The Hit

United Kingdom

1984

98 Min

Color

1.77:1

English

Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
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CAST Terence Stamp, John Hurt, Tim Roth, Laura del Sol, Bill Hunter, Fernando Rey, Jim Broadbent, Willoughby Gray, Manuel de Benito, Juan Calot

SOUND Paul Le Mare

Cannes (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs), Toronto (Tribute to Stephen Frears)

Synopsis

Terence Stamp is Willie, a gangster’s henchman turned “supergrass” (informer) trying to live in peaceful hiding in a remote Spanish village. Sun-dappled bliss turns to nerve-racking suspense, however, when two hit men—played by a soulless John Hurt and a youthful, loose-cannon Tim Roth—come a-calling to bring Willie back for execution. This stylish early gem from Stephen Frears boasts terrific performances from a roster of England’s best hard-boiled actors and ravishing photography of its desolate Spanish locations—a splendid backdrop for a rather sordid story. —The Criterion Collection

Director

Stephen Frears

Frears was born in Leicester, England to an Anglican father and a Jewish mother. Attended the Trinity College in Cambridge before starting his carreer in television where he contributed to several high-profile series such as the BBC’s Play for Today. In the mid-1980s he came to prominence as an important director of British and later American films. It was his production of the one-off drama My Beautiful Laundrette for Channel 4 in 1985 that led to his notice as a capable film director when the production was released theatrically to great acclaim. He next directed another successful British film, the Joe Orton biopic Prick Up Your Ears in 1987, followed by a second film from a Hanif Kureshi screen play, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. The following year he made his Hollywood debut with Dangerous Liaisons. Frears had another critical success with The Grifters, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director but suffered a major box office disappointment with Hero, starring… read more

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NenaNadine

1May13

A mobster movie that takes on the fear of dying. Interesting ending makes it worth it.

Pierluigi Puccini

22Apr13

Antagonizing conceptions of life and death among criminals. An stylish and multi-layered examination of that moment of truth, of coming to terms with the vague but terrifying notion of parting this world. Fantastic performances by the leading triad. Probably Frears' best and most underrated cinematic venture.