Point Blank

2023-11-06

In 1962, Donald E. Westlake used the pseudonym Richard Stark and published The Hunter, the story of Parker, a betrayed thief who seeks vengeance with more determination than we see from the T-1000 in Terminator 2. Four years later, Lee Marvin starred in John Boorman’s Point Blank, an adaptation of The Hunter. The film renamed Parker to Walker, but also reimagined the revenge plot as one of a man unable to recover from trauma. Join Mike and Dan for an extra-long, extra-cool conversation with special...

In 1962, Donald E. Westlake used the pseudonym Richard Stark and published The Hunter, the story of Parker, a betrayed thief who seeks vengeance with more determination than we see from the T-1000 in Terminator 2. Four years later, Lee Marvin starred in John Boorman’s Point Blank, an adaptation of The Hunter. The film renamed Parker to Walker, but also reimagined the revenge plot as one of a man unable to recover from trauma. Join Mike and Dan for an extra-long, extra-cool conversation with special guest Eric G. Wilson, author of the new BFI Classics study of Point Blank. So put on your best clackety shoes, pace the halls, and give it a listen!

If you’re a fan of crime fiction, you’ll enjoy the first of Richard Stark’s Parker novels, The Hunter, upon which Point Blank is based. Be sure to check out Eric Wilson’s terrific book about Point Blank in the BFI Film Classics series and his interview about it on New Books in Film.

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