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Hard Times
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Hard Times (1975) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 17 | slideshow) Videos (see all 2)
Hard Times (1975) -- Chaney (Charles Bronson) bare knuckle boxes his way through New Orleans with Speed Weed (James Coburn) a fast talking promoter. It’s '30s grit with '70s bloody visceral poetry.
Hard Times (1975) -- Open-ended Trailer from Columbia

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   2,664 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Walter Hill (screenplay) and
Bryan Gindoff (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Hard Times on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 September 1975 (Netherlands) more
Genre:
Tagline:
New Orleans, 1933. In those days words didn't say much. [DVD] more
Plot:
In the depression, Chaney, a strong silent streetfighter, joins with Speed, a promoter of no-holds-barred street boxing bouts... more | full synopsis
NewsDesk:
(12 articles)
2009 in review: Television
 (From The Guardian - TV News. 12 December 2009, 4:05 PM, PST)

'Fringe' Episode 2.08: 'August'
 (From MTV Movies Blog. 19 November 2009, 7:34 PM, PST)

User Reviews:
A truly great movie. more (68 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Charles Bronson ... Chaney

James Coburn ... Speed

Jill Ireland ... Lucy Simpson
Strother Martin ... Poe

Margaret Blye ... Gayleen Schoonover (as Maggie Blye)
Michael McGuire ... Gandil
Felice Orlandi ... Le Beau
Edward Walsh ... Pettibon

Bruce Glover ... Doty
Robert Tessier ... Jim Henry

Nick Dimitri ... Street
Frank McRae ... Hammerman
Maurice Kowaleski ... Caesare (as Maurice Kowalewski)

Naomi Stevens ... Madam
Lyla Hay Owen ... Waitress
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Street Fighter (Philippines: English title)
The Streetfighter (UK)
more
Runtime:
93 min
Country:
Language:
Colour:
Colour (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The directorial debut of writer/director Walter Hill. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: Cheney rides into town at the beginning of the film on a train pulled by a diesel electric locomotive that did no exist at the time the film is set. Later Speed and Cheney ride back to New Orleans on a steam train that would be correct for the time. more
Quotes:
Speed: Chaney, I'd like you to meet my old friend Poe. He'll fix up your cuts, bruises, things like that.
Poe: I have two years of medical school to recommend me.
Chaney: Two years don't make a doctor.
Poe: During my third year, a small black cloud appeared on campus; I left under it.
Speed: What he means is that he is a bona-fide hophead.
Poe: I have a weakness for opium.
Chaney: That's a hard habit to break.
Poe: Some are born to fail, others have failure thrust upon them.
more
Movie Connections:
Remade as Sucker Punch (2008) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
30 out of 43 people found the following review useful.
A truly great movie., 18 March 2005
10/10
Author: dbush67565 from United States

This is one of my favorite films. There is a quality about it that touches the soul. Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Strother Martin are superb. Coburn is the character. The story is great, the acting is great and the music is great, particularly the closing piece of blue grass. I saw Hard Times when it first came out and it never left me. I'm not even sure why. Perhaps because all the characters, even the antagonists are depicted as real humans and not caricatures. For example, the loan sharks mean business but aren't bloodthirsty. They want their money and do what they have to to collect. Interestingly they seem genuinely pleased with the resolution of their problem. Even the film's "heavy" has the decency to pay due homage to the skill of his nemesis. And once business is concluded personal relationships are renewed. In my mind this is a true classic.

Was the above review useful to you?
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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Does anybody NOT like this movie? asgard-5
Chick Gandil mkaskel-1
open hands tricksoftrade02
Name of the B ook?? alan118552
charles bronson's age OPHeggie
Wasn't John Saxon in this? PanteraRosado
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