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10 to Midnight

10 to Midnight

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $13.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Bronson headlines enjoyable Cannon fodder
Review: 10 TO MIDNIGHT (1983): A world-weary LA cop (Charles Bronson) plants evidence on a young man (Gene Davis) suspected of the serial homicide of several beautiful women, but the plan backfires and Davis subsequently targets Bronson's grown-up daughter (Lisa Eilbacher)...

One of a series of gritty urban thrillers inspired by the success of DEATH WISH, J. Lee Thompson's 10 TO MIDNIGHT was produced by the Cannon studios in 1983 and is fairly typical of the company's commercial output. Though he'd worked in a variety of genres since the early 1950's, Charles Bronson became synonymous with the kind of tough-but-sympathetic vigilante character he plays here, this time seeking a handsome young psychopath who strips naked before murdering his (primarily female) victims. Indeed, Gene Davis' extensive nude scenes provide the film's only significant trump card, leading to a number of curious plot developments (because he was naked when he committed his crimes, Davis knows that Bronson must have planted blood on his clothes, but he can't admit to it without... well, you get the picture), though cinematographer Adam Greenberg (GHOST, RUSH HOUR, the 'Terminator' series) turns visual cartwheels in an effort to avoid full frontal nudity (and a potential X rating). Thompson - who gravitated towards Hollywood after forging a successful career in his native UK, where he directed a number of popular mainstream entries like YIELD TO THE NIGHT and THE GUNS OF NAVARONE - takes enormous pleasure in foregrounding the more exploitable elements of William Roberts' lively screenplay, though an unpleasant sequence near the end of the film evokes queasy memories of Richard Speck's true-life killing spree in 1966, when several nurses were slaughtered in a Chicago townhouse in a fashion similar to the killings depicted here. However, these sensationalist components are deployed in the service of a right-wing narrative in which the criminal justice system is rendered weak and ineffective by Davis' scumbag killer and his equally sleazy lawyer (a typically scene-stealing turn from Geoffrey Lewis). When Bronson confronts his nemesis during the inevitable climactic showdown, the audience is literally compelled - through dialogue and editing - to invite brutal retribution on Davis' irredeemable bad guy. It's cheap, manipulative and cynical, but it's also undeniably effective, and Bronson's closing line of dialogue is guaranteed to arouse guilty fascist impulses within even the most liberal viewers.

Davis is the spitting image of his actor brother Brad (the late and much lamented star of MIDNIGHT EXPRESS) and is quite effective in a difficult role, though his subsequent career appears to have gone nowhere, which is a shame. Co-star Andrew Stevens made a brief splash in movies like this one (including Brian DePalma's THE FURY) before becoming a producer on a wide range of Hollywood pictures (everything from 'erotic thrillers' such as NIGHT EYES to blockbusters like DRIVEN and BALLISTIC ECKS VS. SEVER, etc.), and Lisa Eilbacher enjoyed a momentary spotlight on the big screen before returning to TV (where she had begun her career in the likes of "The Texas Wheelers" and "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries") before fading from the business altogether. Word has it that the title 10 TO MIDNIGHT (a meaningless phrase) had been announced by Cannon for another film which ultimately failed to materialize, but someone obviously liked the sound of it and simply re-used it here! The 'TV version' is a laff riot, with alternate takes featuring Davis in black briefs. On DVD, however, you get to see (almost) every inch of his fabulous, sculpted body. Drool, slobber...

MGM's region 1 disc - which runs 101m 51s, minus the MGM logos at beginning and end which weren't part of the original film - is a no-frills affair which presents the movie in letterbox format (1.85:1, anamorphically enhanced) for the first time on home video. The disc also includes a full-screen version, which simply opens up the space at top and bottom of the frame. Both prints are betrayed by the film's low budget film stock, but picture quality is more than acceptable. Sound format is 2.0 mono, and the disc includes English captions and subtitles, along with a theatrical trailer.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Pretty Good Slasher Film.
Review: A young man starts killing women who will have nothing to do with him. But he kills them with his clothes off. I didnot understand this, wouldn't you still get blood on your clothes when you put them on? But Bronson wants him put away, and does what ever it takes. He breaks the law, gets fired and turns vigilante.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Another Hard Edged Thriller From Charles Bronson
Review: Charles Bronson is a cop who's out to stop a demented killer from killing young woman who won't have anything to do with him. sexually. Bronson's Chracter Leo Kessler,is a determined, deadicated cop who balences the fine line of the law to nab his enemy. When Warren Stacey(The ever creepy looking Gene Davis) finds legal loopholes to get out of the hands of the police who think he is responsble for a brutal murder of a young woman Kessler goes as far as to taint evidence in order to put a stop to him. The last half hour of the film turns to a bloddy slasher film when Warren loses his mind and goes on killing spree as he's chasing Kessler's daughter naked with a butcher knife in hand down the street Kessler draws a gun on him fires one shot to the head and is killed instanley. One of Bronson's more viloent films and takes his death wish approach a step further. The story has potentional and a great cast but the brutality of an unstable man who kills woman because he can't please them may turn off some viewers or make others regret seeing this film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: You'll hear from me again..."No, we won't."
Review: Charles Bronson vigilante film has the familiar premise that sometimes deadly force is needed to protect society from a madman. This film features a (typically) magnificent performance from a young Lisa Eilbacher (as Bronson's daughter, a student nurse, whose apartment ends up victims of the killer). Well worth a look...better than most in the genre...perhaps the only true sequel, besides Magnum Force, to Dirty Harry...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: You'll hear from me again..."No, we won't."
Review: Charles Bronson vigilante film has the familiar premise that sometimes deadly force is needed to protect society from a madman. This film features a (typically) magnificent performance from a young Lisa Eilbacher (as Bronson's daughter, a student nurse, whose apartment ends up victims of the killer). Well worth a look...better than most in the genre...perhaps the only true sequel, besides Magnum Force, to Dirty Harry...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Bronson hunts a crafty serial killer.
Review: Of all the career ending movies Charles Bronson made for Cannon films in the mid-to-late eighties, 10 to Midnight is the best. He plays a cop trying too hard to catch a smart, handsome, and devilishly twisted psycho killer (Gene Davis). When the game of cat and mouse eventually snags the cop's daughter (Lisa Eilbacher), he takes a desperate gamble to catch the crafty murderer. Director J. Lee Thompson masterfully blends the Dirty Harry Rogue Cop thriller with some slasher film moments of brutal terror that will have viewers squirming in their seats. A real nail biter, highly recommended.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Bronson hunts a crafty serial killer.
Review: Of all the career ending movies Charles Bronson made for Cannon films in the mid-to-late eighties, 10 to Midnight is the best. He plays a cop trying too hard to catch a smart, handsome, and devilishly twisted psycho killer (Gene Davis). When the game of cat and mouse eventually snags the cop's daughter (Lisa Eilbacher), he takes a desperate gamble to catch the crafty murderer. Director J. Lee Thompson masterfully blends the Dirty Harry Rogue Cop thriller with some slasher film moments of brutal terror that will have viewers squirming in their seats. A real nail biter, highly recommended.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Bronson pulls off "Dirty Harry" formula
Review: Police detective Leo Kessler (Charles Bronson) can't seem to get any evidence on a suspected serial killer (Gene Davis). This guy is sleazy, kinky, and smart - he murders in the nude and creates airtight alibis. He starts to taunt Bronson and stalk his daughter (Lisa Eilbacher). Bronson's frustration with the situation leads him to plant evidence on the killer to get him off the streets, but this move backfires. Intriguing Bronson vehicle made all the more interesting by Gene Davis' performance as the psycho. He's good-looking, well-built, but his obvious rage against women (which really isn't explained) keeps him from having a normal relationship with one.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent Bronson film
Review: Ten to Midnight is Bronson's last excellent film. It gives a great portrayal of a killer (Gene Davis) who sets up alibis, then kills women in the nude. When one victim is a family friend of Bronson it gets personal. Bronson plays a homicide cop who knows who the killer is, but has no evidence. The killing scenes are very intense, and it tries to depict the psychology somewhat (he relives the scene of a girl slapping him on his way to kill her.)

If you saw this film on TV you didn't see the film. Many scenes are cut out and somehow they switched the nude scenes to underwear scenes. You must see the uncut version on video to get the full impact.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent Bronson film
Review: Ten to Midnight is Bronson's last excellent film. It gives a great portrayal of a killer (Gene Davis) who sets up alibis, then kills women in the nude. When one victim is a family friend of Bronson it gets personal. Bronson plays a homicide cop who knows who the killer is, but has no evidence. The killing scenes are very intense, and it tries to depict the psychology somewhat (he relives the scene of a girl slapping him on his way to kill her.)

If you saw this film on TV you didn't see the film. Many scenes are cut out and somehow they switched the nude scenes to underwear scenes. You must see the uncut version on video to get the full impact.


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