The Gauntlet (1977) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe)

The Gauntlet (1977)

Phoenix cop Ben Shockley is well on his way to becoming a derelict when he is assigned to transport a witness named Gus Mally from Vegas. Mally turns out to be a belligerent prostitute with mob ties and incriminating information regarding a high-placed figure. Shockley's suspicions are aroused and the betting line against Mally testifying begins to climb when the transport vehicle is bombed and Mally's house is literally shot to pieces. The pair must face the truth about those they trust, as well as their own inner strengths, as they fight their way to Phoenix, finally using an armored bus to run a gauntlet of hundreds of police armed with high-powered weaponry.

Clint Eastwood ... Ben Shockley
Sondra Locke ... Gus Mally
Pat Hingle ... Josephson
William Prince ... Blakelock
Bill McKinney ... Constable
Michael Cavanaugh ... Feyderspiel
Carole Cook ... Waitress
Mara Corday ... Jail Matron
Doug McGrath ... Bookie (as Douglas McGrath)
Jeff Morris ... Desk Sergeant
Samantha Doane ... Biker
Roy Jenson ... Biker
Dan Vadis ... Biker
Carver Barnes ... Bus Driver

Director: Clint Eastwood

Runtime: 109 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076070/

Codecs:

Video : 624 MB, 834 Kbps, 25.0 fps, 608*256 (Unknown), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 76 MB, 102 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 2 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, VBR,

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The big part for Sondra Locke, who plays Augustina "Gus" Malley, was dealing with a very tough cop, Clint Eastwood (who plays Ben Shockley). Both have to deal with a Phoenix police commissioner who thinks he is going to be good on the outside---but very sneaky and nasty on the inside.

Throughout the movie, it seems like Sondra is almost like an "Annie Oakley" of some kind especially when she carries a gun...and it was scary to find out that Gus was targeted for death by several parties around Arizona and Phoenix if she tries to testify in a wasteful trial.

This "Gauntlet" flick may not be "Mission Impossible", but Ben accepts an assignment from the commissioner that cannot be revealed at all except by him and the commissioner. Then, as soon as he picks up Gus, they face a maze of attempts on their lives.

The camera-work during the helicopter gunman/motorcycle chase scene was actually the best. You see the chase on a variety of angles--close up, panoramic, cutting away, and zooming in.

The fight scene on the freight train between the crazed bikers, Ben, and Gus reminds me of the phrase "Throw Momma Off The Train"---but even more than that---it reminds me of Clint Eastwood's appearances in spaghetti westerns like "A Fistful of Dollars."

The soundtrack in the flick reminded me of Charles Mingus's jazz style.

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Hands down, Sondra Lockes best performance.So then,why does this film need all the over the top violence? It does so because most men won't want to admit they like a love story, or go to the movies to see one. This movie is a top rate love story, from beginning to end. What possibly could this movie have in common with Fight Club,,or even As Good as it Gets? In Fight Club, Ed Norton meets a girl that he obviously can not handle , so he reinvents himself. Same with Ben Shockley. He meets his match, so he must act quickly, making up a story about snakes at the cave. He then thinks on his feet, and acquires himself a bike, impressing the girl and cementing their alliance. Jack Nicholson breaks down to Helen Hunt and claims "You make me want to be a better man".Estwood starts saying please, and and emotes a deep trust in his counterpart; He realizes he must soften up a little to keep the lady around.He does. Shockley isn't some phony Top Gun hero who loses the girl, he's a loser who does what he has to get the woman in love with him, and it works, this is his only chance at love.

This is Lockes best film. Is it because of the acting or is this Lockes personality? She does it well enough where you honestly believe she is ad libbing at least half of her lines, pulling them off the top of her tongue. She sizzles, oozing sex in the back seat of the cop car. You honestly believe she is so used to verbal abuse that she sits there and takes the insults. She is just playing possum, lying in wait. She takes her turn, and delivers a knockout counter-punch to the constable,forcing his mind to admit that he is just a sleazeball flunkie. What is best, is that nothing but honesty and cold reality come out of her mouth. Eastwood accepts the truth, and lives. The constable refuses, and dies. Locke is the anti-feminazi. She saves her mans life, and immediately wants to go back to being a real woman, in his arms.This movie deserves a ten, because the action scenes are just there so people can handle all of the raw truth in the movie. A must buy.

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A rundown cop who's always on the drink named Ben Shockley is assigned to accompany a foul-mouthed prostitute in Las Vegas to a protection program across the country in Phoenix to testify against highly placed authority figure, although first they have to get through a gauntlet of bad cops and the mob who actually want them both dead. So now the odds aren't in their favour, but Shockley is determine to do his job, no matter how big the odds are against them.

Classic Eastwood is on show here people. Although, it's not one of his greatest nor particularly original. But this reasonably familiar cop / action film delivers what it intended to do by giving us a taut little road movie across baron landscapes with a tremendous amount of brutally fast-paced shootouts and grand chase scenes. I mean a lot! To sum it up, shootouts, shootouts and even more shootouts. Watch things go boom with a lot going on at such a furious pace! What more could you want?

So you ask, why is this nothing out of the ordinary? Because this kind of thing wasn't particularly new within this era of films. There were definite shades of Dirty Harry; Eastwood's character Shockley was the exact opposite to Harry though. The one thing you'll notice is that there is no real excuse or depth behind the plot, but to stage one chaotic and stretched out shootout after another. Sometimes they feel like they go on forever! Nonetheless, they might be far-fetched and fail logic, but they're rather well set-up by director Eastwood. Giving us a sudden burst around each corner and because of that there's hardly a mundane moment… uh, maybe Eastwood did overkill certain shootouts, but it did get the blood pumping! So, when the "exaggerated" climax hits the screen - at least the film was consistent in that aspect.

The performances were top-notch, with Eastwood's persona making any film his in watchable. He gives a stellar performance. Sondra Locke as Gus Mally was perfect. The chemistry between the leads was outstanding. The scathing and rough dialogue amongst them was a treat with great use of sarcasm and offbeat humour. The biting conversations truly built on the paranoia at hand with many top one-liners. This gives the film a buddy type of feel. Other key factors are the soothing blues soundtrack, well established camera shots that capture a beautiful landscape, but also the panic of the situation they face. While, there might be underlining themes running throughout the plot, I just didn't read too much into it.

Just leave your brain at the door and enjoy the total chaos and destruction that follows with your screen being sprayed with bullets! Definitely recommended for fans of Eastwood and gritty action films.

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* Steve McQueen and Barbra Streisand were tentatively cast, but the two did not get along. Clint Eastwood later took over production after McQueen backed out.

* The yellow passenger jet at McCarran Airport is from the now-defunct airline Hughes Airwest, a.k.a. "The Flying Banana".

* More than 8,000 rounds were used for the climactic shootout scene.

* The police officers shooting at the bus in Downtown Phoenix were actual Active and Reserve Phoenix Police Officers.

* The illustration on the film's original theatrical release poster was by Frank Frazetta.