This lowbudget, carefully crafted portrait of a hit man on assignment in manhattan during christmastime follows its strippeddown narrative with mechanical precision, yet also with an eye and ear for the oddball idiosyncrasies of urban living and the imposing beauty of the city. That said, blast of silence never rises to the level of the better film noir works, perhaps due in part to the rather bland performances. A llen barons stark, moody blast of silence 1961 is a movie of many strange distinctions. Accompanied by an absolutely classic noir narration that you have to hear to believe, this is pure bliss for lovers of cigarettes, fedoras, and big black sedans. Blast of silence 1961 in the relatively short amount of time that people have been talking about allen barons blast of silence 1960, the longunseen but recently resurfaced film noir footnote has been compared to everything from early godard to vintage scorsese, with a.
The film also stars molly mccarthy, larry tucker, and peter clume. It was produced by merrill brody, who was also the cinematographer. A deadeyed mob hit man reaches the end of the line at christmastime. The jazzy score, early 60s style, matches the narration perfectly, and the action, when it occurs, is usually dispassionate and ugly. At 17, he joined the navy during the tail end of world war ii, then completed art school and worked as a comic book artist. Blast of silence 1961 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Blast of silence 1961 in the relatively short amount of time that people have been talking about allen barons blast of silence 1960, the longunseen but recently resurfaced film noir footnote has been compared to everything from early godard to vintage scorsese, with a jigger of neorealismo thrown into the mix.
His criticallyacclaimed film noir is discussed in his newly released memoir, blast of silence. Allen barons lowbudget 1961 film noir, blast of silence which i discuss in this. This lowbudget, carefully crafted portrait of a hitman on assignment in manhattan during christmastime follows its strippeddown narrative with mechanical precision, yet also with an eye and ear for the oddball idiosyncrasies of urban living and the. While there, the two men minister to the christian villagers who worship in secret. As most movie fans know, film noir is the cinematic genre that encompasses dark and gritty. Blast of silence dvd the kansas city public library. Bono is recognized by an acquaintance from the orphanage he was raised in who invites him to a christmas. Blast of silence features a distinctive and highly dramatic secondperson narration read by lionel stander whose name does not appear in the credits. Amazing stories, the hbo film the second civil war, the masters of horror titles homecoming and the screwfly solution, and episodes of eerie, indiana, csi. Allen baron directed the cult classic 1961 film, blast of silence, and went on to have a successful 25year career in hollywood and television. The quality of the film stock varies pretty radically from shot to shot. One thing missing is an audio commentary by allen baron, which the german dvd release has, but criterion has made up for this by including an interesting onehour documentary entitled requiem for a killer. Filmed on a less than zero budget with the director also acting as the protagonist, baby boy frankie bono.
Once threaded, the glove has the power to transform the motorcycle azman robotic armor. Ny, hawaii 50, witches of east end, legends of tomorrow and salem. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing blast of silence near you. In the end, blast of silence is still recommended, as it is solid, little seen picture. A supplemental booklet features a wellwritten remembrance by highclass film critic terrence rafferty. Richard brody on allen barons blast of silence 1961. Part of the movie was shot during the middle of a real hurricane the wind seen during the fistfight is not. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address. Jun 26, 20 at 17, he joined the navy during the tail end of world war ii, then completed art school and worked as a comic book artist. Blast of silence has been a wannasee curiosity for years, ever since it showed up in the first edition of the silverward film noir. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. Allen barons low budget 1961 film noir, blast of silence which i discuss in this.
Read the full synopsis of blast of silence, 1961, directed by allen baron, with allen baron, molly mccarthy, larry tucker, at turner classic movies. This is the sort of movie, unique but out of sync with its time, that criterion practically exists to rescue. Allen barons new york city noir blast of silence is a sensational surprise. Blast of silence dvd hennepin county library bibliocommons. Although a very low budget film, it gained him entrance into the world of hollywood and international fame. Sep 11, 2017 azman is a young boy who falls on a day on a stuffed glove nanotechnology.
For a nobudget film shot on location in new york city on the sly with a nonactor in the lead role, there is a grand, existential audacity to allen barons blast of silence. Blast of silence 1961 movie summary and film synopsis. Set in nagasaki, japan, the film was shot in taiwan, using studios in taipei and taichung and locations in hualien county. Bono is recognized by an acquaintance from the orphanage he was raised in who invites him to a christmas party. In 1959, baron was an occasional actor and former comic book artist who ambitiously wanted to try his hand at making a. He there from cleveland to kill the mobster, troiano for money. The film looks like it may have been shot, in part, using short ends.
Azman is a young boy who falls on a day on a stuffed glove nanotechnology. Bleak, pessimistic and gritty, with similarities to irving lerners murder by contract. But a special girl from his past, and a fat gun dealer with pet rats, each gets in his way. A hired killer from cleveland has a job to do on a secondstring mob boss in new york. The full frame, blackandwhite picture on the blast of silence criterion collection dvd is remarkable. Swift, brutal, and blackhearted, allen barons new york city noir blast of silence is a sensational surprise. The package also includes a gritty fourpage comic book adaptation by sean phillips, which does a nice job of taking some moments from blast of silence back to their graphic roots. The official webstore of almighty blast of silence records. A hardboiled hitman arrives in new york to do a job, but he runs into an old friend from his orphanage who has a sister, and soon hes questioning his grim profession. Somewhere between film noir and the sopranos lies blast of silence, a concise, compelling psychological portrait of a lowlevel hitman, shot in 1961 on a shoestring budget with new york city grit.
Somewhere between film noir and the sopranos lies blast of silence. As well as directing and starring in blast of silence, baron also wrote the original screenplay. Criterion gives this film a small but decent release in terms of supplements. New dvds include blast of silence, inside and juno. Professional killer frankie bono returns after an apparent absence to manhattan during the christmas season to assassinate the gangster troiano. Its also terrific to see the streets of manhattan as they actually were in the 1960s. Mantera film complet en francais science fiction, action. If a more skilled cast could have been assembled, who knows how good this could have been. Written, directed, and starring allen baron as the main hero, the film tells the story of a hitman named frankie bono, who comes to new york city during christmas time in order to carry out a contract on a lowtier mobster.
Written, directed, and starring allen baron as the main hero, the film tells the story of a hitman named frankie bono, who comes to new york city during christmas time in order to carry out a. Blast of silence is a 1961 american neonoir film written, directed by, and starring allen baron. You were born in pain, a voiceover announces over the black screen that opens writerdirectorstar allen barons 1961 film blast of silence. Finally retrieved from undeserved obscurity, allen barons 1961 shoestring feature debut is one of the seminal new york city movies. Oct 10, 2014 allen baron and the making of blast of silence. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central. The fact that baron and merrill and the rest got theirs done, putting together a onetwo punch of a film, is illustration enough of what that means. Its among the last of the true film noirs, those fatalistic blackandwhite urban crime dramas that darkened the american screen so gloriously in the years after world war ii. Blast of silence dvd jefferson county public library. A teaser and clip has surfaced for the rather experimental film buried. It was written and directed by allen baron and produced by merrill brody, who was also the cinematographer.
Arguably, allen barons blast of silence 1961 is one of the very best film noirs in cinema history. You were born with hate and anger built in, it continues as it becomes clear that this ugly telling of the film s protagonists birth accompanies a point of view shot of a train emerging from a tunnel. Bono is a loner and intends to avoid any unnecessary human contact while planning the murder of his victim. You were born with hate and anger built in, it continues as it becomes clear that this ugly telling of the films protagonists birth accompanies a pointofview shot of a train emerging from a tunnel. Blast of silence 2003 cast and crew a hit man allen baron comes to new york to kill a gangster and gets the gun from a big guy larry tucker with a beard. The film also stars molly mccarthy, larry tucker, and peter. Blast of silence begins with frankie bono who is a lonerhitman. Allen barons documentary style noir, blast of silence has no business being as entertaining and groundbreaking as it is. Clocking in at a taut 77 minutes, the film was shot in late 1959 and 1960. Apr 14, 2008 a llen barons stark, moody blast of silence 1961 is a movie of many strange distinctions. However, this is not an easy job, and the man who hires frank warns him that if troiano or his men spot him before the hit, they will rescind the contract. Blast of silence is a textbook on how to kill a motherfucker dead.
Too often, we act as if the notion of american independent film had been born with the sundance film festival around 1985. Though blast of silence is not quite what i would consider to be true film noir, its grubby, greasy, cynical, little story about thugs, ruffians and lowlifes certainly had its fair share of entertaining moments. Swift, brutal, and blackhearted, allen barons masterful and underseen new york city noir, blast of silence, is a sensational surprise. Please subscribe my channel blast of silence is an american crimethriller film released in 1961.
A film i have yet to see but have just requested off of netflix, departures won the award for best foreign film at the 2009 oscars. If caught by feudal lords or ruling samurai, they must renounce their faith or face a prolonged and. A gritty crime film about lonely professional hit man frank bono allen baron, blast of silence is interesting in its meticulous detail of the killers work, a device that has been used in. Watch the front row blast of silence the new yorker video.
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