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This review refers to the Warner Bros. DVD edition of “The Gauntlet”….
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From the moment Ben Shockley(Clint Eastwood) steps out of his car and an empty booze bottle falls out, we know this is not the usual “Dirty Harry” character we’d been venerable to up to now. Ben is a cop who’s chances for greatness seem to be fading with him.
Eastwood directs as well as stars in this film and we peruse his brillant directoral style taking contain here.
The Phoenix P.D. seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrel when they build Shockley the job of escorting Gus Malley, a seemingly unimportant explore from Las Vegas aid to Phoenix for a trial. Ben’s been looking for his gigantic fracture on a great case and it doesn’t watch like this will be it with this guy. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, Ben discovers that Gus is no guy. Gus Malley(Sondra Locke), is a local prostitute and unwilling partcipant in the scoot serve as well. This is not “a hooker with a heart sage” though, this pro is as hard edged as they advance, but she does have a brain!
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The action starts as soon as they leave the jail. Someone is going to earn obvious that these two never beget it to trial. Vegas is even giving odds against them. Everyone’s after them..the mob, the cops, they even made the mistake of angering a group of bikers along the route and they’re out for revenge as well. They hardly know who to trust, as they secure shot at from all angles, cars blow up, they are status up and beat up. What Gus knows can cost them their lives, but Shockley is now distinct to bring his prisoner in at all costs and rises to the occassion and must wreck through an impassable barrier set-up to withhold him at bay.
It’s edge of your seat drama, thrills, and fun, as Gus and Ben trade quips and glean in a itsy-bitsy romance(we couldn’t demand any different with Eastwood and Locke) along the procedure.As usual Clint surrounds himself with the finest talent. Pat Hingle, William Prince, and Bill Mckinney turn in friendly performances as well as Eastwood and Locke. There’s also a terrific jazzy net by Jerry Fielding.
The film made in 1977 looks titanic on this DVD transfer. It is in a widescreen on a dual layer format. The record looks first-rate. Distinct and inspiring with first-rate color. There was occasionally a exiguous purplish tint in places, but it didn’t steal away from the enjoyment of the film. The soundtrack remastered in the 5.1 Dolby Stereo was also satisfactory. The music sounded gigantic and the dialouge always crisp. Not too distinguished in the device of bonus material if that’s what you’re looking for, there’s a filmography on Eastwood(his was the only one I was able to access) and a theatrical trailer. It may be viewed in French(Mono) and also has subtitles in English and French as well. You can bet on this one!
5 stars to a gigantic Eastwood action film that can be watched again and again.
Get the Popcorn ready for this one and relish…..Laurie
also sold(when available) in 2 pack:The Gauntlet/True Crime
also recommended:
City Hall/Midnight in the Garden of Righteous and Evil
The Clint Eastwood Collection (In the Line of Fire/Unforgiven/Bronco Billy/Dirty Harry/The Outlaw Josey Wales/The Beguiled)
(gawk my reviews for film details)
I read years ago that “The Gauntlet” was originally intended to feature the star matchup of Clint Eastwood and Barbra Streisand, but after Eastwood was warned by the Warner Bros. brass of La Streisand’s diva tantrums on the place of “A Star is Born” he nixed the thought and cast his “Josey Wales” costar Sondra Locke instead. Admittedly, a Eastwood-Streisand matchup would have made this film a major blockbuster instead of the solid hit it was, but I’m ecstatic it never happened. The pair would probably have had no chemistry whatsoever and Streisand would have been unbearably shrill in the role of “two bit hooker” Gus Malley. Besides, Locke is favorable in the role and proves a terrific sparring partner for Eastwood. Yes, her subsequent pairings with the yarn were less than profitable, but for one intellectual sparkling moment, Locke’s talent would shine brightly.
“The Gauntlet” actually works strictly because of the Eastwood/Locke chemistry and not because of the amazing site. Eastwood plays Ben Shockley, a self-described “dumbass cop” and alcoholic who is sent by Phoenix’s shady modern police commissioner Blakelock (William Prince) to Las Vegas to extradite Malley, who is the only view to a mob trial. It becomes certain from the originate that Shockley has been position up and by whom, and the two don’t even acquire it to the airport before they are being chased across the desert by mob assassins. You’ll figure out who’s tedious everything long before Shockley, but for once, his ineptitude makes sense, since he was sent to do the job because of it. The position turns when Shockley figures it out and decides to expose the brass despicable by delivering Malley to the steps of Phoenix city hall, providing he can rep through the impenetrable barrier (or “gauntlet”) of policemen sent to end him.
Like I said, the position is improbable. Shockley and Malley dodge so many bullets and sprint so many certain death circumstances a total suspension of understanding is required to fully savor the nonsense. And the final five minutes is listless beyond understanding, since we are asked to occupy the entire Phoenix police force would stand by and discover three people being shot and do absolutely nothing. However, the film is fast-paced and the action scenes are expertly mounted and the film never drags for a single moment in 109 minutes. Eastwood directs with economy and style and with tongue firmly placed in cheek, and for once, the lightning pacing many have yearned for in his fresh, more slow paced films. And the performances are universally noble, especially by Locke, Pat Hingle as Shockley’s concerned partner-turned-patsy, Michael Cavanaugh as a seemingly sympathetic assistant district attorney, and ’70’s Eastwood regular Bill McKinney, who is absolutely hilarious as a smarmy constable taken hostage by the desperate pair. In fact, anyone who thinks Locke can’t act should see the expert interplay between her and McKinney when he decides to have fun insulting her and she turns the tables on him, twisting the screws until he explodes. This scene alone is worth the designate of of the DVD, and it should relieve as a rebuttal to Locke detractors everywhere. I also liked the subtle method Eastwood and Locke’s relationship turns from adversarial to trusty like and affection. Nowhere in the script is there a specific moment where they plunge in esteem, they honest do, and they design the transition believable strictly through their interplay.
The film makes vast exhaust of Nevada/Arizona locations and has a terrific jazz win by Jerry Fielding, who heavily borrows from gospel standards like “A Closer Fling (my Lord to Thee) .” In fact, the film is littered with religious symbolism, but why is a mystery. In all, the entire production is a solid, professional allotment of work by the entire Eastwood team at Malpaso. And while it will never be considered in the same class as such top-drawer Eastwood directorial efforts as “Outlaw Josey Wales,” “Unforgiven,” and “Mystic River,” it remains to this day a solid entertainment that seems to improve with each viewing, objective as long as you shut your brain off completely at the extinguish.
As for the DVD, WHV has done better. However, at least it’s in panavision widescreen instead of the pan-and-scan that the VHS copies enjoy. And could we have a runt more than the standard theatrical trailers for extras? All in all, it rates ***1/2 (out of *****)
for the film and **1/2 for the DVD presentation.
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