Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing blast of silence near you. Bleak, pessimistic and gritty, with similarities to irving lerners murder by contract. Swift, brutal, and blackhearted, allen barons new york city noir blast of silence is a sensational surprise. But a special girl from his past, and a fat gun dealer with pet rats, each gets in his way. In 1959, baron was an occasional actor and former comic book artist who. 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. Allen barons low budget 1961 film noir, blast of silence which i discuss in this.
Set in nagasaki, japan, the film was shot in taiwan, using studios in taipei and taichung and locations in hualien county. As well as directing and starring in blast of silence, baron also wrote the original screenplay. He there from cleveland to kill the mobster, troiano for money. 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. The japanese film apparently follows a newly unemployed cellist who accepts a job preparing the dead for their funerals. Blast of silence is a textbook on how to kill a motherfucker dead. Two 17thcentury portuguese missionaries, father sebastian rodrigues andrew garfield and father francisco garupe adam driver, embark on a perilous journey to japan to find their missing mentor liam neeson. 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. Blast of silence dvd the kansas city public library. In 1959, baron was an occasional actor and former comic book artist who ambitiously wanted to try his hand at making a.
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 begins with frankie bono who is a lonerhitman. Apr 14, 2008 a llen barons stark, moody blast of silence 1961 is a movie of many strange distinctions. With allen baron, molly mccarthy, larry tucker, peter clune. 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. Haunting, remote, and workmanlike, blast of silence may be the only film ive ever seen with a trip on the station island ferry in which i expected a tumbleweed to flit across the deck. Silence is a 2016 epic historical drama film directed by martin scorsese and with a screenplay by jay cocks and scorsese, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by shusaku endo. 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. Allen barons new york city noir blast of silence is a sensational surprise. 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. 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. His criticallyacclaimed film noir is discussed in his newly released memoir, blast of silence.
Blast of silence has been a wannasee curiosity for years, ever since it showed up in the first edition of the silverward film noir. 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. Blast of silence 1961 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Blast of silence is an absolutely crackling downanddirty 90 minutes of gritty new york streets, twobit hoodlums, and sleazy bars. Arguably, allen barons blast of silence 1961 is one of the very best film noirs in cinema history. 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. The film also stars molly mccarthy, larry tucker, and peter.
The quality of the film stock varies pretty radically from shot to shot. Please subscribe my channel blast of silence is an american crimethriller film released in 1961. A llen barons stark, moody blast of silence 1961 is a movie of many strange distinctions. Watch the front row blast of silence the new yorker video. Somewhere between film noir and the sopranos lies blast of silence. Swift, brutal, and blackhearted, allen barons masterful and underseen new york city noir, blast of silence, is a sensational surprise. Bono is a loner and intends to avoid any unnecessary human contact while planning the murder of his victim. Professional killer frankie bono returns after an apparent absence to manhattan during the christmas season to assassinate the gangster troiano. Allen barons documentary style noir, blast of silence has no business being as entertaining and groundbreaking as it is. Bono is recognized by an acquaintance from the orphanage he was raised in who invites him to a christmas. You were born in pain, a voiceover announces over the black screen that opens writerdirectorstar allen barons 1961 film blast of silence. 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.
Finally retrieved from undeserved obscurity, allen barons 1961 shoestring feature debut is one of the seminal new york city movies. If caught by feudal lords or ruling samurai, they must renounce their faith or face a prolonged and. It was written and directed by allen baron and produced by merrill brody, who was also the cinematographer. Oct 10, 2014 allen baron and the making of blast of silence. Blast of silence dvd jefferson county public library. 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 many crime films since.
New dvds include blast of silence, inside and juno. Blast of silence is a 1961 american neonoir film written, directed by, and starring allen baron. Allen baron directed the cult classic 1961 film, blast of silence, and went on to have a successful 25year career in hollywood and television. Blast of silence features a distinctive and highly dramatic secondperson narration read by lionel stander whose name does not appear in the credits. 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. Its also terrific to see the streets of manhattan as they actually were in the 1960s. Filmed on a less than zero budget with the director also acting as the protagonist, baby boy frankie bono. While there, the two men minister to the christian villagers who worship in secret. The official webstore of almighty blast of silence records. A hired killer from cleveland has a job to do on a secondstring mob boss in new york. Richard brody on allen barons blast of silence 1961. 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. Too often, we act as if the notion of american independent film had been born with the sundance film festival around 1985.
The jazzy score, early 60s style, matches the narration perfectly, and the action, when it occurs, is usually dispassionate and ugly. 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. If a more skilled cast could have been assembled, who knows how good this could have been. As most movie fans know, film noir is the cinematic genre that encompasses dark and gritty. Read the full synopsis of blast of silence, 1961, directed by allen baron, with allen baron, molly mccarthy, larry tucker, at turner classic movies. Criterion gives this film a small but decent release in terms of supplements. Sep 11, 2017 azman is a young boy who falls on a day on a stuffed glove nanotechnology. A supplemental booklet features a wellwritten remembrance by highclass film critic terrence rafferty. Bono is recognized by an acquaintance from the orphanage he was raised in who invites him to a christmas party. It was produced by merrill brody, who was also the cinematographer.
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. From the looks of the teaser, the film, which is on the 2010 sundance roster, has an obvious claustrophobic feel. The full frame, blackandwhite picture on the blast of silence criterion collection dvd is remarkable. In the end, blast of silence is still recommended, as it is solid, little seen picture.
Although a very low budget film, it gained him entrance into the world of hollywood and international fame. 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. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address. Part of the movie was shot during the middle of a real hurricane the wind seen during the fistfight is not. Azman is a young boy who falls on a day on a stuffed glove nanotechnology.
Blast of silence dvd hennepin county library bibliocommons. Allen then became a film director by way of writing, directing, and starring in the 1961 film blast of silence. 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 looks like it may have been shot, in part, using short ends. 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.
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. Once threaded, the glove has the power to transform the motorcycle azman robotic armor. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. 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 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. A deadeyed mob hit man reaches the end of the line at christmastime. A teaser and clip has surfaced for the rather experimental film buried. 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. Mantera film complet en francais science fiction, action. 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. 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.
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