SHATTER
(aka CALL HIM MR. SHATTER) (1974)Directors: Monte Hellman, Michael Carreras
Anchor Bay Entertainment
SHATTER
(aka CALL HIM MR. SHATTER) (1974)SHATTER was part of a three-picture
deal (only two were actually produced) that Hammer Films made with Hong Kong's
The Shaw Brothers. The Shaw Brothers were the leading producers of Martial Arts
films at the time, and there first collaboration with Hammer brought on THE
LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES, a successful fusion of kung fu and Dracula/vampire
themes. SHATTER was more or less a straight action film with martial arts tossed
in as 
a
selling point.
Stuart Whitman (who was also Amicus'
first choice for the lead in THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT) plays Shatter, a middle-aged
American hitman who kills an African leader and his assistant during the bloody
pre-credit sequence. Shatter flies to Hong Kong, at which point we are introduced
to his "wah wah"-beated funky theme song ("Shatter... Shatter...").
It's there that he expects to collect his payment for the job, but what he finds
out is that he wasn't hired by the U.S. Government, but rather the mob. Now
it seems like everyone in Hong Kong is out to do in Shatter, so he teams up
with a good-hearted kung 
fu
expert (Ti Lung) and his "massage" artist sister (Lily Li as Shatter's
love interest) to get some answers and collect his dough.
Filmed entirely in Hong Kong without
the benefit of a studio, SHATTER has an undeserved bad reputation mostly from
disgruntled Hammer fans only obsessed with the studio's gothic horror endeavors.
While flawed and sometimes looking uninspired, the film still has plenty of
action and the Hong Kong streets provide a nice setting for the espionage. Despite
often being called tired-looking in the role, Stuart Whitman is perfectly cast
as Shatter, a likable but rugged loner who can be calm and cool one minute,
and vicious and vengeful the next
.
In a "special guest" role, Peter Cushing (in his last Hammer feature) plays a slimy British secret service agent suitably called Ratcliff. Wearing a trenchcoat and for a change not donning a flowing hairpiece, Cushing does the most with the small, undemanding part, playing him sarcastically nasty and sucking on candy balls rather than his trademark cigarette (his intense interaction with Whitman is a highlight). Villainous vet Anton Diffring is a crooked banker, and you just have to look at him to know he's up to no good. Ti Lung shows off his skills in several fight scenes (sans the usual chop-socky wailing and sound effects), and although they're well done, it's more or less affable fluff to keep things lively.
Anchor
Bay's DVD transfer of SHATTER has well-saturated colors that are very bold,
and the source print is in near flawless condition. There is an ample amount
of grain evident in the picture from time to time, but it's nothing that distracting.
It's presented in its theatrical ratio of 1.85:1 with Anamorphic enhancement.
The mono sound is efficient and non-problematic. Since Anchor Bay's transfer
was taken from the British source, it's missing a few seconds that were present
in the American theatrical version of the film (released by Avco Embassy in
1976). During a dockside fight, missing is a segment where a thug gets shot
and spits out a gush of blood, followed by another one getting a hook in his
ches
t,
dying while hanging from it.
An audio commentary (originally
recorded several years ago for the Roan Group laserdisc release) with cult director
Monte Hellman (moderated by Norman Hill) is intercut with comments by star Stuart
Whitman. Hellman was the original director and left after three works due to
a dispute which point producer Michael Carreras, who then took over. Although
he was believed to have only shot a modest portion of the film, Hellman points
out all the stuff he did shoot, and this accounts for about 80% of what's on
the screen. Hellman never discloses what the feud was really all about, but
he cordially discusses his contributions to 
SHATTER,
and goes into many other assets of his career as well. Whitman's comments share
the other half of the track, and his fun anecdotes gives you the impression
that you could sit in a bar with him and talk movies for hours. Whitman even
admits to having a habit of "partying" too much on the nights before
shooting, and he generally lets on that he had a great time making the film.
Other extras on the disc include a U.K. trailer, two different U.S. TV spots (under the title CALL HIM MR. SHATTER), and an episode of "World of Hammer" entitled "Chiller" (although the disc's menu says "Thriller" which is actually more appropriate). Hosted by the late, great Oliver Reed, the episode unveils scenes from SHATTER and other Hammer "thrillers" from the 1950s up until the 1984 "Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense" episode, "Czech Mate" with Susan George. (George R. Reis)