{"id":30119,"date":"2019-01-11T00:06:07","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T05:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=30119"},"modified":"2019-01-11T00:44:10","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T05:44:10","slug":"10-to-midnight-1983-collectors-edition-blu-ray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/11\/10-to-midnight-1983-collectors-edition-blu-ray\/","title":{"rendered":"10 to Midnight (1983): Collector\u2019s Edition [Blu-Ray]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s fascinating to watch \u201c10 to Midnight\u201d today and explore how dated it\u2019s become and how much the themes and overtones it presents have been somewhat flipped on its head. J. Lee Thompson attempts to appeal to the folks that love their Dirty Harry\u2019s and Lee Marvins by basically trying to turn Charles Bronson in to something of an aged vigilante that we can root for. But he basically comes off as an anti-hero, and \u201c10 to Midnight\u201d ends up becoming a war between a psychopath and a corrupt cop, both of whom never actually come out looking pristine once the film draws to a close.<\/p>\n

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Based loosely on the Richard Speck murders, Charles Bronson plays Leo Kessler, a aged detective tracking serial killer Warren Stacey, who is suspected of wreaking havoc in Chicago viciously murdering helpless women. Trying to figure out how to foil him despite his ability to hide all incriminating evidence, Leo stops at nothing to stop Warren. Things slowly take a turn for the worse when Warren sets his sights on Leo\u2019s daughter. Leo now races to stop Warren before he murders anyone else, including his daughter. I\u2019m sure in its time the final scene of \u201c10 to Midnight\u201d looked like something of a call to arms where the good guys won out regardless, but it\u2019s remarkable how much the ending bears a similarity to \u201cSeven.\u201d<\/p>\n

In David Fincher\u2019s film, once Brad Pitt\u2019s character is confronted by the big reveal and has lost his mind, he finds no other recourse than to murder John Doe in cold blood. Knowing he\u2019s just about hung himself in an act of passion, he\u2019s carted off in the finale. In \u201c10 to Midnight\u201d we basically get the same scenario, except Bronson\u2019s character is an unlikable dinosaur, in a vicious world, that tries to get his problems solved and only makes things worse. Inadvertently, \u201c10 to Midnight\u201d watches now like a movie about how the old days are over, and a new generation of law and order was rising. Bronson\u2019s character Leo never can quite fathom how serial killer Warren Stacey manages to wreak havoc on women and never feel much remorse.<\/p>\n

Rather than try to dissect his mental state and play at his game, Leo takes a downward spiral that inevitably gets so many people murdered. It also puts his daughter at danger. Director Thompson tries to paint Kessler\u2019s corruption as something more heroic than it seems, but instead it watches now like a man with no savvy on the modern methods of law and order who resorts to absolutely inconceivable corruption just to put a man in jail. It becomes a fascinating downward spiral where the final scene, I imagine, continued with Leo being handcuffed and carted off. All the while spending the rest of his life trying to justify his unethical acts of evidence tampering, and utter harassment and provocation.<\/p>\n

Intentional or not, \u201c10 To Midnight\u201d watches like a final gasp of the films where men solved problems with big guns and bending the law a bit, and Bronson handles the role well, for the most part. It\u2019s not one of Bronson\u2019s best, but it\u2019s a definitely engaging thriller that with considerable style and a slimy villain. It is revels on being as nasty and vicious as possible, and feels like a big turning of the tide for Bronson\u2019s character, who unlike other action heroes of the period, might have had to face harsh repercussions in the end.<\/p>\n

The new release from Shout! features an audio commentary with writer\/historian Paul Talbot of \u201cThe\u00a0Bronson\u2019s Loose!\u00a0Books,\u201d and there\u2019s an audio commentary with producer Pancho Kohner, casting director John Crowther and film historian David Del Valle. There\u2019s the twelve minute \u201cProducing Bronson,\u201d an interview with producer Lance Hool who discusses working on the film, and getting the film together, and how Cannon Films gradually shrank the budget for the film.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember Bronson\u201d is a six minute interview with actor Robert F. Lyons, \u201cKnife and Death\u201d the seven minute interview with actress Jeana Tomasina, who discusses going from modeling to acting, her passion for film, and how \u201c10 to Midnight\u201d helped her question her own personal security as a woman. \u201cCharlie\u2019s Partner\u201d is a ten minute interview with actor Andrew Stevens, who discusses meeting Bronson on another film, shooting the film, and the number of people he\u2019s worked with throughout his career. Finally, there\u2019s the theatrical trailer, radio spots, and an image gallery.<\/p>\n