The Stone Killer
The Stone Killer
R | 08 August 1973 (USA)
The Stone Killer Trailers

A Los Angeles detective is sent to New York where he must solve a case involving an old Sicilian Mafia family feud.

Reviews
MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant
Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
Andy Howlett I liked this film, despite being a bit thrown by the jumpy, confused directing of (I presume) Michael Winner. Bronson is good, as are all the actors playing the major characters. But I think I got most pleasure from the mob-style Fedora hats that almost everyone seemed to be obliged to wear perched high on their heads. Surely by 1973, this style of headgear was way out of date? It looked vaguely ridiculous but at least it kept me amused. There was a 'Dirty Harry' vibe about the film and some of Roy Budd's music was quite close in style to that of Lalo Schifrin. Overall, an enjoyable film but maybe not because of the story.
Caio Rearte No 3D, graphics effects gizmos for this one!!!!The best car vs motorcycle chase, in history. A helicopter chase. And a real, based-on-real-facts, story to boot. Charles Bronson. Murder and high speed chases. Big, fat cars of the 70's. And this thing is a 6.2? And that BS about Batman getting ****ed in the financial markets gets an 8?You know that's BS. So pick this one up. The Stone Killer. Short, straight to the point. And the real story is ever better. I'm sorry but I have to pay attention to this incredible movie. I'm sorry if there were any typos. Forget about writing. Just watch this movie, now.
Jakealope But this is just lame. Director Winner and Bronson worked together a lot. They made "Death Wish" which was so much better. They were trying to capture the Dirty Harry zeitgeist but the plot was just too convoluted and ridiculous. A complicated revenge murder plot where old Mafia types wait forty years and use Vietnam vets to kill new Mafia types is just pulp. Stuart Margolin, how usually plays flaky side guys, is the head commando, & Martin Balsam is the head mafia dude, sheesh. It wasn't a horrible flick, But don't spend any money or go out of your way to watch it. It is on Crackle as of 04/06/2014 so you can watch it for free. Even the ending was so pointlessly ambiguous with Bronson and his crusty boss Fell sitting in an unmarked police car with Bronson telling some pointless joke concerning Romans, Christians and lions in the coliseum while head mafia dude Balsam walks out of confession in a NYC church 2500 miles away from LA. WDF??
dougdoepke It's slam-bang action from rat-a-tat-tat opening to shoot-em-up close. Throughout, Bronson remains his usual deadpan self. As detective Torrey he's on to something big that starts out with small-timer crooks like Jumper and the bi-sexual Langley but leads to the biggest of the big boys. In the process, action jumps back and forth between New York and LA. One thing for sure, this is definitely not a date flick. No romance for Bronson or anyone. In fact, women are hardly even glimpsed at all. Instead, the screen gets clogged with a bunch of ugly guys. Nevertheless, for guys in the audience, it's edge of the seat the whole way.That car chase through LA rivals the big one in Bullitt (1968). Except when Torrey plows through the outdoor bazaar, flinging debris in all directions, I'm wondering where the people are and whether our stone-face cop gives a darn or not. Anyway, I don't think they teach that kind of drive at the police academy. One thing for sure, Torrey's one determined gumshoe. The whole sequence is staged in ultimate slam-bang fashion by director Winner.In fact, Winner stages the whole movie in quick, short shots that include glimpses of the hippie zeitgeist of the time. Happily, the script is a good one that progresses in a single-minded fashion that jibes with Winner's style. Thus plot momentum builds effectively. So why then is the movie relatively obscure in the Bronson catalog. My guess is because of the unrelenting violence and therefore limited audience appeal. Of course, the results never rise above well done thick-ear. But for Bronson fans and action fans in general, the movie really delivers the goods.