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 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Call Him Mr. Shatter")

 

Directed by Michael Carreras and Monte Hellman (uncredited) 

UK / Hong Kong 1975

 

Hammer Films and The Shaw Brothers come together again for an exciting action film! International assassin Shatter (Stuart Whitman, Night of the Lepus, Sands of the Kalahari) completes a contract kill on an African dictator and heads for Hong Kong to collect his payment. But when he finds himself marked for death in a deadly double-cross, the hit man is hunted through the seedy underworld. Now with the help of a kung fu master (Ti Lung, Black Magic), Shatter must take on the international drug syndicate in a final showdown of violence and vengeance! Filmed on location in Hong Kong, Shatter (also known as Call Him Mr. Shatter) was the second and last of Hammer's co-productions with the famed Shaw Brothers studio (The Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires). Cult director Monte Hellman (Two-Lane Blacktop, Cockfighter) was replaced mid-production by producer Michael Carreras who completed this troubled-yet-fascinating action thriller that co-stars Anton Diffring (Circus Of Horrors) and the legendary Peter Cushing in his final Hammer performance.

***

Shatter is a 1975 action film starring Stuart Whitman, Lung Ti, Lily Li, Anton Diffring and Peter Cushing in his last film for Hammer Studios. It was the second and final international co-production between Hammer Studios of England and Shaw Brothers Studio of Hong Kong. The film was shot entirely on location in Hong Kong.

Shatter (Stuart Whitman) is a hitman contracted to kill a dictator in a certain African country. He completes his assignment and returns to Hong Kong to collect his fee, only to learn that he himself is the next target of the assassination because he was intended to be used as a scapegoat by his client for a larger political agenda. Being pursued by various government agencies and gangsters, Shatter seeks help from a master martial artist Tai Pah (Lung Ti) and promise to share half of his fee in exchange for Tai Pah’s protection and assistance to recovering his fee.

Excerpt from Wikipedia located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: March 1975

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Review: Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

CLICK to order from:
Distribution Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:30:29.799        
Video

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 31,286,140,508 bytes

Feature: 27,065,278,464 bytes

Video Bitrate: 36.00 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1644 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1644 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Shout! Factory

 

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 37,471,315,571 bytes

Feature: 30,857,963,520 bytes

Video Bitrate: 31.93 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Audio Commentary With Uncredited Co-director Monte Hellman And Star Stuart Whitman, Moderated By Norman Hill
• World Of Hammer Episode “CHILLER” (24:59)
• Theatrical Trailer (2:31)
• TV Spots (1:02)


 Blu-ray Release Date: April 28th, 2020
 Standard  Blu-ray Case

Chapters 9

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Shout! Factory Blu-ray (May 2020): Shout! Factory have transferred the Hammer / Shaw co-production of Michael Carreras and Monte Hellman's Shatter to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "NEW 2K Scan Of The Uncut Original Film Elements". It looks acceptable but not particularly dynamic with some inconsistency inherent in the source. It's in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. There is depth and pleasing detail in a few close-ups. Overall an unremarkable 1080P image.

On their Blu-ray, Shout! Factory use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language (with some Cantonese). Effects don't carry a ton of depth. There is an action-focused score by David Lindup (1975's The Spiral Staircase starring Jacqueline Bisset), sounding reasonably effective, if generic. Shout! Factory offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Shout! Factory Blu-ray offers an audio commentary with uncredited co-director Monte Hellman and star Stuart Whitman, moderated by Norman Hill originally recorded for the Roan Group laserdisc release of the 90s (96?). It has Hellman discussing what he worked on Shatter for the first three weeks (amusing taking blame for what we are seeing in the beginning), what he and Michael Carreras differed about - what he remembers shooting etc. The Stuart Whitman comments (a few caustic about Shaw - appalling conditions of actors etc.) are inserted, but it is still interesting and reasonably edited. There is also a 25-minute World Of Hammer episode entitled “CHILLER”, a theatrical trailer and TV Spots.

Shatter is Hammer/Shaw but doesn't have the cache of the similarly co-produced The Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires. Shatter is awkward with no flow - a bunch of scenes, some with modestly choreographed kung-fu, pieced together ad-hoc. It has some Peter Cushing (his last Hammer) and the revealing commentary on the Shout! Factory Blu-ray. Not a ton of value but fans may wish to nab this at a reasonable price.

Gary Tooze

 

Menus / Extras

 

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Box Cover

CLICK to order from:
Distribution Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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