

In this review I will not even bother getting into a debate over whether or not it is right or not to make a bigger celebrity of Chopper than he already is the book is out, the film is made and it's a moot point. Released years later Chopper leaves prison still his jovial, friendly, brutal, violent and unpredictable self. When Jimmy fails, he claims Chopper attacked him and Chopper does the time while Jimmy gets free. During one of his many stays in prison he is betrayed by his friend Jimmy who stabs him repeatedly in an effort to kill him for a bounty. Mark Brandon Read, aka Chopper, is a small-time criminal who is violent and unpredictable. In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's some of my favorites: /list/ls070242495 Once you've seen this raw, shocking, at times darkly funny portrayal of a sociopath you'll understand why it single-handedly launched Eric Bana's international career. This was only the debut feature by director Andrew Dominik, but it's the meticulously crafted masterwork of a driven artist that deserves to be mentioned together with the best debut films by directors of his generation (it would take him 7 years to confirm with his sophomore film, the excellent THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007) that he wasn't a one-hit wonder). Most of all though, it's one of the most fascinating character studies I've ever seen with a tour-de-force performance by Eric Bana that is never less than superb. It's a film about life on the fringes of society, about the lasting effect of growing up in an unstable, violent environment it's about mental illness and the less glamorous (and thus in film rarely depicted) aspects of the life of a gangster and career criminal. watching it on a dreary Saturday afternoon.Like many of the best films, CHOPPER isn't about one thing, and it doesn't tell one story. I think if you take this movie for what it is, a mindless artifact of late 1960s/early 1970s culture starring one of that era's biggest icons, you won't regret having spent 90 mins. Anyway, Ann always possessed a great screen presence of her own enough, along with all the outdoor scenery, to keep the viewer interested.
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Fortunately for Elvis, his career, unlike Miss Margret's at the time, had just been spectacularly reignited with his TV Comeback Special and Vegas headlining. I wonder if Ann Margret and her husband originally thought of Elvis for the title role because this film is similar to many of his mid-sixties on screen personas (misunderstood rebel woos wary girl, defeats opposition in race at end). Throw in Sid Haig, Crispin Glover's father Bruce (of Diamond's Are Forever fame) and a delightfully campy performance from Teda Bracci and you have a pretty memorable Biker gang.
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Plus as his adversary, we have quintessential 1970s bad guy, William Smith (the unforgettable Falconetti from Rich Man, Poor Man mini series or bad-ass Jack Wilson in Clint Eastwood's Any Which Way You Can) who turns in a fine performance.

Broadway Joe isn't really half bad because he did have tremendous charisma and a screen presence which somewhat compensates for his lack of acting chops. Worth it for the novelty of Joe Namath and the 1970s cheese factor alone. A product of a by gone era, it's really not as bad as some have made it out to be. Parents saw it, mainly for Ann Margeret, in movie theaters during its 1st run, older kids caught it, mainly for Joe Namath, during its drive-in run and all us youngsters saw it when it made it's way to TV in the mid-1970s. Largely forgotten now, this movie was viewed by a lot of people in the 1970s.
