Shatter

Collaborating for the second and final time, Hammer Studios and Shaw Brothers Studios again tap into the martial arts market for this watchable crime fiction that has the benefit of being filmed entirely in Hong Kong. Stuart Whitman ("The Mark") stars as the title character, a hitman who completes a job in Africa, assassinating a dictator. Then he goes to HK to collect payment from a weaselly banker named Hans Leber (Anton Diffring, "Circus of Horrors"), and of course the guy reneges on the deal. Shatter must take it on the lam, being unable to trust most people. However, he does receive crucial assistance from Kung Fu expert Tai Pah (Lung Ti) and masseuse Mai-Mee (Lily Li). The story goes that this was a very troubled production, with Hammer producer and sometime director Michael Carreras ("The Lost Continent") stepping in to replace original director Monte Hellman, the American cult-favorite filmmaker who made such classics as "Two-Lane Blacktop" and "Cockfighter". This, after Hellman had already shot *at least* half of the picture. Given its problems, it's fortunate that the finished product manages to tell a reasonably coherent story, although it's required of special guest star Peter Cushing (wonderful as always) to utter quite a bit of exposition. Even then, Shatter doesn't know the whole story until the movie is almost over. The action scenes are very well done, in any event, with Lung Ti showing off great athleticism and having a relaxed presence on screen. Whitman is fine as usual, Li is simply adorable, the great German actor Diffring is appropriately slimy, and Cushing remains a delight. Several Shaw Brothers players, Li and Lung Ti among them, have roles large and small. The movie is full of HK sights and sounds, possessing a very exotic appeal, and also has a jaunty score composed by David Lindup. While not as invigorating as "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires", this entertains its audience fairly well. Fans of both Hammer and the Shaw brothers will want to see it for curiosity's sake. Six out of 10.

source: Shatter

It takes failure to find success - - 10/10 for a film that has had every bit stripped away for ideas found in many, many other films to follow. Besides that it's a great Hammer film (not Hollywood pretentiousness) with a real natural, honest gritty feel to it. Hong looks run down as ever, and Peter Cushing is brilliantly British rattling off dialogue as only he can. Nice one liners. Stewart Whitman looks like he will Shatter at any moment and his face has more lines than shattered crystals. So much the better for it adds more realism. Kung fu scenes are super pro- gives Bruce Lee (love him) a real run for his money. There is even a Kung Fu fighting academy with Thai and Japanese martial arts. Wicked. The fighting looks real, not that fake Jackie Chan BS with all the obnoxious squealing. The ending? Shattered.

An ageing assassin acts in Africa then goes to claim his payment for the killing from a Hong Kong banker but falls foul of the syndicate instead. A decent enough thick-ear with lots of martial arts, as this was a Hammer/Shaw Brothers co-production, and filmed colourfully on location in Hong Kong. Stuart Whitman growls as Shatter adequately. Even better are Peter Cushing as a cynical security chief called Rattwood, Anton Diffring as the perfidious paymaster Hans Leber and the great Ti Lung as Shatter's bodyguard Tai Pah. The latter three keep the movie interesting. Familiar actors from the Hong Kong film industry, many uncredited, pop up now and then. Music composer David Lindup proves he isn't Lalo Schifrin. Easy to watch and easy to forget.

1974's "Call Him Mr. Shatter" was nearly the last gasp for Britain's renowned Hammer Films, followed as it was by only three more titles and a pair of 13 episode teleseries. Second of a two picture deal with Hong Kong's Shaw brothers, preceded by "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires," its lone returning cast member being Peter Cushing, in a sad finale to a sterling run at Hammer that began with the 1957 classic "The Curse of Frankenstein" (completing one episode of HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR in 1980, "The Silent Scream"). Stuart Whitman stars in the title role, that of a professional assassin whose latest successful hit, the president of a (fictitious) African nation, results in his payment deferred by recalcitrant international banker Hans Leber (Anton Diffring). Not keen on losing $100,000, Shatter quickly learns that it was neither the US nor Britain that actually hired him, but the drug syndicate that found the president's lookalike brother a better fit for their nefarious needs. Paul Rattwood (Cushing), British security agent in Hong Kong, advises Shatter to leave or sacrifice his health, but with support from martial artist Tai Pah (Li Tung) and sister Mai-Mee (Lily Li), plays off both Rattwood and Leber for greater financial gain, ultimately left no choice but to remain in Hong Kong for the rest of his life. The opening builds nicely through Cushing's introduction 21 minutes in, then goes into a slumber as over a half hour of staged kung fu fights stops the plot dead in its tracks. The choreography is fine, but none of the blows actually hit their targets, the stunts consisting of men simply leaping or falling (no match for Bruce Lee's authenticity). Any film that requires its audience to root for a professional hit man for hire is asking quite a bit, so its really Cushing's three scenes, and Diffring's solid evil presence that truly keep it from sinking completely. Cushing's cynical character initially comes off as quite villainous and never really shakes that image, even when he come through at the end with Shatter's final remuneration. Despite its reputation, it remains quite watchable, perhaps due more to director Monte Hellman's yeoman efforts, filming roughly 80% of the finished film before being unceremoniously dumped toward the end of shooting by Hammer producer Michael Carreras, who took sole directorial credit (he'd been hired because of his familiarity with the location).

So shooting this might have been a mess (according to the people involved that is, as they tell us in the audio commentary), but it's still more than fun to watch. So it's Hammer and Shaw Brothers in connection. Actually as the filmmakers reveal Shaw Brothers gave Hammer permission to use their equipment and personell. Which wasn't exactly what they delivered. Now this seems something to dig your teeth into and find out more about (I might do some further research myself on a later date), but what is fascinating, that the movie still kinda works. All the trials and tribulations, all the sticks and stones thrown into their way, everything that made it more difficult to complete the movie ... and still they got their movie done. And the fight scenes (with a Shaw Brothers regular to complete a rather odd couple -Stuart Whitmann and Tung Li that is) are quite something. The movie overall has dated and you can feel this is from a different era ... but it is fun to watch and isn't that what it's about after all?

SHATTER is Hammer's second attempt at a Hong Kong-backed movie after the cult classic that is LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES. Whilst not an inherently enjoyable film like the former, SHATTER is a mildly interesting diversion with a good enough cast to make it worthwhile. Although the film has a fair few slow patches where the interest wanes through lack of action, generally the plot, which concerns a hit-man trying to collect his fee, is engaging and the action realistic. This isn't a James Bond-style adventure as the title might suggest; the movie strives for realism over comic book style and the result is a gritty, downbeat, sporadically exciting foray into the world of the international thriller. The unconventional lead is played by Stuart Whitman, who enjoyed a brief status as a leading action man in the 1970s after he appeared in this and some Italian thrillers. Whitman is hardly an athletic hero, but his hang dog looks and his steely determination go part way in letting the audience empathise with his character's situation. Things begin with some stock footage of African race riots and moves into a bloody assassination scene, where Whitman uses a gun disguised as a camera to take care of his contract! From then on we see him hiding out in a seedy Hong Kong hotel room and biding time while he tries to figure things out. SHATTER isn't a film which shows Hong Kong in a very good light – in fact the film has a sleazy, depressing atmosphere and the crowded setting only makes things worse. Whitman visits his German contact Hans Luber (played by genre favourite Anton Diffring) but is unable to collect his fee, and instead finds himself beaten up by violent policemen. These two scenes highlight two excellent cameo performances. The first is Diffring's; the typically sinister character of Luber is a great role to play and Diffring is his usual snide, evil self in the part. Secondly we have Peter Cushing in the role of Paul Rattwood, which is more like an extended cameo. Rattwood is an official in the secret police and a rather nasty character who knows more than he lets on and who keeps a gang of thugs under his command. Cushing is of course excellent in the role and gets some nicely sharp-tongued dialogue to himself; but sadly this proved to be his last role for Hammer Studios and a rather inconspicuous swan song for the golden age actor. Still, the moments when he is on screen sparkle and he seems to be enjoying himself, which is enough for me. Whitman moves into a seedy massage parlour/restaurant owned by Ti Lung, at the same time beginning a tragic romance with Lily Li who works there. The rest of the film shows him basically hanging out and eventually doing a trade with Diffring (an unbearably suspenseful scene), who wants the top secret documents in Whitman's possession. But the treacherous Diffring betrays our down-at-heel hero, leading to an action-packed finale where Whitman and Lung storm the enemy's retreat. Most of the action towards the end of this film focuses on Lung, who is portrayed as a young, unstoppable martial arts hero in the line of Bruce Lee. Lung is a tour-de-force in the action stakes and the scenes of him fighting are tremendously exciting and violent. Lily Li is also pretty good as Mai, although she doesn't get to fight in this movie. SHATTER isn't a very engaging movie, but the direction is solid, there is enough action and gore to satisfy the male crowd, and the cast alone makes it worthwhile. Don't be fooled, this is no classic, but it remains watchable enough if you're in the right mood.

Stuart Whitman was a good choice to play the burly and rough-edged hitman of the movie, but it's a pity that he doesn't get much of substance to do. The main fault is a slow-moving screenplay; after the first 20 minutes, it takes about half an hour before things really start to move again, and even after that point things don't really move that much faster. The various action scenes are only okay at best. Though the behind-the-scenes problems the movie suffered from don't make for any real glaring problems, there are still some notable holes here and there. However, the movie does give us a really scenic tour of early 1970s Hong Kong; if you are curious about what it was like to live there back then, the movie may be worth a look.

Michael Carreras and Monte Hellman co-directed this crime/Kung Fu hybrid that stars Stuart Whitman as Shatter, an international hit man in Hong Kong who, after killing an African leader, finds himself double-crossed by his employers, and now forced to go on the run not only from them, but the police and the family of the African leader he killed. How can he survive this mess? Peter Cushing costars in a brief role. Perfectly awful film has nothing going for it; unappealing characters, uninteresting story, silly action scenes, and wastes Peter Cushing in his last film for Hammer studios. Only reason to watch this is if you're forced to buy the double-feature DVD for the other film!

The last film the classic Hammer made, Shatter was also their second film with the Shaw Brothers after The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires. Directed by Michael Carreras (The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb). It starts Stuart Whitman as Shatter, a hitman who is in the midst of international chaos after killing an African leader and heading back to Hong Kong. Shatter then learns that he is the next target, as he's being used by his client for a political agenda. He enlists the help of a martial artist named Tai Pah for help against the many killers coming his way. This is Peter Cushing's 23rd and final Hammer film. His scenes were shot by Monte Hellman (Cockfighter, Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!). Lung Ti, who plated Tai Pah, would go on to appear in A Better Tomorrow and Legend of Drunken Master. Anton Diffring (The Iguana With the Tongue of Fire) is the bad guy. This was intended to be a TV series, but it never really even makes sense as a regular movie. Oh well - it has some fun parts at least.