Well, wonders will never cease! My phone rang this morning -
not unusual - except for the voice at the other end asking
me to confirm my name. It was HMP Wakefield! "Prisoner
Charles Bronson has requested that you be put on his PIN
phone list" he said. RESULT!
3rd July 2010
Bit of a knock back today. I received a
letter in
the post this morning informing me that Prison HQ have
reviewed my status with regard to visiting Charlie ... and
it still stands. I will write an appeal within the next 24
hours.
21st June 2010
It seems that the orders from Woodhill have followed Charlie
to HMP Wakefield, as I am still denied contact with Charlie.
However, Stuart Godfrey, Charlie's cousin, visited him at
the weekend and emailed me the following:
Mal,
I went to see Charlie on Saturday with
my wife Karyn. We got there nice and
early to check in; sat there waiting
then we got called to the desk. There
was a bloke telling us we might not be
able to have the visit. Bearing in mind
we had travelled 160 miles to get there
I was not best pleased! The reason for
this farce was an admin cock up with our
photo IDs. Charlie was told in the
morning about 10 am and we were driving
on the motorway. He wasn't happy.
Anyway the problem was solved and we
went over to the prison and went through
the normal checks; went to get some
stuff from the canteen etc. then we were
led into a room where, to my shock and
horror ,there was a bloke sitting in the
corner with guards in the room and it
was
Roy Whiting. I felt sick! He was
having an open visit! We were led on
through other doors to this CSC unit;
went in this room and to my disgust I
saw Charlie behind bars in another room.
This was our visit: bars in between us.
We are family. It was shocking: I've
just seen Roy Whiting on an open visit
and then walk in to see our visit with
bars! I am so disgusted this is not
right. What are they playing at? This is
outrageous!
And with this Charlie still managed to
raise a smile and we had great visit. He
is trying so hard to work towards a
release date and get on with his life.
It is clear to me that the system know
he needs to be rehabilitated but they
won't let him. He's in a unit with 5
people who will never be released
because of murder and more. He should
have been in the visiting room with the
rest by now. Shocking!
Anyway, we had a great visit said our
goodbyes and he told me I had to pick up
two bags of stuff from the prison to
take with me. So I asked the prison
warden for them. She said haven't I had
already. I said no because Charlie had
only just told me about them. She said
they were in reception in the morning
and I should have been given them then.
So I said that I would wait so she could
get them and she said she couldn't do
that, as if it was my fault and told me
I will have to get them next time! So I
protested: I live 160 miles away and it
wasn't as simple as that and still
didn't get them. It's another simple
little thing that will wind him up - and
that's "helping him"????
Anyway I would like you to put this
email on the website so people can read
it.
22nd May 2010
CHARLIE MOVED FROM HMP
WOODHILL!
On the night of 20th May 2010 Charlie was suddenly told to get
ready for a move and led out to an awaiting van at HMP Woodhill. He wasn't told where he was going but he didn't
mind, so long as it was away from Woodhill. On route he saw
a sign for Wakefield and spontaneously started singing "I'm
Going Home!"
I spoke at length to his mum Eira this morning, who is so very happy
about the move. She said he phoned her from HMP Wakefildl
last night to tell her all about it and was in very high
spirits. Apparently even her last few letters to her
son were stopped by the vindictive regime at Woodhill.
Charlie was well treated while he was at Wakefield up until
the latest set of moves, so let us all hope that things will
now change back for the better. If they let him have all the
letters that were stopped at Woodhill he should have a
couple of weeks just reading and catching up with people.
20th May 2010
I’m afraid that I have to let you all know that Charlie is
in a bad way at the moment. Visitors that have not been
banned are saying that he has dark circles around his eyes
and that they have never seen him so stressed out. He’s now
on basics and I’ll let Charlie tell you what that means:
READ HERE
19th May 2010
RESPECT AND REPUTATION: On the
Doors, in Prison and in Life
by Robin Barratt and
Charles Bronson
RESPECT
AND REPUTATION by Robin Barratt and Charles
Bronson is released in two weeks time on 4th June 2010,
published by Apex.
In this increasingly violent and troubled world, people
demand to be respected. But what exactly is respect? Is
it learned or earned? How do you go from being a
'nobody' to a 'somebody'? How do you respect others and
equally how can you get other people to respect you? Can
you only be truly respected if you have a reputation?
There is probably no one more qualified to talk about
respect and reputation in prison than Charles Bronson.
Tagged one of the most violent prisoners in the UK,
Charlie has spent over thirty years in solitary
confinement, is respected by both prisoners and wardens
alike and has a fearsome and frightening reputation. In
complete contrast, although he has spent much of his
life surrounded by violence, former bouncer and
bodyguard Robin Barratt would now prefer to take a
passive path away from any conflict. In this fascinating
book, Barratt and Bronson examine in detail respect and
reputation including how to behave in prison, how to
treat other prisoners, how to be a great door
supervisor, when to show respect, how to gain the
respect of others and ultimately how to develop an
awesome reputation both in prison, on the doors and in
life generally. With lots of real life anecdotes as well
as contributions from many other hard men (and a few
women), this gripping book takes its reader into the
psychology of a world rarely explored,
A fascinating insight into the minds of the Men In
Black. This book shows how Britain’s small army of club
security men think about their job, their punters and
themselves, with an emphasis on respect and decency.
It’s a long way from the popular stereotype of bouncers
as knuckle-scrapping nutters who punch first and ask
questions later. Garry Bushell, Daily Star Sunday
A riveting book written by two men who are eminently
qualified to do so. Robin Barratt and Charles Bronson
are both graduates from the University of Hard Knocks,
and understand the crucial relevance of "respect and
reputation" in the worlds they inhabit. Brutal, honest,
wickedly funny at times and even shrewdly philosophical,
Respect & Reputation provides a fascinating insight into
lives that few of us could accurately imagine and are
even less likely to experience. Not to be missed. Mike Hallowell, The Shields Gazette
17th May 2010
The wait is over ... the fantastic Bronsonwear
shirts are now available to purchase from
BRONSONWEAR. Be one of the first to sport
one of these fine shirts and help support the
campaign to win Charlie his freedom.
10th May 2010
Yesterday's Star carried a (belated) story
about Charlie "attacking" a prison dog. The
incident actually happened over a week ago and
was a result of Charlie being told that his
brother Mark, who was due to visit him the next
day, had just been banned for life from visiting
or communicating with him. The reason given was
that Mark had dared to speak to the press about
Charlie. There you go ... you thought we had
freedom of speech in this country, didn't you?
Well, not when it comes to telling the nation
the truth about Charles Bronson and his work for
charitable causes.
The article
conveniently forgets ... or just didn't know ...
that Charlie was dressed in only a pair of gym
shorts when they set the alsation on him and
that he was bitten before he got the better of
the ferocious attack dog. Most of the article is
credited to a "source in Woodhill." Now, I'm
sorry to anyone out there who believes the vast
range of shite that's printed in the tabloid
rags, but whenever they mention unnamed
"sources" or "insiders" it means that they are
invariably making it up.
To any "rational"
journos (if there is such an animal) out there:
please imagine that you are dressed in a pair of
shorts and a police dog is set loose on you. It
attacks you. Do you:
a) Stand
there and allow it to shred you alive until
a kindly warden eventually pulls it off?
b) Allow it to chew your arms/bollocks off
while calling for your lawyer and your
mummy?
c) Shit yourself while saying a last prayer?
d) Do what you can to beat off the attacking
dog?
Remember, it's
multiple choice, so you have a one in four
chance of getting it right!
8th May 2010
I have felt
compelled to write a piece about the recent
treatment of Charlie at the hands of the Prison
Service and give the reasons, as I see them, for
their vindictive actions. Please read the piece
with an open mind:
Recent
Treatment of Charles Bronson. I fully expect
Charlie to be moved to another prison (probably
HMP Long Lartin) again very soon.
7th May 2010
Charlie has told
his prison guards that he will not shave again
until he is able to see his brother Mark
Peterson. I hope that's not going to save him
from buying too many razors.
6th May 2010
Today I finally
received the letter from HMP Woodhill informing
me that I was banned from visiting Charlie
because I might talk to the media! Read it
HERE.
1st May 2010
MORE BANS!
Word has reached us today that more people have been
banned from communicating with Charlie. The list
includes myself, Robin Barrett (who has a book "Respect
and Reputation" being released that was co-written with
Charlie), Dave Taylor, the mind behind Bronsaonwear, and Mark Williams, the artist of the Limited
Edition pewter Door.
30th April 2010
CHARLIE'S BROTHER
BANNED!
Mark Peterson, Charlie's brother, has been banned from
communicating with him the day before he was due to
visit Charlie in HMP Woodhill. In another move designed
to press Charlie's buttons the prison telephoned Mark
today to tell him that he is banned from visiting or
writing to Charlie because he has dared to speak to the
media about Charlie's plight. This is an absolute
outrage and Mark is fuming. He is now awaiting
confirmation by letter from the prison of the ban and
the reasons given. WE don't know at this point if the
prison have told Charlie of the ban. Watch this space.
29th April 2010
Well, that didn't take long. The poster of Charlie's art
on the Angel tube station has been stolen! It seems to
have disappeared yesterday some time, but Transport for
London say that they did not have it removed and the
police say that no theft has been reported. The only
news source that I am aware of that has reported on the
matter is
the BBC. Anyone out there know what happened to it?
28th April 2010
One
of Charlie's pieces of art is now being proudly displayed on the
London Underground as part of the "Art Below" project.
This means that tens of thousands of ordinary members of
the general public will get a chance to see an example
of his work.
So far it has only been reported by BBC
News (read the story) along with criticism by the
National Victims Association, who seem to think that it
is wrong to display it because the artist is a criminal
and is being "allowed to engage with the British
public." Well, I'm truly sorry you feel like that NVA
but art is art and we haven't yet become repressed
enough to censor art because of the background of an
artist! Charlie's art and poetry are his way of
expressing his thoughts and feelings and are a unique
insight into how the prison system has affected him.
12th April 2010
AT LONG LAST - YOU CAN
BUY CHARLIE'S ART HERE
There is now a ban imposed on Charlie by prison officials forbidding him from sending his art out of the jail, so his pieces are becoming harder and harder for collectors to find (you may have noticed that you never see his art for sale on
Ebay these days.) We don't have very much left ourselves, but what we do have is now being offered at what are currently bargain prices. A collector recently snapped up a few pieces for which he was prepared to pay £5,000!
I receive a lot of emails
asking where people can buy Charlie's art and be sure
that it is genuine. There have been many cases of people
paying for mere copies and even forgeries, believing that they were paying for original art. Well, the only way of being sure is to buy it from here, Charlie's only Official Website. Art bought from here is not only guaranteed to have been crafted by the man himself, but comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and his personal permission for the sale.
Take a look at Charlie's art which is for
sale on this site by clicking
BUY
CHARLIE'S ART.
6th April 2010
Now here's something you don't see every day of the
week: a brand new photo of Charlie with family and
friend, taken with the permission of HMP Woodhill.
Ironically, Charlie isn't allowed to have a copy because
it includes an image of himself!
Left to right: Charlie's brother Mark, his mother Eira,
Charlie and good friend Dee Morris
1st April 2010
I have just added a new page which details a complaint
from Charlie's cousin Stuart Godfrey to HMP Woodhill and
the answer he received.
Read it
here.
30th March 2010
I have added a new page which features emails from
people who have benefited and been inspired by Charlie
at People
Inspired by Charlie's Spirit.
25th March 2010
Today I received a letter from Charlie. That usually
brightens up my day, but when I examined the letter I
found that he had written it on 17th February! I then
inspected the envelope: date stamped 24th March. Well
done the post office for getting it to me in 24 hours
... but what the **** are the prison doing holding it up
for FIVE WEEKS!!!!!!!! So, another letter to the
prison governor, Nigel Smith (which you can read by
clicking on
this link), goes in the post by Recorded Delivery
today.
In Charlie's five week old letter he mentions the News
Of The World article which accused him of perving over
the TV programme Loose Women (see 31 January 2010
below). He says, quote: "I've no TV so I sure can't
watch that shit." So, proof now that it was just a pack
of made-up lies from start to finish. Put that in your
imaginary pipe and smoke it NOTW! An insider at
the NOTW said: "We are just a bunch of lying arseholes
who like to make up things about people who cannot
defend themselves just to sell our silly rag to the
gullible people in this country."
I will bet that NO national newspaper will be interested
in printing the story below!
23rd March 2010
For
anyone who doubts that Charlie has a truly compassionate
human side to him, please read the story
Charlie Changes
Lives of the Poor and Homeless, written by his good
and long-time friend Mohammed Iftkhar ("Ifty"). This is
the start of a new section of the website, aimed at
raising awareness of all the good things that Charlie
does ... but that you don't seem to be able to read
about in your Daily Rag.
22nd March 2010
TO ALL OUR FRIENDS IN
THE USA
Since the film
"Bronson" was released in America I have
received an increasing number of emails asking
how to write to Charlie from the States.
According to the US Postal Service, their
"Recorded Delivery" service is their
international equivalent of your domestic
"Certified Mail." The cost is $2.40 plus the
cost of postage. I'm afraid I can't find a way
to enable you to send a "self-addressed stamped
envelope" to Charlie for a reply. The closest
thing is the USPS International Business Reply
Envelope, but I don't believe Charlie could use
these, as he doesn't have access to a post
office. If you know different then please let me
know.
Well,
look who has a collector's edition of Charlie Bronson's
"Door" sculpted by Mark Williams. None other than world
champion boxer Iron Mike Tyson. Mike's "Door" was
a personal present from Charlie and Mike was said to be
well pleased.
My "Door"
arrived in the post yesterday and I can tell you
that I am as pleased as a bull invited to a
vegetarian feast. It's much better than the
photos and, for anyone who truly appreciates
Charlie's art, it is faithful to his concept and
his spirit. I will treasure mine always. Not
because it cost ninety five quid, but because I
am one of only 131 lucky people in the
world to own one. It is a work of art itself and
I will sing Mark's praises to anyone who will
listen (until they get bored with hearing it).
It gives me enormous
pleasure to announce a brand new brand of clothing:
BRONSONWEAR! The
range of stylish t-shirts will be launched in April, but
you can get a sneak preview by
clicking on this link.
9th March 2010
I've been promising
myself for some time that I'd put a gallery together of
art made by Charlie's supporters which get sent into me
from time to time. Alas, a lot of it was lost in the
last disk crash, but I have found a half a dozen
worthwhile pieces which you can now find on
Charlie's
Gallery 2. If you have Bronson inspired art then
please feel free to email it to me,
Mal.
26th February 2010
IT'S HERE AT LAST!
The Special Limited
Edition solid English Pewter sculpture is nowup for sale.
Based on Charlie's original artwork (see above) and
sanctioned by Charlie himself, this is an absolute MUST
for Bronson supporters and enthusiasts and we've secured
a very special deal from the artist. Take a look at
THE DOOR.
17th February 2010
For all of you who email
me about where you can buy Charlie's books, I've now
constructed a full list of books and the "BRONSON" film
(DVD and Blu-Ray) with links to Amazon at
Buy Charlie's Books.
I don't think you'll find them any cheaper, so go and
find the books that you haven't yet got in your
collection!
15th February 2010
COMING SOON
An incredible
hot-metal-cast collectors piece, based on Charlie's
famous Door and authorised in writing by Charlie himself.
Charlie has seen the piece and says he thinks it's
"amazing".
This is
the first of a three piece set and is an absolute
must for any serious Bronson supporter.Almost
a
whole kilogram of fine English Pewter goes into every
one of the six inch high, numbered limited edition pieces which were
designed, molded, cast and finished by the
extraordinarily talented Mark Williams.
Two further
pieces based on Charlie's art are planned for the future (and what special
pieces they will be!) and all three will fit together
like a jigsaw. Purchase of the first piece will entitle
you to an option to buy piece number two and so on. So,
if you miss out on this fine Bronson Door you may not
get the chance to own either of the other two pieces.
Charlie's Mum, Eira, already has one!
As you know, I'm
not usually up for selling merchandise on this
site, but this limited edition set really caught
my eye! Mind you, you'll have to get in the
queue behind me for a chance to own one of these
beauties. Full details of how you can be
one of the lucky owners will be featured here in
the next few days.
14th February 2010
I thought you might like
to see this brilliant work by Phil Carr from Normanton,
West Yorkshire. Phil produced this for Charlie's mum
Eira who loves it. Beautiful work Phil.
13th February 2010
Today I have received a
reply from the Governor of HMP Woodhill regarding my
post that has been stopped from reaching Charlie. It is
quite unsatisfactory and you can read it
HERE,
along with my follow up letter and all future
correspondence as it is received or sent.
I am also trying
a new method of communicating with Charlie, via
the
Email a Prisoner scheme. I will let you know
how successful it is as soon as I know.
I received a letter from
Charlie today saying that my letter of complaint to the
governor of HMP Woodhill had worked and that he had been
given my letters and all the emails that accompanied
them. So, to all of you who I told I would ensure that
Charlie got to see your messages of support: Hoorah! He
has finally been able to read them and said that they
were very special to him and that he enjoyed reading
them.
However, emails
will not receive a reply from him. Charlie does
NOT have access to the internet and has NOT got
an email address.
Now, just let me
make the point that I am not a messaging
service and that by sending an email to me
you are not actually addressing Charlie. Charlie
would LOVE to hear from you, but the best way to
tell him something is to write to him directly
at the address on the
Contact Page.
I am very glad to receive emails from people
about the website and about their feelings of
support for Charlie, but I just don't have the
time or resources to print out every email and
send it to him in the post and send email
replies. The only way to communicate with him is
to write a letter and post it to him.
There is no guarantee that he will be able to
reply, as he gets many, many letters. But he
appreciates every single message of support, so
please keep writing to him if you want to
encourage him. If you would like a chance of a
reply from him then please include a stamped
addressed envelope with your letter. Charlie
replies to as many people as he can, but he
cannot reply to everyone.
That brings me
on to another subject which has been big in my
own email bag recently: those of you from
countries outside the United Kingdom. You
can write to Charlie by all means and he loves
to hear from you, although the decision as to
whether he receives you letter is ultimately
down to the prison censors. BUT he will not be
able to reply to you unless you include a
BRITISH air mail envelope with the appropriate
British postage on it. Please don't email me
asking how you can obtain such a thing ... I
have no idea :(
The following is
a special message which I have received within
the past two days. I get many similar messages,
but I thought you might like to read this one as
it touched my heart:
Dear Charlie
i would like to start off by saying how
courageous and brave you are, it gives
me constant inspiration that one man can
go through so much shit and still be in
a fighting mind. ive just finished
reading your solitary fitness book and
it really is better than any personal
trainer, your wisdom and realistic mind
makes me think i can do anything i want
to. I dont care what people have said
about you in the past and the present to
me your a good guy and will always be a
person i can think about and strive to
do better because of your strength.
for 3 years i have been through real bad
depression and a lot of times i have
come to the point where i want to end my
life. its figures like you that keep me
going. he can do it so i can to if i put
my mind into it. i dont even know you
but i want you out of prison, i feel you
have been through more than a human
should ever go through and im just an
outsider looking in.
i wish you all the best and im sure you
will keep your head up during the bad.
you will get out, lots of people want
you out, we can get you out of this
corrupt law system.
i would love to hear back from you, but
if i dont good luck, ill be hoping for
you.
from
ben
Finally: as I said in an earlier piece lower down
on this page, I receive occasional "hate mail" aimed at
both Charlie ("what a monster") and myself ("idiot for
supporting a monster"). To those of you tempted to write
such missives I will say four things:
Those messages are NEVER passed on to
Charlie.
As soon as I get the gist of what you are
saying I simply hit the delete button, so
you have wasted some of your precious time
alive.
Get your facts right! Do not rely on
the press for your information (unless you
are a super-gullible imbecile without a mind
of your own). Read at least ONE of Charlie's
books with an open mind before
condemning him. He has never killed (or
caused the death) of anyone. He has
never harmed a single hair on the head of a
woman or a child. In fact he despises men
who do as well as hating drugs and
paedophiles. I'm sure that you will agree
that he is a normal MAN in that respect.
Save your loathing for those who really
deserve it: people like Charles Manson, Ian
Huntley, Myra Hindley and Ian Bradley, the
two monsters that killed James Bulger, the
killers of Baby P. I can go on and on about
monsters who deserve to be hated! I
have known Charlie personally for many years
... have you?
GET A LIFE!
9th February 2010
The Sun has today
printed another sensationalist article, this time about
Charlie striking the governor of HMP Woodhill. Charlie
has been as good as gold for the last ten years, despite
the prison system's mal-treatment of him. At Wakefield
he was on excellent terms with his guards and was always
in good spirits. Every one of the guards I spoke to
privately said they had a mutual respect and that they
actually liked him. Then the film "Bronson" was released
and things changed. The stability that he had enjoyed
disappeared:
22 April 2009
- Moved to HMP Long Lartin (for no apparent
reason), where they took away all of his art
materials, made visits difficult for him and
generally treated him very badly. Long Lartin
have shown in the past that they know exactly
how to press Charlie's buttons to get a violent
reaction from him. It was at Long Lartin that he
started having serious nosebleeds and his lawyer
complained that he was being punished "for no
good reason." Even with that sort of provocation
Charlie did not resort to violence but protested
peacefully. You can read about the changes in
Charlie's everyday life
here.
17 November 2009
- Another move, this time to HMP Woodhill at
very short notice. They gave him his art
equipment back but then banned him from sending
his creations out of the prison, citing as the
reason that Charlie was running some sort of
"business". That assertion is absolute crap.
Charlie's art has been sold and auctioned for
many years to fund the various children's
charities that he supports. On top of that they
have banned him from communicating with or
having visits from anyone to do with the film
"Bronson", stopped him receiving all kinds of
post, intercepted my own harmless letters to him
and messages of support and said he is not
allowed the photo taken with his Mum a few weeks
ago. This is only a partial list of the unfair
treatment he has received.
All of this
wears away at a man, especially a man who is
locked away on his own with no company for 23
hours a day and no end to that life in sight. It
appears that he reached breaking point when the
governor came to his cell and started lecturing
him as though he was a naughty schoolboy. I am
not yet privy to the exact details of the
conversation, but it must have been very
humiliating for Charlie to cause him to strike
out.
Of course, he
has done himself no favours, playing into the
prison authority's hands in this way. Charlie's
fuse is infinitely longer than it was ten years
ago as he has proved, but prison has a way of
bringing out the worse in people when it decides
to. And make no mistake, the system had decided
that the film could not go unpunished ... and
the wrath of the prison authorities is something
to fear - when you are a prisoner at their
mercy.
Note from
Mal: On 28th January I sent a letter to the
governor, Nigel Smith, complaining about my
letters being stopped from reaching Charlie and
requesting an explanation:
Dear Mr. Smith,
I have just been informed that my last
two letters to prisoner Charles Bronson
(A8076AG) dated 5th December 2009 and
11th January 2010 were prevented from
reaching Mr. Bronson by your staff. I
know that both letters arrived at your
prison as they were sent Recorded
Delivery.
The letters contained nothing that
should give rise to this kind of
outrageous interference. Simply copies
of emails of support for him aimed at
keeping his spirits up and encouraging
him to continue working inside the
system to obtain his freedom and some
reviews of the film Bronson. I
understand that the prison system is
none too happy about the film, but that
does not give it the right to intercept
my letters.
I understand the need for censorship and
I am well aware that every letter I send
to Mr. Bronson is read by prison staff
before he receives them, but over the
several years I have been writing to him
no letter has ever been “stopped”
before. I can see no reason for this to
happen now.
I require a full written explanation
from you as a public servant for this
unwarrantable behaviour.
To date I
have not even received an acknowledgement.
31st January 2010
An article printed in
today's
News of the World (I'm not sure exactly who's
World it's supposed to be the News of) is a tissue of
lies dreamed up by some sad hack who obviously knows
nothing about Charlie. My god, the inept journo can't
even spell the word housewives' correctly! The
article (fronted by a ten year old photo of Charlie and
probably written by a ten year old cretin) reads as
follows:
Hardman Charles Bronson is
addicted to houswives' favourite
Loose Women
HARDMAN jailbird Charles Bronson has a
dirty secret that blows away his
reputation as Britain's toughest
prisoner - he's obsessed with
housewives' TV favourite Loose Women.
The 57-year-old armed robber, who spent
31 years in solitary for attacks on
fellow lags, tunes into ITV's girlie
chat show every day in his high security
cell at Woodhill Prison in Milton
Keynes.
And he locks HIMSELF away to ogle Coleen
Nolan, Carol McGiffin, Kate Thornton,
Denise Welch and his special favourite -
busty Zoe Tyler.
A Loose Women insider revealed: "We were
shocked when the prison told us. Now he
wants to become penpals and poor Zoe is
mortified!"
For a start,
Charlie cannot "lock himself away!" He is behind
two cell doors which are locked by the guards
and is under constant CCTV surveillance. He has
NEVER professed an interest in the show
mentioned, let alone been obsessed by it or said
he wanted to be Zoe Tyler's pen-pal and the
prison authorities would not have informed the
show or the NOTW's "insider" as it is against
prison policy and regulations. The story, as I
say, is a string of lies from start to finish
and I have written to the rag's newspage to tell
them. Of course, my comments have not got past
the NOTW censor as they demonstrate what an
absolute pile of cack the story is. Where do
they get off making this shit up about a man who
is hardly in a position to defend himself?
30th January 2010
I've been contacted by
the owner of the email address (see below) to say that
his email account was hijacked and that it did NOT come
from him. The owner is actually an elderly retired
school teacher, so it seems that the ACTUAL writer is
even MORE of a COWARD!!! No doubt the little
prick will read this, so, if you are then come and meet
me. I'd really like to meet you.
So, please don't
send any more emails to poor Tom, he's been
inundated. On a positive note he says that he's
going to rent a copy of the "Bronson" DVD to
find out more about Charlie.
29th January 2010
Normally I
dismiss hate male to the dustbin with a quick
click of the DELETE button. But this particular
evil and probably inadequate little wanker
brought my family into his rant! My reply to
his email:
You did some research, eh? You spoke
to people who know Charlie? No? You
spoke to his prison guards? No? Oh, you
read some of the stories from the
English and international press did you?
What a foolish person you are Tom. Your
final paragraph not only makes a mockery
of your self-righteous first para it
also shows you to be sad but sadistic
subhuman. Now do the human race a favour:
go away and play on the freeway.
28th January 2010
HATE MAIL !
As mentioned below I get
a great amount of email for Charlie. Most of it is kind
and offering support for him, but among all the messages
are occasional messages of hate. These I normally deal
with by dismissing them with a quick click of the Delete
button. However, I thought it might be enlightening to
show you a typical one that I received from some
sub-human and sadistic degenerate in the USA. Take
particular note of his second highlighted paragraph.
Please feel free
to email him and let his know what you think of
him ... I have already:
From: Tom B
Date: 27 January 2010 22:14
Subject: are you guys stupid or what?
did some research about this man and he
is a dangerous, violent, criminally
insane person. his being certified sane
merely shows that he is clever enough to
manipulate the system. he deserves to be
locked up, too bad they still don't have
a death penalty for a scum bag like him.
I can't believe how stupid some people
are in defending someone who has so
little regard to for himself or others.
no wonder Britain is turning into a
third world cesspool of politically
correctness and stupidity.
hope he escapes and rapes your daughters
(or sons probably), makes you watch,
kills you and then eats your dead
bodies, all on the telly.
poloman in the King's Colony of Olde
Virginia
27th January 2010
AN APOLOGY FROM MAL
I have an apology to
make to all those people who have emailed me over the
past month or so and to whom I replied that I would
forward their messages on to Charlie. All said emails
were sent to Charlie by Recorded Delivery but I have
only just learned that they were stopped by the prison
authorities and that Charlie never had the chance to
read them.
I shall be
writing to the prison governor to ask for an
explanation of this outrageous liberty.
So, from now on,
if you want to write to Charlie and show your
support please write to him by snail mail at the
address on the Contact Page.
25th December 2009
from Charlie and Mal
21st November 2009
Dee Morris reports that
Charlie has settled in to life at HMP Woodhill well.
They have given his art materials back to him (they were
taken away at Long Lartin) and he's feeling very
positive. The telling fact is that they are allowing him
his first open visit in ten years; that is a huge step
forward and offers Charlie significant hope for the
future.
If you would
like to write to Charlie then you'll find all
his latest details on the Contact Page.
17th November 2009
NEWSFLASH
Charlie has
been moved to HMP Woodhill today!
and he has a new Prisoner Number:
A8076AG
Watch the videos:
Bronson The Movie Official Trailer [HD]
Tom Hardy lifts the lid on Bronson
Moviebeat EXCLUSIVE - "Bronson" Tom Hardy interview
Bronson - Interview With Tom Hardy
Bronson - Interview With The Director - Nicolas Winding Refn
David Edwards review: Bronson
Bronson movie causes controversy
Bronson, The Prison Drawings - Courtesy of the Princess
10th November 2009
14th November PROTEST POSTPONED
A message from the organisers of the Bronson Protest
arranged for 14th November:
"I am sorry but we are having to cancel this event.
After careful consideration and discussions with various
professionals and Charlie's family we have decided to
postpone this protest. We will always fight for
Charlie's freedom but have to keep his best interests at
heart always. It is for this reason that we have
postponed this protest until further notice. Thanks for
your understanding and your valued support."
28th October 2009
Two major pieces of news: firstly, prison
authorities have decided to give Charlie a new prison
number. I have no idea why, although my guesses range
from "just to piss him off" to "putting a little
distance between him and the film." Anyway, the date set
for this change is 15th November 2009. I'll let you know
the number as soon as it is known, although I know
Charlie has said he hopes it's 007!
Secondly, prison staff from HMP Woodhill in Milton
Keynes are to visit Charlie sometime in the next
fortnight in HMP Long Lartin, where he has resided in
solitary for the past few months. This is believed to
represent a possible move for Charlie ... we shall have
to wait and see.
24th October 2009
The final protest of 2009 will be held on
Saturday 14th
November from 12.30pm until 4.30pm outside HMP Long
Lartin. Please bring tee-shirts, posters,
placards, banners or whatever you can to show your
support for Charlie in his struggle for freedom. We look
forward to seeing you there
HMP Long Lartin
South Littleton
Evesham
Worcestershire
WR11 8TZ
And still more reviews from America ... this
interview with Nicolas Winding Refn from the
Black Book Mag:
Nicolas Winding Refn on
‘Bronson’ By Rory Gunderson
October 08, 2009
Nicolas Winding Refn on ‘Bronson’ At first
glance, one might expect Danish filmmaker
Nicolas Winding Refn’s Bronson to be another in
an assembly line of violent British crime capers
full of cockney thugs and punchy one-liners. But
it’s far from that. Bronson is a stark and
surreal adventure into the mind of someone who
exists in his own reality. It is meticulously
staged, colored, and costumed, and it's scored
with one of the eeriest and most effective
soundtracks in a long time -- full of new wave
anthems, heavy dark electro scores, and opera
music. Bronson is based on the life of the
infamous British inmate Michael Peterson (played
by an unrecognizable Tom Hardy), dubbed
“Britain’s most violent prisoner,” who spent 35
of his 57 years in prison, much of it in
solitary confinement. Refn’s film avoids typical
biopic styling in favor of a picaresque
character study on Peterson’s self-inflicted
transformation into Charlie Bronson.
Successfully merging popular genre-movies with
theater traditions and performance art, Refn has
created an unsettling portrait of
self-mythologizing man.
As for Winding Refn, he first gained notoriety
from his cult Pusher trilogy, an unflinching
glimpse into Denmark’s criminal underworld.
Growing up with artist parents, Refn spent his
teenage years in New York City and briefly
attended the American Academy of the Dramatic
Arts; he was sucked into New York’s club scene
(the influence of which is made apparent in
Bronson’s soundtrack). Winding Refn is an
impossible director to pin down, citing The
Sopranos, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and
avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger as
influences (his next film is the Viking epic
Valhalla Rising). After speaking with the
director, it’s he clear would rather divide
audiences than merely satisfy them.
Why did you shoot Bronson in this surreal and
episodic nature, considering it’s based on the
life of a real person? I always wanted to make a Kenneth Anger
movie, and I wanted to combine great theatrical
tradition and British pop cinema of the 60s,
which was very psychedelic, and at the same
time, to make a movie about a man who creates
his own mythology. It had to be surreal in order
to pay off.
There are reoccurring scenes where Bronson’s
in a suit and mime make-up, delivering
monologues to an imagined and applauding
audience. What was the idea behind this? Because Charlie Bronson has no face. Charlie
Bronson is a faceless person because there is no
end to Charlie Bronson. For me it was important
to show a film about a person that can be
interpreted but not understood. The film is
divided up into three sections. The first act is
Charlie being on stage, in control, wanting to
be perceived in a specific way, to see his life
the way he wants it to be. In act two, he’s
released and we begin to see Charlie in an
alternate universe and his difficulties relating
to reality. Not because he’s insane but because
he lives in another world. Act 3, when he goes
back to prison, we see the movie through the
audience’s perception of him: is he crazy or is
he not crazy? We see the transformation finalize
itself at the end of the movie.
When specifically is the transformation
finally complete?
In the final scene at the end of the film, when
he mixes art and violence in the [prison]
classroom. That is when the transformation has
becomes complete. That’s why the in a way, the
movie has a happy ending because in the end he
fulfills everything that he set out to achieve.
Can you talk about Tom Hardy and his own
transformation into the role of Charlie Bronson? Tom was a great guy to work with, and we had
a very interesting work relationship because it
was very much collaboration. I do that with any
actor—we go on a journey together.
Physically, what did he have to do in order
to realistically play an intimidating inmate? He’s into that whole physical training
thing, so it was very easy for him to beef up.
One of the trailers describes your movie as A
Clockwork Orange of the 21st century. What
influence if any did A Clockwork Orange have on
the making of Bronson? There was no direct influence other than the
use of classical music, and then I guess the
Alex character had similarities to Charlie
Bronson. They’re both pop figures. But I really
wanted to make a Kenneth Anger movie, so the
whole movie is stolen from Kenneth Anger.
There is quite a lot of violence in the film
... could you discuss how you approached that
violence? The violence comes out of my own
interpretation of art, that it’s there to
penetrate you, to make you think.
The film seems to romanticize mental
instability and the creative outsiders who lives
by their own rules. I don’t know if it’s a romantic way, but
it’s a way to survive. I didn’t want to make a
social realistic film about imprisonment because
you can’t.
Would you want the real Michael Peterson to
see the movie? Is there any way for him to see
the movie? I would love for him to see it, but he’s not
allowed to because he is in confinement. But his
mother came to the premiere, and she really
liked it. She thought it was nice tribute.
Did you speak to her directly? Oh, yeah, she was a very nice lady. It was a
very nice experience because everybody was so
happy with it, even though it was so many other
things than a biopic of Michael Peterson.
You also spoke directly to Michael Peterson
over the phone in prison, is that right? It was only one time, and now because of the
film’s success, all communication with him has
been shut down from anybody. Nobody’s allowed to
speak with him anymore. He would do anything to
help the movie. He’s never seen it, but he
thinks it’s the greatest film ever made.
Can you talk more about the conversation you
had with him? I told him I wanted it to be two specific
things. I wanted to know how he got back into
prison after he was released for 69 days, and I
wanted him to come up with some lines for the
stage monologues.
Which lines specifically? “Prison was madness at its very best.”
... and this interview with Nicolas on
Screen Crave:
Interview: Nicolas Winding
Refn for Bronson By Artie
On the heels of substantial festival buzz
Nicolas Winding Refn sat down for a roundtable
to talk Bronson, his take on the man the British
media once labeled “Most Violent Prisoner.” Refn
has been a filmmaker to watch since the first of
the Pusher Trilogy debuted, earning accolades
for its raw portrayal of low level hustling on
the streets of Copenhagen. A decade later he’s
managed to pull The Charlie Bronson Story out of
development hell, taking it beyond the expected
ripped-from-the-headlines account and into the
realm of the surreal.
Here’s his candid explanation of what makes
Bronson more than a prison movie, why he had no
interest in making a standard biopic, and how
two very different meetings earned Tom Hardy
some hard time as the UK’s most notorious
inmate.
Would you tell us how you came up with the
abstract visuals for Bronson’s narration?
NWR: Making a film about a guy in solitary
confinement is very tricky, because you can take
a route which is all in a cell, but that wasn’t
the wisest thing. I wanted to make it like a
stage performance, like he would talk about his
life and how he would visualize that. That’s
kind of like the deconstruction of the film, I
wanted to make a Kenneth Anger movie. You could
say that Bronson is a combination of
Inauguration of a Pleasure Dome and Scorpio
Rising.
Why was it important for the film version of
Bronson to be so articulate?
NWR: He’s quite a clever man. If he had not gone
to prison he’d probably be one of the biggest ad
executives out of England. The guy was able to
create his own mythology. I wasn’t making a
biopic of Michael Peterson. I had no interest in
making a biopic of Michael Peterson. I wanted to
make a movie about the transformation, of
becoming Charlie Bronson, this larger than life
concept “brand” out of the UK that represents
anti-authority.
What is Bronson’s social awkwardness in the
real world based on?
NWR:I did not research him, I never met him, I
didn’t even meet with his family members because
I didn’t want to make a biopic. I wanted to make
my own interpretation of the transformation
because that’s interesting. Bronson is probably
the closest I’ll ever come to making a
biography, but structurally it was divided up
into three sections.
The first section was him onstage talking about
his life, wanting us to see how he wanted his
life to be perceived. He’s very articulate, he’s
very open and all those things are on your mind
as you proceed. The second act, he’s released
for 69 days, you actually get to see his
difficulties relating to the outside world. He’s
like a Hans Christian Andersen figure, he’s a
little tin soldier walking around in a world he
can’t understand and can’t relate to. He meets a
girl and falls in love with her and he doesn’t
understand that there’s different agendas and
love can be different things. For him it’s all
primal. The third act is the audience seeing
Charlie from their point of view. That’s why in
the end he fully transforms himself into the
Charlie Bronson brand.
How did you decide on Tom Hardy for the role?
NWR: Tom was kind of an interesting choice
because at first we met, we didn’t like each
other. We met in a wine bar in London and he’s
an alcoholic or an ex-alcoholic and I don’t
drink. It couldn’t have gone worse. I was like,
‘ this is not going to work.’ I’m sure he found
me very arrogant. He went off to do some plays
and I went off to look for other actors. In the
end, deep down the fault was mine because I
didn’t know what I wanted, or I didn’t know what
I didn’t want. Because I really hadn’t decided
how to imagine the film. I hadn’t written it
yet, I just had this idea.
For many years people had been trying to make
the movie. I met with a few Hollywood stars.
Jason Statham and Guy Pierce. They were very
nice but I guess they didn’t take it very
seriously. I saw all the young actors in England
and the casting director kept on saying I should
meet with Tom again. ‘I’m NOT meeting with Tom
again.’ I was being very childish. In the end
there was nobody else so it was kind of
inevitable.
We met again about seven months later, but by
then I basically knew what I didn’t want, I was
more specific, and Tom had done some other stuff
in between so meeting again was like, ‘Oh my
god, you’re Charlie Bronson! Where have you
been?’
In what sense did the conflict between you
and Tom work for the movie?
NWR: I’m sure it helped us when we started
working together but it became a great marriage.
I immensely enjoyed working with him. It was
very tough for him because I had under a million
dollars to make the total movie. I had five
weeks to shoot so Tom was under a lot of
pressure. He had six weeks to prepare and then
it was ‘go.’
With your preference to shoot in
chronological order, where did the monologue fit
in?
NWR: We shot that at the end, because it’s
basically Charlie Bronson seeing the world from
his point of view so I shot the whole movie to
build up to those stage performances. At first
we did the stage performances and then on the
last day we shot the close up of him narrating
his life.
What does the “real” Charlie Bronson get paid
for the movie?
NWR: In the UK [royalties for convicts] isn’t
allowed. He doesn’t get anything out of it. His
family gets a fee but there’s no back end, no
kick backs. I think Charlie should be happy
there’s a movie made about him. The guy thinks
it’s the greatest movie ever made and he hasn’t
seen it.
When will he get to see the it?
NWR: He’ll never see it. He’ll never be allowed
to watch. I’ve heard that he heard the movie
over the telephone, but no he will never see it.
His mother came to see it at the premiere and
she very much liked it so that was very nice.
That made me very calm, very happy of course.
[The actual Bronson] has just been shut down
completely, meaning that he’s been moved to a
new isolation ward and all the people he had
contact with for the making of the film have
been cut off.
Do you think Bronson is insane?
NWR: He’s clinically sane but obviously his
perception of life is very different. But that’s
the whole point of what I found interesting.
Charlie Bronson, or Michael Peterson, has never
murdered anyone. If he had [done such a thing]…
I have children and very strong moral
obligations I feel. He’s just more like a
conceptual artist. He’s like somebody who uses
violence as his act of art and I do believe art
is an act of violence. Certainly there were a
lot of [parallels] to him in my own life. In a
way Charlie Bronson, his journey is very much
about my own transformation.
As calculating as he seems, why hasn’t he
played nice to earn his freedom?
NWR: That’s the big question and that’s why the
film was very difficult to write. That’s the
first obstacle you have. Why would anybody who’s
clearly a normal, heterosexual man want to spend
all his life in solitary confinement? It really
was his own subconscious that [was the key] for
me. Doing a prison movie is hard because it’s
all about escape. Trying to escape or planning
to escape or helping you plan an escape because
why would anyone want to stay? He’s not
institutionalized. It’s like a political comment
of prisons and civilizations and vice versa. I
was reading his biography to find some kind of
angle into him. At one point very late in the
book, [he says] maybe he always wanted to be
there. He was meant to be there, he almost
craved it. But why? The thread through
everything he does is narcissism. The narcissism
is to such a degree that fame is his feeding
frenzy. He was willing to sacrifice everything
to become famous.
What can you tell us about your next film
Valhalla Rising?
NWR: Valhalla Rising was just picked up by IFC
in Toronto. That’s being released early next
year. It’s a Viking film and it’s the first
canvas of images that I came up with after doing
Bronson and I shot the films back to back.
Charlie Bronson being my own psychoanalysis of
my own transformation from where I’ve started to
what I’ve become. Valhalla Rising is the start
of phase two in my career.
If Bronson is your take on a Kenneth Anger
film, what would call Valhalla Rising?
NWR: For me it’s like [Escape from New York]
meets Tartovsky.
How did you interpret the Viking world in
Valhalla Rising and does mythology play a part?
NWR: It’s about the concept of mythology and
what mythology can create, and mythology versus
Christianity, which is order and reality, and
the conflict between those things. The story is
about a mute warrior who has no past or present,
who escapes captivity and travels with Christian
Vikings to the holy land to fight the first war,
but they get entangled in a mist that doesn’t
lift until they reach America and then it goes
horribly wrong.
There aren’t too many good Viking movies, so
what pulled you to this project?
NWR: That’s a very good question and that’s
something I can’t specifically answer. I guess
it’s just the challenge of doing a Viking film
itself is just so absurd that it kind of turned
me on. But I had a specific idea for the story
since I was seventeen. After the Pusher trilogy
I decided I wanted to make that, but I needed
money to buy out my partner so I could own the
movie completely. Which is also one of the
reasons why I decided to write and direct
Bronson. Get some quick bucks.
To finish on the big Bronson conundrum: how
much is Charlie Bronson a part of Michael
Peterson and how much is he a product of the
system?
NWR: I think it’s both. I think it was there but
prison was the switch to letting it out.
Bronson hits theaters in limited release
October 9th.
Lots of us want to be famous, but some of us
need more than just 15 minutes in the spotlight.
A new biopic looks at professional inmate
Michael Peterson, aka "Charlie Bronson" —
notorious as Britain's most violent prisoner.
Critic Scott Tobias says the film makes Peterson
the star of his own performance art piece,
inviting his imagined audience to revel in his
bloody exploits. (Recommended)
by Scott Tobias
Operating under
the nom de thug Charlie Bronson, professional
inmate Michael Peterson has brutalized his way
from a simple seven-year armed robbery sentence
to 35 years and counting — 30 of them in
solitary confinement. Dubbed "the most violent
prisoner in Britain" (and for the effort
involved in containing him, the most expensive,
too), Peterson has attacked guards and fellow
convicts, incited riots, staged hostage
situations and generally brought chaos to the
dozens of institutions through which he's
passed. His rap sheet is tabloid heaven, but the
"whys" of his case are a little hard to fathom:
He doesn't come from a broken home, he wasn't
bullied or abused as a child, and despite his
yen for inflicting grievous bodily harm, his
open-ended prison sentence includes not a single
fatality.
Mercifully, the two-fisted biopic Bronson
doesn't play armchair psychologist; the question
of what makes Charlie fight isn't something
director Nicolas Winding Refn and his
co-screenwriter, Brock Norman Brock, care to
resolve. And whatever answers they do provide
concern Peterson's submission to his alter ego
(an homage to the famed movie tough guy) and the
cult of celebrity that transformed this common
brute into a notorious villain of Old West
proportions. Even his face — a gleaming oval of
pure malevolence, with a bald pate and a
mid-19th century moustache — suggests a "wanted"
sign posted on the town sheriff's door.
Fresh off the last two chapters of the Pusher
trilogy, his cult-favorite crime saga about the
Copenhagen drug scene, Refn brings the same
stripped-down, pulpy aesthetic to Bronson — at
least when he isn't taking his cues from A
Clockwork Orange. Just as Stanley Kubrick's
version of anti-hero Alex jauntily terrorized
his victims to the tune of "Singin' in the
Rain," Refn makes Peterson the star of his own
performance art piece, inviting his imagined
(and crisply dressed) audience to enjoy his
bloody exploits. As played with gleefully
sinister elan by Tom Hardy — who reportedly
added 100 pounds of muscle for the role —
Peterson spins his life into a gripping yarn
that casts him as a wronged man, despite all
evidence to the contrary.
Like some perverse twist on "prison of the mind"
melodramas like The Shawshank Redemption, Refn
contends that prison is liberating to Peterson —
in his words, "a place where I could sharpen my
tools." He may look like a caged animal, but the
instinct to strike anyone within pummeling
distance doesn't arise from deep-seated
frustration or resentment of authority; he just
enjoys doing it, especially when it pads his
resume as England's premier outlaw. In the brief
period of his release from jail — he'll return
again 69 days later, after a robbery and assault
— the real world makes him uncertain and soft.
Though Refn goes too far in casting Peterson as
a creative artist whose canvasses are streaked
with blood, Bronson has a boldness of vision
that the man himself would surely appreciate.
Unlike Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange,
his charisma doesn't forgive or relieve his
monstrousness so much as make it pop with
Technicolor vibrancy. He's neither victim nor
hero, but a man who, in every conceivable sense,
belongs behind bars.
'Bronson' shows inner
chaos of violent British prisoner By Mark Olsen
October 11, 2009
Director Nicolas
Winding Refn avoids a biopic format in a film
starring Tom Hardy, who plays Michael Peterson
and alter ego Charles Bronson.
A brawny, bald-headed figure in a vintage suit
with a harlequin's white makeup takes to an
old-fashioned stage, narrating his own life with
a born showman's panache and relentless
enthusiasm. Not a typical image for a prison
picture, to be sure, but then "Bronson" -- about
the man considered by many to be Britain's most
violent convict -- is no typical prison movie.
The real Michael Peterson was first incarcerated
in 1974 at age 19 for a bungled armed robbery.
His original sentence of seven years grew as he
became involved in a series of violent acts
against guards and fellow inmates while in
custody. He has now spent 34 years in prison, 30
of those years in solitary confinement. Released
briefly in 1988 and then in 1992, both times he
landed back in custody within a few months.
During his incarceration he created an alter ego
for himself named for the film star Charles
Bronson.
The film's version of Peterson's life is told in
a powerfully expressive style that plays as a
projection of the prisoner's interior world, a
dazzling blend that veers from kitchen-sink
realism to boldly artificial mindscapes. Actor
Tom Hardy, in a performance equal parts funny
and ferocious, perfectly captures the film's
prismatic approach to its subject.
In turning Peterson's life into a
phantasmagorical character study seemingly drawn
from the works of Stanley Kubrick and Hieronymus
Bosch, director Nicolas Winding Refn has
transformed the disturbed prisoner into a
complex antihero. Tracing Peterson's evolution
into the self-made Bronson, the film seems to
view his life as a piece of performance art,
lived as willful, purposeful, chaos.
"I didn't want to make a biopic of Michael
Peterson, or a film about Charlie Bronson, I
wanted to make a film about the transformation
from Michael Peterson to Charlie Bronson," Refn
said.
Born in Copenhagen, Refn spent part of his
childhood living in New York City before
returning to Denmark. (His father is Anders Refn,
a veteran film editor who recently worked on
Lars von Trier's "Antichrist.") Refn's first
films, "Pusher" (1996) and "Bleeder" (1999),
took an anti-romanticized view of life on the
margins of Danish society, and could be thought
of as European analogues to the early '90s crime
films being made on the American independent
scene (think "Reservoir Dogs" and "Bad
Lieutenant") for their take on low-life and
underworld crime.
Refn went bankrupt when the financing collapsed
while he was making his third feature, "Fear X"
(2003), a period in his life startlingly
portrayed in the documentary film "Gambler,"
which follows Refn as his personal and
professional worlds start to crumble. Refn made
two "Pusher" sequels to get out of debt, and
sees "Bronson" as, in his words, a
"resurrection."
"I was basically at rock bottom," Refn, 39, said
of that earlier period in his life.
The "Bronson" project had been gestating through
a string of writers when producer Rupert
Preston, who had distributed Refn's previous
films in the U.K., approached him. At first the
existing screenplay struck Refn as just another
British "lad's picture," exactly the kind of
men-and-violence film he was trying to get away
from. After reading Peterson's autobiography,
however, Refn saw the character differently,
coming to the realization it was actually the
story of a prisoner who wanted to stay in
prison, not get out.
Hardy, who has had small roles in films such as
"Black Hawk Down" and "RocknRolla," was already
attached, but Refn wasn't sure if he was right
for the part. After meeting with other actors,
Refn finally came around to Hardy, realizing the
actor's growing relationship with the actual
Michael Peterson-Charles Bronson made him the
only choice.
"There simply is no film to speak of without
him," said Hardy in an e-mail of his
relationship with Peterson, who is still living
a life behind bars. "Without him as my
inspiration there is no debate, no drama,
nothing. It would be an empty film."
Though Refn never met the notorious prisoner
face-to-face, he did speak to him once on the
phone for about 20 minutes, and Peterson
nevertheless had a direct influence on the film
itself.
"I wanted him to come up with some ideas for the
monologue," Refn said. "He actually sent me a
letter with a few ideas I put into the movie,
especially when he says, 'Prison was madness at
its very best.' "
It perhaps speaks to the brutal intensity and
unlikely charisma of Hardy's performance -- a
singular, buzz-making turn if ever there was one
-- that a recent Los Angeles public preview of
"Bronson" brought out his costars in the
upcoming Christopher Nolan film "Inception,"
including Cillian Murphy and Leonardo DiCaprio.
At the recently concluded Toronto International
Film Festival, Refn premiered a new film,
"Valhalla Rising," starring his frequent
collaborator Mads Mikkelsen as a Viking warrior
making his way to the New World.
The film is shot as an extension of the
expressively disorienting style Refn landed upon
making "Bronson."
"I actually really like the way I did 'Bronson,'
technically," said Refn, "and I wanted to kind
of pursue that more in 'Valhalla.'
" 'Bronson' is very much a catharsis for me. So
now I'm like, 'Phase 2 [of my life] can begin.'
"
Portrait of the Criminal
as a Performance Artist By A. O. SCOTT
Published: October 9, 2009
Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Bronson” is a highly
stylized and embellished film biography of a man
known as the most famous prisoner in Britain.
Born Michael Peterson in 1952 and raised mostly
in the city of Luton, Charles Bronson, renamed
after the American movie star, has spent all but
a few months of the last 35 years in prison,
mostly in solitary confinement.
Looking at an Inmate, Seeing an Artist (October
4, 2009)
The film, dominated by the bald, snarling and
oddly charming presence of Tom Hardy in the
title role, is not interested in sociological or
psychological explanations. Bronson’s parents
are quiet, respectable lower-middle-class types,
fond of their son even as he finds himself in
all kinds of trouble, and he seems to suffer
neither deprivation nor childhood trauma. The
propensity to do violence seems wired into him,
less a pathology than a kind of talent. He does
some stealing, but his real vocation, his art,
is fighting.
At one point a warden seeks to understand this
incorrigible inmate’s propensity for “nihilistic
and godless behavior” and asks Bronson, who has
developed a habit of taking hostages in his
cell, what he wants from the authorities. The
answer is an Anglo-Saxon imperative that pretty
much sums up Bronson’s worldview.
And it is an attitude Mr. Refn, whose previous
films include the vivid and vicious “Pusher”
trilogy, presents with unnerving relish and
flair. Sometimes Bronson speaks directly to the
camera in front of a black background. At other
times he appears in black tie and music-hall
makeup in front of a theater full of
appreciative patrons. His monologues are
punctuated by exquisitely choreographed and
art-directed scenes of brutality, shot from low
angles and accompanied by soaring arias or
throbbing techno beats.
The effect is a bit like Stanley Kubrick’s
“Clockwork Orange” reimagined as a one-man stage
show and stripped of any political implications.
Bronson’s crimes become a kind of performance
art, and the film becomes, bizarrely enough, the
portrait of a genius misunderstood and
marginalized by a bureaucratic and hypocritical
social order.
“Bronson” invites you to admire its protagonist
as a pure, muscular embodiment of anarchy. And
perhaps you will, but you may also be glad that
he’s still behind bars.
“Bronson” is rated R (Under 17 requires
accompanying parent or adult guardian). It
includes extreme violence and abundant
profanity.
BRONSON
Opens on Friday in Manhattan.
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn; written by
Brock Norman Brock and Mr. Refn; director of
photography, Larry Smith; edited by Mat Newman;
produced by Rupert Preston and Danny Hansford;
released by Magnet Releasing. At the Angelika
Film Center, Mercer and Houston Streets,
Greenwich Village. Running time: 1 hour 32
minutes.
WITH: Tom Hardy (Michael Peterson/Charles
Bronson), Matt King (Paul Daniels), Amanda
Burton (Mum) and James Lance (Art Teacher).
Movie Review: Bronson
(2009) BY: Brad Brevet
October 9th 2009
Enjoyable from start to finish, I've watched
it three times already
He was born Michael Peterson, adopted the
"fighting name" Charles Bronson, is known as
Britain's most famous prisoner and with Bronson
director Nicolas Winding Refn has turned him
into an entertaining one man show. To that
effect, I am sure many will take offense to what
is sure to be perceived as the glorification of
a notoriously violent criminal and I can't
necessarily argue against that opinion. But I
enjoyed it nevertheless.
Introducing the audience to various moments of
his life, Tom Hardy plays the titular bald brute
as we become witness to his time as a bank
robber, violent prisoner, insane asylum patient,
bare-knockle brawler, boyfriend, jewelry store
thief, prisoner again, hostage taker and inmate
artist. It's a winding road and even when it
leads to a moment of artistic expression it
always seems to end in anarchy.
Whether he's watching a fellow inmate defecate
in his hand before smearing it on his face or
greasing up his naked body in an effort to make
it harder for the prison guards to get hold of
him, Hardy is a beastly charmer making you
laugh, turn your head in disgust and look on in
awe. As depicted in Bronson, he's an artist and
a performer, but one thing he wants you to know
is he's not is a murderer. Charles Bronson has
spent 34 years in prison since 1974, 30 of them
in solitary. He's never murdered a single person
and yet his release date is unknown. While not
exactly a by-the-book biopic, you can watch this
film and find out why Bronson is where he is.
Who is Charles Bronson and what does he want?
What will make him happy? I've watched the film
three times and there is absolutely no answer to
these questions based on the evidence here. Just
as he seems to have found some sort of direction
in his life he snaps. It's a character that
keeps you on your toes if only because not a
single move he makes can be pinned down.
Hardy plays Bronson with precision and panache
and had I not just seen him go ape shit inside
the four walls of his prison cell he would
easily be someone I would want telling stories
at my next dinner party. However, this guy is an
out of control time bomb, ready to go off at a
moment's notice and without warning or reason.
He has me captivated.
Refn's Pusher trilogy before this was a decent
enough three-picture crime tale, but Bronson is
a piece of stylized art set to an '80s
synthesizer filled score and accompanied by The
Pet Shop Boys' "It's a Sin." It's unique, yet
carries a distinct similarity to Stanley
Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, even if Bronson
doesn't have any droogs joining him along the
way. From start to finish he's a one man show
and once you've seen it you wouldn't have it any
other way.
GRADE: A
Bronson was released by Magnet Releasing on
October 9, 2009 and was directed by Nicolas
Winding Refn. The MPAA has rated it R for
violent and disturbing content, graphic nudity,
sexuality and language. The cast includes Tom
Hardy and Matt King.
8th October 2009
"BRONSON" Hits the USA
With a wider release to follow, "Bronson" the movie
opens 9th October at the
Angelika Film Center in New York, 16th October at
the
Laemmle Sunset 5 in Los Angeles, 23rd October in
Philadelphia and San Diego, 30 October in Denver and
Nashville, and 20th November in Boston, with more cities
to follow.
U.K.’s
Scariest Inmate Writes Poems; Soccer’s Mad Genius: Film
Review by Rick Warner
Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- “Bronson”
is the rawest, scariest, most disturbing movie I’ve seen
this year. It’s also funny, in a twisted way.
Tom Hardy gives a perversely enthralling performance
as Michael Peterson (aka Charles Bronson), an
ultraviolent British prisoner with an artistic soul who
has spent most of his life in solitary confinement. One
minute he scares you to death. The next he charms you.
He’s Hannibal Lecter with a shaved head, handlebar
mustache and bodybuilder’s physique.
Director Nicolas Winding Refn, the Danish enfant
terrible who made the notorious “Pusher” trilogy, paints
a portrait of an artistic psychopath -- or is it a
psychopathic artist? Sentenced to seven years in 1974
for robbing a post office, Bronson’s savagery against
guards, strangers and fellow inmates earned him a life
sentence and a reputation as Britain’s most dangerous
prisoner.
While in prison he changed his name to Charles
Bronson, after the tough-guy movie star, and began
painting and writing poetry. (He’s had 11 books
published and won 11 Koestler Awards, recognizing
artistic achievements by inmates in prison and
psychiatric institutions.) Now 56, he’s reportedly
forsaken violence, become a fitness buff and been
declared clinically sane. (Can you really be sane when
you do 2,500 pushups a day?)
‘Clockwork Orange’
The new and improved version is not the one we meet
in “Bronson.” The movie is about an untamed brute who
punches his teacher, fights with cops, goes to prison,
beats up guards, leads riots and grabs hostages.
When he’s not creating havoc, Bronson is shown on a
theater stage in dreamlike scenes, telling an enraptured
audience about his sordid life. He recalls his stint in
a loony bin, where he’s drugged into drooling oblivion,
and his brief periods of freedom, when he earns money as
a bare-knuckles fighter, hangs out with hookers and
transvestites, falls in love and steals an engagement
ring after bashing in the head of the jewelry-store
owner.
There’s a “Clockwork Orange” feel to all this, a
detached view of Bronson’s brutal behavior in an inhuman
environment. As repulsive as he is, there’s a convoluted
method to his madness.
It’s practically a one-man show for Hardy, a British
actor who made his film debut in “Black Hawk Down” and
appeared in the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers.” Think
of Robert De Niro in “Raging Bull,” multiply by two, and
you get some idea of Hardy’s mesmerizing intensity.
Refn envisions Bronson’s life as a tragic opera,
filled with wasted potential and strewn with victims,
not the least of whom is Bronson himself. The film ends
with Bronson naked, fighting off a horde of guards
trying to free an art teacher he’s holding hostage. He’s
taken back to his cell, where he squeals like the caged
animal he is.
“Bronson,” from Magnet, opens tomorrow in New York
and Los Angeles.
Rating:
20th September 2009
The next protest is being held on Friday 16th
October from 11am till 6pm in Parliament Square
outside the Houses of Parliament. The organisers would
like people to come dressed in black and white convicts
outfits complete with ball and chain if you can. They
are looking forward to seeing you all there. Please
bring posters, placards or banners or whatever you can
to help. THANK YOU
12th July 2009
Wednesday, 29 July 2009 at 11:00 - 18:00: A
peaceful protest to support Charlie B's bid for freedom
is going to be held outside prison headquarters. This is
outside Cleland House Page Street London SW1P 4LN [MAP].
The nearest tubes stations are Westminster and Pimlico
and Page Street is five minutes walk from there. This is
a peaceful protest where we will be gathering signatures
for the the petition and raising awareness of Charlie's
case. He needs our support. Thank you for your support
and I hope to see you all there.
17th June 2009
"BRONSON" has won THE TOP AWARD at the
56th Sydney Film Festival, beating three local films for
A$60,000 ($49,000), the largest cash prize in Australian
film. The president of the festival jury, director Rolf
de Heer, said:
"Bronson" best demonstrated "the competition's
criteria of emotional power and resonance, audacity,
cutting edge, courage and going beyond the usual
treatment of its subject matter."
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
PEACEFUL PROTEST
A peaceful static protest has been arranged
to show support for Charlie on Wednesday 10th June
2009 from 12 Midday until 3pm in Richmond Terrace,
Westminster, London, SW1A 2AA [MAP].
Please bring posters, banners, placards and t-shirts
to highlight your support for Charlie and raise public
awareness. His human rights are constantly breached. He
has served his time, hasn't committed any violent
offence for 10 years and they still torture him and deny
any chance of progression for him. Please rally your
friends and family and come and show your support. Thank
You.
Raw, blistering, harsh and compelling in the way
that only a really good "prison film" can be, Nicolas
Wining Refn's Bronson is a rather rough experience.
Fortunately it's also very smart, dark, intelligent and
disturbing, supported by a force-of-nature lead
performance and a screenplay that focuses more on the
"character study" angle and less on the "wow, prison
sure is disgusting" perspective.
Based (apparently very closely) on actual events,
Bronson is about a British thug named Michael Peterson,
a rough, gruff, and muscle-bound troublemaker who
somehow earned the title of Britian's most violent
prisoner. Incarcerated for a stupid (but non-violent)
post office robbery, Peterson adopts the moniker of
American film star Charles Bronson and begins a long and
rather unpleasant life behind bars. Although he's more
of a angry man than an outright evil one, poor Bronson
has a serious problem keeping his temper in check. Stuck
in a cell with little to do besides build muscles and
pace around nervously, Bronson snatches every
opportunity to dole out some raw-knuckled fisticuffs
whenever the "screws" invade his cell.
One of the more compelling ironies is that, despite his
prediliction for bare-fisted violence, Bronson is
actually a very smart and sensitive man. The argument
could be made that prison life transformed an aimless
and frustrated man into a career criminal of the most
notorious kind. Aside from a few short-lived releases
(and a nasty stint in an icky asylum), Bronson has spent
decades behind bars -- despite the fact that his only
real crimes were a few rough robberies and a whole lot
of prison cell brawling. Whether or not this man
deserved to spend two decades in solitary confinement is
one of the more interesting arguments to be found in
Bronson -- and of course there's an assumption that
maybe prison life made the man a lot "nastier" than he
would have been otherwise.
But after decades of isolation, anger, and general
misery, Bronson discovers an outlet for his emotional
handicaps: Art and poetry. Danish filmmaker Nick Refn
walks an tightrope between allowing us to despise the
often-animalistic Bronson and compelling us to see the
more vulnerable side of a man who has known little but
bloody knuckles and brutality. There's also a
subtle-but-strong implication that ... maybe Bronson
wouldn't have been such an angry guy if he'd had some
sort of artistic outlets earlier in life. Or maybe the
guy just LIKES beating the snot out of people. Like the
best character studies, Bronson doesn't chastise or
deify its subject. We get to see the ugly, the funny,
the disturbing, and the charming sides of Charlie
Bronson, and we're left to decide how we feel about the
guy.
Which brings us to the lead performance by one Tom
Hardy. Quite frankly this is one of the roughest,
rawest, and most powerfully commanding performances I've
seen in a long time. Seen previously in films like Black
Hawk Down, Star Trek: Nemesis, Marie Antoinette, and
RocknRolla, Mr. Hardy delivers a stunning performance
that reminds you why the phrase "force of nature" is
often used in film reviews. Reminiscent of Eric Bana's
powerful work in the slightly similar Chopper, Hardy
provides a character that is nothing short of drop-dead
fascinating. Plus, his director throws in lots of great
stuff for the actor, including a series of framing
segments in which Hardy is allowed to perform for a
judgmental audience. The man is simply amazing. Raw,
vulnerable, sympathetic AND villainous, Hardy turns
Bronson into one of the most fascinating anti-heroes in
recent memory.
But a challenging character story and a stunning lead
performance are only two parts of the equation. Luckily,
Mr. Refn (director of the well-received Pusher trilogy)
keeps things more than interesting enough in the visual
department. Although much of the film takes place in
deep, dank, dark cells, chambers, and hallways, Refn
keeps mixing things up with colors, shadows, and lots of
creative little tricks. Many good prison movies get you
knee-deep into the feeling of incarceration -- but this
movie goes a step further by putting you into an actual
prisoner. Best of all, Bronson doesn't spin its wheels
or bother with unnecessary blather. This is a
tight-fisted, bare-knuckled, and consistently
challenging story about a man who's really very
fascinating -- but damn, you really wouldn't want to
stand in the same room with him.
In some ways Bronson feels a lot like the prison flicks
you know, love, and squirm through ... but once in a
while it transcends the genre and turns into something
quite wonderfully ... weird. And I'll say it one more
time: Tom Hardy's performance ... wow.
28th December 2008
The Star on Sunday - 28th December 2008
Click on the image to view a larger version.
CLICK HERE
to read all the older news
that has appeared on the Home Page
The movie BRONSON starring Tom Hardy as Charles Bronson
is getting closer and closer to its official release date
a website has been set up for public preview please click the title below let's hope that Charles is a free man by the release date so he can top it all off by being at the premier in person, we are sure that this will be the Blockbuster
film of 2009
Apex Publishing Ltd have signed copies of Charles Bronson's book 'Loonyology'. There are 1,000 signed, numbered copies which are a limited edition; most of the books have a unique message from Charles Bronson himself which is extremely rare (samples pictured below). The book is now available for pre-order as the book will be out on 6 June 2008, costing £18.99 in hardback.After the 1st thousand are gone the book will have a few changes in it. get and buy it now.
BANNER OVER THE M1
Now This is Loyalty to a good Cause.
This Banner appeared over a bridge on the M1 just past Junction 38
north bound on 28th March 2008. we have no idea
who was behind this but, you get our Respect for your Kind efforts
lets hope that other "loyal" supporters over the UK follow your example
and do the same, with Banners and paint stencils etc.
we salute the people behind this banner as it helps make more
and more people become aware of the free Bronson Campaign.
we can not back you if you are thinking of doing the same,
but you know that Max respect will come from us for your loyalty to
Charles.
Just do the same as these Guys did and just send us in your
Photo and it will be placed on the website. Thank You to our
Friends in the Yorkshire area for the guts to stand up and be counted.
MAX RESPECT.
RESPECT
AND REPUTATION
One
of Charlie's pieces of art is now being proudly displayed on the
London Underground as part of the "Art Below" project.
This means that tens of thousands of ordinary members of
the general public will get a chance to see an example
of his work.
For
anyone who doubts that Charlie has a truly compassionate
human side to him, please read the story
Well,
look who has a collector's edition of Charlie Bronson's
"Door" sculpted by Mark Williams. None other than world
champion boxer Iron Mike Tyson. Mike's "Door" was
a personal present from Charlie and Mike was said to be
well pleased.
