Wykonac wyrok (1984) Online

Forget the flashy but empty "cor blimey guv" Brit crime movies of the last few years like 'Snatch' and 'Sexy Beast'. Apart from 'Croupier' and 'Gangster No. 1', most of them aren't worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the brilliant but largely forgotten 'The Long Good Friday', 'Mona Lisa', and the most underrated of all, 'The Hit'. Terence Stamp, playing a character not too dissimilar from the one he later portrays in 'The Limey', is a former gangster who grassed up his criminal mates years earlier. Now living in semi-retirement in Spain he is unexpectedly kidnapped by two hoods (John Hurt and, in one of his earliest screen roles, Tim Roth) who plan on taking him to Paris and killing him as punishment for betraying the criminal code. Of course, things don't go quite as planned and along the way the sexy Laura del Sol gets forced against her will to accompany them. This is a very fresh and interesting film that is more character than action based so might not appeal to the Guy Ritchie crowd. It's their loss. Stamp is just brilliant and his interaction with Hurt and Roth makes this a must see movie. The supporting cast also includes the legendary Fernando Rey ('The French Connection') as the cop on their trail, and Aussie veteran Bill Hunter as a crim in the wrong place at the wrong time. 'The Hit' is one of the most overlooked British movies of the last twenty years, and highly recommend viewing for all discerning movie buffs.

Ten years ago Willie Parker testified in court against some of his criminal buddies and ever since then, has been waiting for them to settle the score while hiding out in Spain. Soon enough his tracked down by two hit men, the slick professional Braddock and his raw rookie Myron. Who plan to take him back to Paris to meet up with those he done in, but on their trip there they stop off at a Madrid apartment that includes an unplanned kidnapping of a young Spanish girl, Maggie. Through the trip Parker's pondering manner starts getting on the pairs' nerves and the feisty Maggie makes matters even worse. Nothing is truly going to plan with these constant distractions and the Spanish police are hot on their trail.

I wasn't expecting to like "The Hit" as much as I did. But came away really enjoying and thinking highly of this oddity, after knowing nothing about it to begin with. It was neat blind purchase (well, it only cost $2), which really did pay off. This colourfully kooky British crime feature has a premise that likes play mind games by breezily building upon the animated characters and random situations they find themselves stuck in. It's about them finding their feet and coming to terms that death might be around the corner. Nothing to fear in something you shouldn't be afraid off. Peter Prince's tautly fleshed out script has real sensitivity about it and goes down well with the simple road trip storyline. While rather talkative, the dialogue driven outing has a lyrically deeper underbelly, where personalities clash with amusingly engaging and wittily sly results. Action is little, but it doesn't suffer from it and when it unfold, its intensely drawn up. Director Stephen Frears paints a poetically subdued feel to it with such freshly assured and suave direction. He truly sets up some beautiful visions without losing any of that brutal edge when called for (the surprising climax takes the cake). Mick Molloy's fetchingly sublime photography-work incorporates the alluringly picturesque backdrop of Spain with elegant scope. He even frames diverse scenes with inspired shots that have you in awe. Eric Clapton plugs away for the sweepingly airy opening title and Paco de Lucia stirringly upbeat Spanish flavour to the music score kicks up the energy levels and unpredictable vibe. The technical side of the production is pretty top-draw and sufficiently done. The performances are all marvellous in crafting out their characters and feeding off each other with believable chemistry. An outstandingly novel John Hurt plays the professionally cool, tough as nails hit-man Braddock with such cold venom. Character actor Tim Roth (in his film debut) is brilliant in a total opposite persona as a young clueless, hot-wired rookie Myron getting a little too attached to their captivates. Terence Stamp stands-out in his turn of the lively accepting Willie Parker, who throws up some words of wisdom along the way and strangely becomes fixated with his closing destiny. Laura del Sol dashingly fine as the strong willed Maggie who adds the sparks. Also showing up in short, but potent roles is Aussie actor Bill Hunter and Fernando Rey playing an officer closing on their tails.

"The Hit" is a focused, well thought-out production that I believe to be perfect across the board. Some people might find it to lead nowhere, but seductively enterprising is what comes to my mind.

I can't believe that this film had gone for so long without me knowing it was around. I'm a big fan of the crime/drama genre so when I stumbled across the fact it was going to be on some free to air digital channel at about one in the morning a couple of months ago, I thought I'd give it ago. In fact, I'd never heard of it before nor have I since. No one seems to know of it and it's a damn shame as this is a VERY underrated film, especially surprising given the fact John Hurt, Terrance Stamp and Tim Roth are in it.

The film deals with human interaction between a 'grass' from ten years back, a rookie gangster and an old-time gangster in almost superior form to many other films. The fact it takes a 'road movie' approach gives us more time to develop with the characters, as well as the characters themselves to do a bit of bonding. What follows is some fascinating dialogue between the three (and between a young Spanish girl on a lesser extent) and some very interesting relations building up. The stone cold presence from Hurt, the silent but 'you know he's up to something' Stamp and the, almost, 'comic relief' character in the form of Tim Roth all combine in a truly mesmerising mixture of events. I was glued to the screen.

The narrative also takes on a mysterious, almost multi-layered approach when talking about the police hot on their tail. The fact we never hear the detectives talk or any of the police communicate leaves us with a sense that we know what's going on but we're not actually there, almost as if the three male characters in the car are dreaming up the scenes themselves as to what MIGHT be happening at their last point of call if the police had yet arrived.

The action and dialogue is well spaced, even though the script is great anyway, and you truly struggle to work out what might happen next. The disturbing way in which Stamp seems to say nothing at all yet communicates with Roth like he's known him for years twinned with the fact panic hits him like a train later on in the film and he suddenly becomes a chatter box is an amazing juxtaposition which really adds to the experience.

Another attractive aspect of the film is the setting. This also acts as a juxtaposition as the beauty and heat that oozes from the screen really counterbalances the disturbing reality that Hurt and Roth's characters are there to 'get' Stamp and make him pay for his previous actions as well as the sadistic interior that makes up Hurt's character. You can't get too caught up in the setting which you only really see when the journey is being killed off, and you know that with every second that rushes by on the road; Stamp is apparently closer to his death - clever stuff.

The film is simple. The narrative is easy, there aren't too many characters to deal with, there aren't too many on screen distractions (unless you count the girl) meaning you have more reasons to focus on EXACTLY what's going on and although the film looks a little aged, I can guarantee it's thoroughly enjoyable.

I can't believe I'm discovering this little gem only now, about 20 years late! Shame on me. How comes...?

Now this is the kind of stuff I like. Intelligent, brilliantly written and directed, with mindblowing actors' performances by Tim Roth, John Hurt and Terence Stamp (gee I never realized before that Stamp was SUCH a talented actor!! Shame on me again!), a real personality, an outstanding camera work, and multiple references to the cinema history... all this with just the right amount of dignity, not too much, just the right amount. And an original and tasteful use of hispanic music, that is 100% adequate.

"The hit" is suspenseful, unpredictable, funny, challenging.

Makes me wonder how many times Tarentino viewed it... he obviously viewed it several times, for sure.

Great flick. I can't believe that there are only 395 votes for this movie on Imdb, meaning that only a very selected group of people actually had the luck to come across this little diamond. Such a shame. I bet many Coen fans would really love "The hit" if they only had the opportunity to view it...

Two hit men go to Spain and pick up a fellow crook who went into hiding years before. They are suppose to drive him back to Paris, however as they hit the road, it quickly becomes clear that things are not what they seem and that the hit men are in for more than they ever bargained for.

Tightly plotted and neat little thriller that works thanks to its three stars. Terrence Stamp kicked his career into high gear once more with his turn as the man hauled off for execution. So calm in the face of death its almost unnerving and its not hard to see how he can begin to play his captors like a violin. John Hurt and Tim Roth are his equal as the two hit men who never saw what they were walking into. This is ensemble acting at its finest.

This is a great little film. Its worth seeking out.

A petty gangster rats out his accomplices and goes into protective custody with his new-found penchant for books and thought, until one day retribution arrives in the form of two assassins. The gangster, now a philosopher who claims he is ready for death as just another step in the progression of life, is taken for a long ride across Spain so that the crime boss he ratted out can witness vengeance inflicted.

Talk about your minor masterpieces! This has long been one of my favorites ever since I stumbled across it on one of the premium cable movie channels many years ago.

It's hard to put my finger on just what it is, exactly, that makes this movie great. One can hardly point to substantial character development, because the characters (with one exception) never really become true flesh and blood to us. The plot meanders, truth be told. The dialog is clever but rarely brilliant. So what is it? Certainly the locations and the music, the general ambiance, add a lot to the movie. The car, the clouds of dust, the brilliant Spanish sun, the arc of azure sky, the arid hills, the sultry guitar: these things alone can turn a marginal movie into a good one. Exterior shots predominate, and with good reason. The director knew how to combine simple, pure elements--strong, bold colors, bright sunlight, stark images, and exactly the right sounds--in ways that seem to speak of things larger than themselves.

But I don't mean to make the rest of the movie sound marginal. The characters aren't terribly well fleshed-out, but they are interesting nevertheless. Hurt's character, the silent, wary predator, comes across as a bit stilted, but he makes it work with his craggy face, his angular body, his croaking voice, and especially his eternally weary eyes. (Few characters could have taken on this role without looking ridiculous.) Stamp is also stilted yet convincing as the amateur philosopher and erstwhile rogue at peace with himself and his fate. Roth, even more constricted in his role, also manages to put across a convincing if thoroughly unsavory persona. These actors don't have much to work with, and yet none of them ever slips into crudely cartoonish performances. They remain genuine, to the degree their characters allow.

The real surprise is the girl, Laura del Sol. Her obvious physical charms, barely stuffed into a very small dress, lead the viewer (the pop-eyed male viewer, anyway) into writing her off as mere eye candy, until the confrontation between her and Hurt, and the cruel, angry glow in her eyes, brings it home that here perhaps is the highest talent in this cast. It is she alone who stands out, at the end of the movie, as someone we can recognize and identify with; someone who isn't a mere cypher. What a pity that she has done so little else in English-speaking movies.

Whether you find the ending of this movie satisfying probably says something about your own personality, and how you view concepts like loyalty, crime, vengeance, and justice. I won't go into my own reactions. I'll only say that, when the movie is over, you'll find that, not only have you watched an absorbing movie, but you probably have things to think about.

The writing and acting are outstanding -all the characters are imbued with distinct three-dimensional personalities. The humor is very dry, and there's a deep sense of irony that pervades this film. The thrust of the script, I feel, outlines how human intellect and instinct constantly play a game of one-upsmanship, and the nature of life is, ultimately, unpredictable and beyond our control. A personal favorite.

I just watched this movie for the third time, and for the first time on DVD. I then read the reviews on this website. The reviews all contained good points but I was surprised at two things:

1) Very few reviews were from the United States. It appears that Europeans and Australians are far more aware of this film than we are here in America, which is our loss;

2) (Spoiler?) Nobody mentioned or questioned why hit man John Hurt did NOT kill Laura Del Sol. In real life, there would have been no hesitation by the professional killer : she would have been eliminated quickly.....and, of course, the story - had it been real - would have ended quite differently from the film.

Outside of that last point, I thought the film contained real characters exhibiting many of their strengths and weaknesses. Unlike most gangster films of the past 35 years, this one had little action and concentrated more on the principal characters. It would be too talky for most young audiences of today.

Other highlights:

Nice Spanish scenery and flamenco soundtrack. Good opening instrumental by Eric Clapton.

Interesting to see Roth in one of his earliest roles, although it's been a familiar one for him: an annoying punk.

An ending that wasn't predictable.

One disappointment:

Why wasn't this DVD presented on widescreen? Why was this formatted-to-TV? The transfer isn't bad but with the great scenery, why couldn't we see it all? There is no excuse for that.

Summary: a good, solid film but more for mature adults who don't mind a slower pace and can appreciate a lot of subtle things.

...........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA....and ORLANDO, FL

Sometimes a little reflection helps put things in perspective. The review you're reading now is vastly different from the one I sat down to write last night. The HIT seemed to have betrayed itself and short-changed the viewer by radically violating the principals set down throughout the course of the film. But that was last night. Today, at lunch, I "got it"! Last night it was 5.5*.

Luckily, patience, plus a little reflection, seem to have paid off: Today you're getting the 8.5* Deluxe REIEW Version! Willie Parker (Terence Stamp) is a former criminal who has had years to reflect on life, in general, and death, in particular! He has taken up reading books on philosophy, history, poetry, psychology and pretty much anything he can lay his hands on. For a man in his 40's, he strikes one as a bit young to be retired. Well, He isn't.

Willie is in rural Spain in the European Union's version of the Witness Protection Program; seeing as how he ratted out his buddies back in England, 10 years earlier. Surprisingly, they didn't seem to buy Willie's explanation that "He had seen the light! It felt like the right thing to do". Willie's day of reckoning comes when his ex-blokes have him kidnapped and brought to justice, EU Mafia style.

Throughout his entire ordeal, Willie looks more like someone going on a picnic than a guy who's about to have the walls decorated with his brains! His captors, an icy jaded pro (John Hurt) and his hapless, hot-tempered apprentice (Tim Roth, in a breakthrough role) stand incredulous before Willie's apparent calm and indifference to his plight.

Remember how SNL's Rosanna Rosanadana used to say: "It's always SOMETHING!" Well, in the course of transporting their victim to the slaughter, it's one constant "Something" after another! When The HIT is over (assuming you "get it") you'll have a slight smile on your face and a twinkle in your eye...just like the icy hit man's!

8.5* STARS....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

The Hit is a movie that is hard to forget, but if you do you'll be happy to remember it. It's the kind of movie that had I seen it in the 1980's, I would still think back fondly to a moment or two, to the strange sense of inner peace that Terence Stamp's character Willie Parker has on this 'road trip' to his death by the hands of gangsters, or the way that John Hurt's Braddock wears his sunglasses, or how the chipper Spanish music accentuates scenes with an unusual flavor. We may have seen movies where a criminal, who went 'rat' on his former criminal buddies, is discovered years later to finally meet his comeuppance, but it's hard to think of another quite like this, one that is directed with such an eye for photographic beauty in the Spanish villas and mountains and deserts, or with the dark comedy of the performances.

It's ostensibly just about that, two criminals (Hurt and Tim Roth) taking a guy like Willie Parker back to meet his maker for what he did. But there's more to the tale: they stop off at another mate's flat in Madrid and they take his girl (Laura Del Sol), an innocent, as collateral when they get across the border, and from there it's about what Braddock will or won't do, what Roth's Myron as the young, energetic upstart who could possibly stop Braddock from his path of destruction, and how a weary detective (Fernando Rey, who has not a line of dialog) follows along the trail of violence and bloodshed. It's about this without ever having to push the dialog in explanation too much: only in the last third, when we hear Willie's reasons for being so... comfortable with his position as a kidnapped wanted man, that the screenplay stops to add words.

It's fairly dramatic and contemplative on what it is to be a criminal, how to be as you are with a gun pointed at someone or committing violence or acting all like a bad-ass. There's this conflict we see especially between the three characters of Willie, Myron and Braddock, where one is just along for the ride, with some gallows humor so to speak ("I'll just get back in the car then?), one is just fine getting his thousand dollars for his first ever job, but will stop his superior if need be, and the other is quiet and calm, like a refugee from a Jim Jarmusch crime film (coincidentally to the Stranger from Limits of Control Hurt was also in that mystery movie), but is professional to a degree. Frears lets the actors open up the material as he opens up the scope and environments they inhabit: it's not about the standard plot, but about what the characters are about.

I may have made The Hit to sound ponderous or pretentious, but it really isn't. It's a very entertaining and surprising ride we take, where conventions are eschewed for that feeling of anything-is-possible on the road. There's some laughs, there's some thrills, and an ending that is not predictable despite it following a formula going all the way back to 1940's film noir. It's an underrated gem from British crime lore that should be seen by anyone on the lookout for something different from the genre, or for something unexpected from the actors (Roth's being his screen debut).

The basic plot of this film is fairly ordinary and the pace not exactly fast - anyone wanting non-stop Tarantino-style action may be disappointed. Yes, the film does contain violence but in between there are quieter moments where the characters are given time to reflect

• not on the lyrics of "Like A Virgin", but on their lives, their illusions, and the hand that fate has dealt them.

Although each character is a stereotype and made to think and act accordingly, the unfolding chain of events forces each one (albeit briefly) to re-think and

re-evaluate his place in the scheme of things. It never gets too deep and meaningful (you sometimes get the impression it was supposed to), but it's refreshing to see characters normally shown as one-dimensional having fears, doubts and (sometimes!) even genuine human reactions.

The mixture of "gangsters on the run" and introspection would limit this films' appeal somewhat but it's a nice change from the normal action film . A word too for the great acting from the wonderfully eclectic cast - all strong character actors, contributing greatly to appeal of this movie.

Willie Parker (Terence Stamp) has been preparing for death for ten years. After testifying against mobsters he left England, got a shelter in Spain and began waiting for the killers. He read books, thought about meaning of life and death and finally got more or less comfortable with the idea of his mortality. When killers finally arrive, he's almost happy, because waiting for something terrible is actually much worse than the thing itself. At first professional hitman Braddock (John Hurt) and his cocky apprentice Myron (Tim Roth) are confused by Parker's attitude to death. They've got orders to bring Parker to Paris, where the mobsters prepare his execution. Situation complicates as the police begins the search. Killers are forced to communicate with their victim. And the more they communicate (and even collaborate), the more strange and bizarre their relationship becomes. "The Hit" is one of the most unpredictable movies of the decade. Although we understand from the beginning that the outcome must be far from happy, the actual bitter and wry denouement shocks by its intensity and logical simplicity. If you're a killer, don't try to do anything good, because any attempt only increases the body count. The film is pregnant with terrible revelations and is especially intense in the scenes where nothing obvious happens. Set against the backdrop of arid, desert plains, "The Hit" is full of desperation, and yet offers the possibility of redemption to the characters and the our old tired society. Raw, animal striving for life can overcome everything. Ironically, woman becomes the personification of the will to live in this strictly masculine world. In his second feature Frears already shows terrific sense of atmosphere and expertly works with actors. Terence Stamp is absolutely credible in challenging part of a man who's not afraid of dying. He's already beyond human foibles; there is a shadow of death in his eyes and something ethereal in his face of fallen angel. John Hurt exudes quiet desperation "just the English way" and very soon we begin to perceive his character as victim too. As to Tim Roth, he's so fresh and innocent in his insolence that his character's hesitation between two older men's views seems pathetic and convincing. "The Hit" is now 15 years old, but since 1984 the film hadn't aged at all. It's double pleasure to watch it now, knowing that Tim Roth, whose character Myron tried to figure out doomed stoolie Parker, later became the most brilliant stoolie of "Reservoir Dogs", and Terence Stamp is today the Chancellor of the Universe. Hopefully Hurt's best movie is in the future.

From the menacing twang of Eric Claptons' guitar introduction we are taken to the back streets of South London where Supergrass Willie Parker (Terence Stamp)spills the beans on his former gang members involvement in armed robberies. From a comic book scene in court the story goes 10 years ahead when Willie is living under protection in Spain, he has changed character, more interested in his books than his former life of crime. However the Gang leader he sent down has been released and sends a hitman, Braddick (John Hurt)and his young novice accomplice Myron(Tim Roth) to kidnap Willie and bring him France. Things go wrong with the slaying of a police guard and they are chased across Spain by the Spanish police. Along the way there are a series of other mishaps another kidnapping of a young Spanish girl (Laura Del Sol)and more killings. The ending has a strange twist. The photography and direction is excellent, with some memorable scenes, one where Maggie bites a chunk out of Mr Braddick's hand and an unaware Myron asks Braddick if he wants something to eat, to which he replies yes but not her "she's already eaten" This is a strange movie and resembles some French gangster movies where the emphasis is on the characters and there changing attitudes as they begin to question the morality of what they are doing. It deserves watching more than once and is in my top 10 of best British Gangster movies.

24. THE HIT (action, 1984) Former Mafia member turned informer Willie (Terence Stamp) has been hiding out in Spain. 10 years before he betrayed the criminal code by testifying against his own. Ever since he has come to accept the fact that one day a hit man would be send to kill him. This comes in the form of Braddock (John Hurt) and his young, brash sidekick. Braddock fouls up his orders to bring Willie to France (the planned execution site). With the police aware of their plans, Braddock has to msurvive on brutal wits alone.

Critique: This was director's Stephen Frears second directorial effort, being the first to show his excellent visual style and assuredness with actors. The picture has beautiful photographed scenes of Europe and showcases another stoic role from John Hurt. His blank-downbeat killer perfectly counteracts Terence Stamps' ironically-doomed Willie. In fact, the film's major theme seems to be nihilistic. Where everyone involved (since being a criminal = bad) is prone to failure. Unusually slow paced middle of film reaches a high-thrilling climax.

QUOTE: Willie: "Oye pajarita, asi es la vida."

This film holds 7.0 rating on IMDb, so even I sensed something rotten in it's synopsis I decided to try it out. What a waste of 100 minutes. First of all, the 80's were not a good decade for crime and thriller genre. Most of them, in those days were badly done with silly plot (if they had any), so there are very few that can stand out, and even if they were good they are still not very good. The Hit, however suffers from everything that made silly crime pictures silly. It has poor character development, improbable plot and wasn't written or directed in a decent manner, and when you have such shortcomings the acting doesn't help. Stephen Frears often tried to emulate French new wave in English style film making and the two don't match.

Let's start at the beginning. Terence Stamp is 10 years in hiding because he testified against some of his former partners in crime. He hides in Spain, of all places. He is finally caught up with, and than first kidnapped by a group of silly looking Spanish thugs, just do be driven away some distance to the two hit man that are supposed to deal with him. These two are John Hurt, who is supposed to be hard boiled, stone cold killer, and Tim Roth (in his first role) as the devil's apprentice. They don't kill Stamp right away, they first dispose of the "three Amigos", they shouldn't have hired in the first place, and then, they are driving Stamp to Paris, because one of the buddies he testified against wants to confront him. OK that's possible. But even with Stamp being such a dangerous figure that they had to hire four guys to overpower him, they don't tie him down, don't incapacitate him in any way, and drive around with him, like he's one of the buddies. Stamp doesn't object and is happily going to Paris to be shot, not using any of a half a dozen chances, these "professionals" offer for him to escape. Than it appears that Tim Roth is just a school boy bully, making the idea of big crime boss teaming him up with a hard core hit man like John Hurt, even more improbable, especially on an important job like that. But than John Hurt is not so hard core himself, he spends twenty minutes of the movie, killing or not killing the totally surplus Australian, played by Bill Hunter, whose only purpose in this film is to introduce lovely Laura Del Sol, his mistress (who he says is 15, but she looks more like 25), and whose role in the story and acting capabilities suggest that she was offered the part, solely on the basis of being the director's or producer's mistress at the time. After much deliberation, Hurt kills the Australian but takes along his mistress for no apparent reason. Than he wants to kill her but Roth with his "subtle ways" convince him not to, so even she kicks him, bites him and scratches him through the entire movie, he stays true to that deeply buried human side of him.

Than you have plain idiotic scenes, like when Hurt and Roth lock the car from the outside, trying to prevent people inside, from getting out?!?! Anyway the movie drags on. Tim Roth falls asleep, guarding Terence Stamp with his gun on his chest, and Stamp just waits there watching the waterfall. Than the whole shamble of a plot comes to the point where everything we've seen in the last hour and 20 minutes just goes out through the window. Let's recapitulate, the whole point in not killing Stamp right away (except for having a movie) is to take him to Paris, so his former partner is to have a last word with him. And the whole point in him not running away is that he is prepared to die, saying "It's just a moment. We're here. Then we're not here. We're somewhere else... maybe. And it's as natural as breathing. Why should we be scared?" But my friends, here is where the plot twists, Hurt kills the man while still in Spain, and we ask why bother and drive around for days, he could have done it in the first 15 minutes, and than contrary to his philosophy Stamp is very afraid of being killed, so we ask again why didn't he run, and he had plenty chance. Roth gets killed too, but he shouldn't be in the movie at all, and Del Sol, well she's promised a role in this film purely for romantic (read sexual) reasons, so she stays alive again, even she attacked Hurt for the 15th time in the movie. He killed all the others, but not her, she must have maximum screen appearance. The movie was made on a shoe string budget and it shows, but when you have no story and cardboard characterizations, it shows even more.And yes Fernando Ray appears and goes through the movie as the guest star, having a single audible line of dialog. Awful

I finally caught this surprisingly obscure film last night after wanting to see it for many years. It proved to be worth the wait, a gripping little film featuring a marvellous central character in Willie Parker (Terence Stamp). Stamp was excellent as the chilled-out victim of kidnapping and potentially murder, who is much less afraid than the incompetent hit men sent to exact revenge. The only disappointment for me was the ending, I felt the switch of emphasis to John Hurt's character in the final minutes was a mistake as I was hoping that Stamp would get the better of the villains or at least get to face Mr Corrigan before getting plugged. Still, a good movie and one which deserves to be better known.

Low key drama is very interesting if you give it time and listen to the dialog. The acting by the four main characters is effective, the story is straightforward, and the outcome is always in doubt. Special mention must be made of the excellent score and scenery. John Hurt elicits tension with his minimalist performance. Terrence Stamp shows detached indifference to his pending fate. Tim Roth and Laura Del Sol also give convincing performances. Some terrific camera angles and sharp direction adds to the overall enjoyment of "The Hit". This is not a loud movie, but rather a very quiet one that will hold your attention despite a leisurely pace. - MERK

A prime example of the old adage that less is more, Stephen Frears' The Hit starts off with a simple premise and builds from there with the use of well-developed, brilliantly acted characters. Willie Parker (Terence Stamp) is a gangster who sells his pals down the road in order to get off free, but ten years later one of those guys is out of prison and sends his men Braddock and Myron (John Hurt and Tim Roth) to go and collect Willie. All of this is taken care of within the first fifteen minutes and the film at large is the three of them on the road, driving from Spain to Paris in order to bring Willie to his inevitable fate. They're joined along the way by Maggie (Laura Del Sol), a young and exotic companion of an associate they cross paths with early on.

It's a very simple idea, but the film succeeds so admirably in keeping the tension high between the three men, confining the action mostly to within the car or nearby it. Willie knows his fate and he doesn't try to escape it, so instead of the usual distractions of chases and struggles, we get to witness interactions between the three on their way to his fate. There's an existentialist journey the film takes us down, as Willie seems resigned to his death and doesn't try to fight it. This presents an interesting query to Braddock and especially Myron, curious as to why he seems so serene with death around the corner. Willie seems to enjoy himself on their trip, whereas Braddock is all business and just going about his job.

John Hurt delivers a terrifying performance here, mostly hidden behind Braddock's sunglasses and really diving in to the character to send chills through the audience. The contrast between him and Stamp's self-reflective work is fascinating, especially when combined with the wildly energetic Roth. This was Tim Roth's first film and he explodes on the screen, a wild animal of pure energy, eating up every moment and running away with the entire picture. Much like Roth himself, Myron is on his first assignment and his reactions to the opposing nature of Braddock and Willie drive a lot of the resonating themes of the film. Del Sol provides an erotic, passionate rift in the group dynamic and of course it's the woman who ends up being the thing that gives them the most grief, rather than the man they are supposed to kill.

Stephen Frears has long been a favorite director of mine and most of that is due to his versatility. He can go from this kind of hard, cool British pulp gangster movie to doing a wildly erotic period piece like Dangerous Liaisons as if it was any other job. He's one of the most diverse directors in the modern age, but he always manages to tackle his films with a deep precision. The Hit is yet another example of his skills as a director and, thanks in part to the excellent cast and script by Peter Prince, I'd say it's the best film of his career.

i only heard about this film when i saw it on someones list of best films,thought it was really good willies a bastard from the beginning trying to play head games and turn them against each other but the girls more dangerous shes just as manipulative and sly was kind of hoping that the ending would be willie being taken to Paris and facing his former mates that he betrayed would have been nice if we could have found out more about his past crimes and find out how he was found in the first place a truly underrated British film it reminds me a bit of cohen and tate a old film from 1990 where two hit man snatch someone and have to take a road trip and survive the mind games ...........the hit is a really good film

The Hit is a story of how different realities face a life and death situation. Each character is sparingly drawn and their personalities are revealed by what they do, not Hollywood melodrama. The Spanish countryside is lavishly presented, the score spare and beautiful, and the acting by all is first rate. This is one of the better films I've seen.

There's a cork that holds the movie in place. A cork that reads existential crime thriller, oscillating with some conviction in the dusty scorched space between the road movie and the modern western, not between alternate extremes but with a steady uninterrupted rhythm flipping the same coin again and again; one time it gives us the claustrophobic but humdrum and worn-out dynamics and shifting relationships between kidnappers and kidnapped confined in a car on a road trip through the Spanish countryside to someone's death, tails give us brooding silences and Paco de Lucia's deguello guitar serenading over vast open expanses of arid landscape, they give us sunsets over open horizons and rents of dust kicked up in a dirt road. John Hurt's Mr. Braddock is the enigmatic hit-man of few words and no identity, Tim Roth is his overexcited grimacing sidekick, and Terence Stamp is the calm fatalist resigned to the idea of dying escorted by them to a death in Paris. He plays the middle against the end in ordinary for this type of setup cat and mouse games. Death and how we face him is Stephen Frears' main theme though. The transformations the characters undergo in the face of it speak louder than Terence Stamp's abstract diversions: how we're there one moment, gone the next, and what's the difference, why should we be afraid? Only the woman (the voluptuous and sexy Laura del Sol) is strong enough to survive, because she's the one who's really afraid to die, motivated to fight for life because she's not ready to give up yet. This reminds me of the Father in Cormac McCarthy's The Road: how he has learned to wake himself up from idle beautiful dreams because they lull the mind, because they're a sign of the mind giving up on the real world. It can be a very ugly place the real world and it's only natural to be afraid, at least you know you're still alive.

Despite whatever existential meat and bones there is, the movie is mostly a mood piece though and it's captivating as such. But take the cork out and it starts to disintegrate back to the parts it was made of, back to seedy gas stations in the middle of nowhere, open arid landscapes, and orange suns blazing down on patches of empty asphalt, sand and dust kicked up to muddle the boundaries separating it from all the other movies of the same kind, a little above and below and across the Mexican border, so that they become engulfed back into that curious sifting mass made up of lonesome structures with the paint peeling off under the hot sun and beat-up cars driving up empty roads across empty landscapes that you can pinpoint to a general type of film rather than any particular movie. Back into that antediluvian genre memory of the existential modern western from which now and again a movie by Walter Hill or Sam Peckinpah or the Coen Brothers will stand out to be counted. There's not enough to put The Hit on the same level as No Country for Old Men or Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia, but fans of that type of sombre contemplative gritnic cinema will dig it. It's good.

There are various ways to describe the British film "The Hit". For many, it might be interpreted as a comedy film. Some viewers might think of it as a thriller film. There might also be viewers who might like to view it as a road movie. There could also be liberal views which could state that it is a fine as well as well balanced mix of all kinds of different genres. Making good use of picturesque locations found in Spain, director Stephen Frears has made a film about criminals and their desire to take revenge. It is at this juncture that viewers learn that a kidnapping and an act of killing have gone completely wrong. It is not only the British people in Spain who are ridiculed for the viewers. It is also the turn of Spanish side to face ridicule as its police force always comes to the scene of crime late. As a 'road movie' this film boasts of good views of rural Spain. Apart from fine performances by leading actor John Hurt, Terence Stamp and Tim Roth, there is a mellifluous soundtrack by Paco de Lucia. It is a good idea to popularize this film which is not so much known by many admirers of good quality British cinema in England and elsewhere.

It was a bizarre crossbreed, London crime drama and Spanish road picture, maybe condemned by its displacement and disdain for genre convention. Hardly any critics at the time grasped the film's intermingling of the hip and the high-minded. Today's critics, comparatively at least, would welcome it in the company of its offspring, like Gangster No. 1, Sexy Beast and In Bruges, and the American counterparts contributed by the Coens and Tarantino. A few films have mythologized British underworld since Michael Caine's glory days. The Hit challenged it in unique ways, reconnecting its rogues into a different legendary backdrop, that of the western, as Braddock and Myron transport Willie along the roads that twist through Spain's parched landscape.

The ostensible hero of The Hit is Willie Parker, who, in the beginning, rats out four of his mob mates. Flash-forward a decade, and his unperturbed life in southern Spain terminates with the appearance of underworld executioner Braddock and his rookie associate Myron. They seize Willie and travel towards Paris, where he'll be handed over to the boss of the men he informed on. The film opens with a bristly Eric Clapton solo, signaling a foreshadowing slow-mo shot of a man in an off-white suit sauntering up a hilltop. Paco de Lucía's flamenco soundtrack turns on the dismay throughout. The man, Braddock, faces the awesome vista, but does he see it? This ill-omened image sponges from a later scene when Braddock must make a life-or-death choice. Its return tosses a circle around the tale, bringing the characters to the stage where they must face mortality.

The personal dialogue exchanges that bear the rapport between Willie and his dispatchers are interspersed with Braddock and Myron's eruptions of flamboyant viciousness, which bequeath footprints for the police, headed by a dismayed detective played by the excellent Fernando Rey. Braddock's murders are the undertakings of a man demoralized by Willie's sublime calmness. For predator and prey are seemingly upturned in this very humanistic gangster film. Willie incessantly reframing Braddock and Myron's mindsets, as when he interprets Braddock's failure to kill Maggie, the doe-eyed Spanish beauty they've snatched from the Madrid apartment where she stayed with the fearful Australian goon Harry. "It's supposed to be quick, clean work," Willie prods Myron as Braddock crouches on a swathe of badlands. "It was a mistake," Myron rationalizes. "Yeah, but he's not meant to have accidents. Perhaps he's slipping." Willie further condescends them when explaining in epic historical terms to Myron why Spain has so many castles. But in gibing Braddock and Myron, who fade in contrast with Charlemagne's renowned brothers in arms, Willie encourages Myron to ask him why he turned stooge. By smoothly replying that he couldn't confront prison again or decline the prosecutors' deal, he remembers the two-faced Willie seen in court, and checks the pity we may have for him as a Zen desperado who's reconciled himself.

If Gal in Sexy Beast is incapable of communicating his existential dilemma, Willie's a philosopher cut from a different cloth than the standard East End thug. Willie's sophistication is despised by others of his sort, and probably also by those who anticipate a more traditional crime film. In a safe house before his court appearance, one of his guards snatches his book. One of the Spanish punks who hijack Willie for Braddock wields a knife at his Escher print.

Frears shuns car chases, gunfights, and sex for obscuring the customary functions of captive and captor, lyricizing a story that evolves in immorality, and concentrating on a protagonist who irrevocably disappoints us. In stage-managing the doctrines of the gangster film, the western, the road movie and even film noir, Frears probes their authenticity. And although this narrative amalgam is awash with confrontation, it inhabits the inner life instead of the outside. Willie's and Braddock's wits work overtime, and their unseen battle is more gripping than the periodic murders and the police hunt. This elevates The Hit into a transcendental domain where gunfire has no range.

The story's generational divide aids a reconciliation toward the finale. Braddock loses control when he sees Myron catnapping on watch duty, but he finds Willie observing a waterfall. Willie stands facing away from Braddock, who trains his gun, but is too intimidated to squeeze the trigger. The haunted picture of Willie set against the wall of mist hints at the inescapable death of Christ. That night, they talk intimately in the woods, where Braddock doubts Willie's audacity. "We're here," Willie says, "then we're not here. We're somewhere else. It's as natural as breathing. Why should we be scared?" Earlier, Willie puzzles Myron with another speech justifying death as harmless. All this would look like obvious laboriousness, premeditated to put his captors off guard, were it not for Stamp's skillfully hazy performance. The last of Willie's words and movements that we see in the movie are staggering in what they tell about him. Regardless, it's not his honesty we distrust, but his deceit, as his arousal of sympathy in Braddock culminates in a sort of liberation for both.

The Hit

Assassins don't have apprentices because they don't want other people's eye-goobies all over their riflescope.

And while the gunman in this drama is more a close-range type of guy, he must still contend with a hapless partner.

Ten years after he sent his crew to jail, following a botched robbery, Willie (Terence Stamp) is living the highlife in Spain.

However, everything changes when a well-worn hit-man Braddock (John Hurt) and his green trainee Myron (Tim Roth) arrive to escort Willie to Paris, where he'll reunite with those he ratted out.

While on the road, the aged assassin struggles to comprehend Willie's Zen-like state and the bond he's forged with Myron.

One of the most violent, artistic, yet humorous attempts at exemplify the decline of a triggerman's career, The Hit is on target.

Unfortunately, the only guests at an assassin's retirement party would be the vengeful offspring of their previous kills. (Green Light)

*************************WARNING WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS**************************

This film got talked about a lot when it was first released. Upfront it would be wise to mention the main actors, Terence Stamp (Willie Parker), John Hurt (Mr Braddock), and Tim Roth (Myron), simply because the three of them are exemplary and allowed to stretch in a character driven story which has been obviously well thought out and conceived. The characters are ostensibly criminals but 'The Hit' is more than just a 'crime film.'

The opening scenes explain how the criminal Stamp has 'grassed' on his mates, and receives in return a villa in Spain for the term of his natural life. Zip! It's ten years later and Stamp is kidnapped by Hurt, an older and more experienced type and Roth, a young hot-head on his first assignment. Forced to face the ire of his enemies in the syndicate. Stamp is aware what his kidnappers are capable of, and what they will do to him sooner or later, as the 'sooner' extends from the beginning of the film and we eventually are transported to the 'later'. This kind of set-up would be almost a cliché in any other action film but 'The Hit' defies the rules of its genre by taking the viewer on a cerebral journey that has little to do with body counts, botched robberies or crashing cars. 'The Hit' takes the audience by surprise by easing up on the blood letting and instead engaging in a lot of dialogue which reveals the kidnappee's desire not to be eliminated and how he goes about prolonging what little time he may have left on the earth. This allows for a lot of philosophical discussion on the part of the kidnapped man, primarily concerning the meaning of life and death, in order to buy time for himself, and also to allow the audience to ruminate about the meaning of life along with him.

Stamp, as the kidnapped criminal, reaches a calm acceptance of his fate, much to the chagrin of his assailants, who believe that if they were in his position, they would certainly consider their predicament differently. A Spanish woman (Laura del Sol) gets dragged along for the ride as the three men play a game of cat and mouse in which the audience is left in the dark as to why the assailants are not doing what they have actually been ordered to do. Terence Stamp gives an excellent performance as the criminal in a tight spot, and is a good foil for John Hurt and Tim Roth as the kidnappers who are the Hawkesian 'professionals' merely carrying out orders with no questions asked. They know what they are expected to do but are somewhat reluctant to do it and I believe this gives rise to the possibility of an existential interpretation of the film.

. The characters exist in a state of perpetual hesitation: the kidnapped man has been living the last ten years as if his life has been on hold with perpetual protection, no job, and an empty apartment; the kidnappers become involved with the man they are holding and begin to see him as a human being and hence find it difficult to carry out their orders; the Australian and his girlfriend are attempting to have a life but this can never come to pass because of their past associations.. All the characters exist in a fatalistic universe that seems to have no time for them. Ironically, the only character comfortable in his own skin is Stamp, who, instead of using blazing guns to solve his dilemma, attempts to verbally connect with his assailants by showing in a number of effecting scenes, how much he wants to carry on living . This is very interesting and involving stuff for an audience desiring something more substantial from their entertainment. It's a good existential take on the usual modus operandi of these films which normally consist of little more than meaningless action and violence to get the punters to pay for admission. For that 'The Hit' deserves to stand out from the crowd, for all the best reasons, which thankfully, it does.