THE MECHANIK / THE RUSSIAN SPECIALIST (Dolph Lundgren, 2005)

[alex.sp89]

I meant the same thing. Mostly in DVD era Pal system worked better in video and audio quality than DVD NTSC. In HD this doesn't have importance on quality anymore. But I still noticed many European HD Blu Rays are 25 fps. It is time to have one universal 23,97 fps on all Blu Rays. to me it is more correct when video runs closer to film frame rate -24 fps. U are right 1080i is percepted as 720p by many people on forums if I understood it right.. We need this 23,97 fps everywere, because sometimes it is so hard to deal with audio tracks on video files when u want to add a dubbed audio or multi voices tracks from different languages from all other the world.
I hate when today many channels and movies are made on 60 fps. It is so weird looking to me. Unnatural like i shoot on my home camera...

[savagesketch]

Special interview episode of the show has arrived, this time chatting with Bryan Edward Hill, the writer of THE RUSSIAN SPECIALIST / THE MECHANIK! Enjoy!

https://imustbreakthispodcast.wordpress ... -mechanik/

As always, please feel free to rate and review the show on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever else you go to subscribe!

[Jox]

Some anecdotes I didn't know!

[Jox]

[Jox]

Available in HD on AppleTV Australia
https://www.blu-ray.com/itunes/The-Mech ... es/189687/
https://tv.apple.com/au/movie/umc.cmc.4 ... xovrcvmydk

[Jox]

https://twitter.com/punisher_book/statu ... 9080566788

Hilluminati @bryanedwardhill

My first gig!

And yes, @Dolph_Lundgren was the Goddamn coolest. I barely knew what I was doing back then and he was incredibly patient with how green I was and was supportive the entire time.

Larry Bernard @karasoth
Would you like to reunite with Dolph....take advantage of your new skill?

Hilluminati @bryanedwardhill
Oh, for sure. Working on a thing now that I might bring his way. He’s just an awesome dude. Everything you would hope he would be in a collaboration.

[Jox]

The Ultimate Nu Image Countdown
https://www.bulletproofaction.com/2023/ ... countdown/

Saurav Dutt: Just as Dolph Lundgren was on the precipice of stumbling into Seagal straight-to-DVD mediocrity, he pulls out a scorcher with this brutal, low-budget affair that takes action back to its basics-and which he directs too. We see Lundgren present a more involved style to his acting, brutal and bloody beatdowns that make the most of the budget, as well as nasty villains we’re rooting against to get brutalised. Lundgren is ably complemented by British actor Ben Cross in his quest for vengeance in a neat little potboiler that restores faith in the Dolph brand after a few ropey efforts that showed lack of commitment and imagination. You’ll get the action bloodlust you need with this one with some gory kills too amidst the explosive gunplay. This one is also known as The Russian Specialist.

[Jox]

Essential Films from The Expendables 4 Cast by Tom Jolliffe
https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2023/09/ ... es-4-cast/

Dolph Lundgren – The Mechanik



Dolph Lundgren, as well as being an action titan with a long line of carnage-infused films, former chemical engineer, karate champ and ex-boyfriend of Grace Jones, also happens to be a director. Few outside of Lundgren aficionado clubs will know this of course, but he’s directed a number of pictures since his directorial debut in 2004’s, The Defender (which featured the late Jerry Springer playing the president). Most recently was Castle Falls, a decent Assault on Precinct 13 riff, co-starring Scott Adkins.

His best directorial work remains his sophomore effort, The Mechanik. It’s a 70s-style, brutal revenge thriller that sees Lundgren channelling his inner Eastwood as both a performer and restrained director. The film, coming during a period where the direct-to-video action circuit seemed almost permanently camped in Eastern Europe (often used to double New York unconvincingly), actually makes great use of its setting. Unlike most, we get a sense of where we are and a sense of the atmosphere (with Bulgaria being used to double for rural Russia).

Lundgren plays Nikolai, a former Spetznaz soldier whose family was killed by a gangster. He gains revenge but later discovers that said gangster actually survived Nik’s bullet to the face. The irredeemable gangster has now kidnapped an American girl and Nikolai is tasked with retrieving her, but with his mind more squarely set on vengeance. The film opts for short and effective bursts of violence and there are some surprisingly effective moments of drama in the film. Bryan Edward Hill’s script is way above the usual for this kind of straight-up revenge film (especially in the DTV realm) and he and Lundgren allow certain scenes to breathe. There’s a great calm before the final storm and the finale (set in a rural village) opts for tension over barnstorming and has some great use of sound.

[Jox]

20 years ago, filming was underway on DL's sophomore directorial effort

[Jox]

Don't know how he manages to write all this but when he's not busy writing feature-length screenplays, Tom continues to pen articles for Flickering Myth...

10 Essential Action Movies from 2005
https://www.flickeringmyth.com/10-essen ... from-2005/

The Mechanik

This period in straight-to-DVD action was decidedly hit-and-(mostly)miss. Budgets had rapidly fallen in the space of a decade with DVD being lucrative but not really in the same way as the peak VHS era was. You couldn’t just go off and spend 10-15 million bucks and make bank back, you were now spending 5 mill. The less said about how cheap films are in the streaming era, the better.

Still, in 2005, Dolph Lundgren delivered a doozy in his sophomore directing effort. A simple revenge story with a more considered approach than many DTV films of a similar ilk. It’s intense and impactfully violent and Lundgren pulls in a few Western movie tropes that work well, not least a nicely staged village shootout with some good sound design. Lundgren also takes time to let the film breathe and include some quieter moments of drama before the inevitable violence to come. He’s yet to top this one as a director and the excellent work of DOP Ross Clarkson was probably a significant reason, as indeed was a good 70s-inspired, occasionally noir-tinged script from Bryan Edward Hill.