

two years pass...

Hard Times getting shut out here is surprising; rented it from YouTube (as I've said numerous times the past few weeks, it gets a chapter in Charles Taylor's drive-in book), thought it was very good. I would have indeed seen it at the drive-in when it first came out--we were 100% a drive-in family through the '70s--but remembered nothing. Very understated for a boxing movie from someone who (I think) became identified with action films. Jill Ireland, sad and touching here, sure was beautiful.

clemenza, Thursday, 22 January 2026 20:32 (one month ago)

Yeah, Hard Times is great. Twilight Time (RIP) put out a Blu-Ray a few years ago and I grabbed one.

Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Friday, 23 January 2026 03:09 (one month ago)


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