Tag champagne and bullets

I was too harsh on John De Hart

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A couple of years ago, I wrote a scathing (but accurate) article about the 1993 B-Movie ‘Champagne and Bullets’ – starring the amazing John De Hart.

For those not aware of this brilliant film, ‘Champagne and Bullets’ is an action/romance/revenge flick that was fully funded by Mr De Hart out of his own pocket. Not only was John the director, but he cast himself as the main star, and also sang most of the songs on the soundtrack. Needless to say, the end product was a masterpiece of poor cinema, and is regarded by fans of bad movies to be one of the all-time greats – with Wikipedia describing De Hart’s performance as “amateur and inexplicable.”

Anyway, I’m not sure what the reasons are, but my John De Hart write-up from 2023 has seen an increase in views over the past few days. With this in mind, perhaps it is time to share a few more thoughts about this one-time action star; focusing more on the man himself and being a little ‘nicer’ this time around.

So, let’s break down the indomitable screen presence of John De Hart – action star, romantic leading man and overall legend – beginning with how smooth this guy is with the ladies.

Romance is clearly one of John’s strongest suits, and he is well-known for punching above his weight. De Hart always follows the same successful routine; kicking things off with a classy dinner – as seen in the photo above – before moving on to more ‘comfortable surroundings.’

It’s all too easy for a man of such talents…

But even a superstar like John De Hart needs a little help sometimes – and it’s great to have a friend close by to hold your champagne flute just as things start to heat up!

I love your work, John – but that extra hand is creepy!

John De Hart is also a certified fashion icon, and throughout ‘Champagne and Bullets’ he graces our screens with some remarkable outfits. It’s best to simply let the pictures below do the talking, but I must say that his black leather costume – as seen in the second photo – is out of this world!

But perhaps the most impressive combination John wears in the movie would be his white and navy blue-striped wedding tracksuit.

Despite his many talents, John De Hart is first and foremost an action man – whether it be fighting the forces of evil or taking to the stage to perform his signature hit song – ‘The Shimmy Slide.’ This man can do it all – hot damn!

When it comes to eliminating the villains, De Hart has a ‘particular set of skills’ at his disposal to get the job done. Be it a crossbow, a gun, or simply his lethal martial arts powers – John De Hart excels in all disciplines and the bad guys should know better than to mess with him!

I will finish off this glowing tribute to one of Hollywood’s quiet achievers by touching on his remarkable acting ability. With a range on par with Pacino or Brando, John De Hart delivers a broad spectrum of emotions – and has been known to recite Shakespeare so flawlessly that even Sir Laurence Olivier would feel belittled by such raw power.

If you haven’t seen ‘Champagne and Bullets’ – which sadly turned out to be the only film John De Hart ever made* – then I strongly recommend that you do. It’s bad – really bad – yet has a magnetic appeal that makes it almost impossible to stop watching. De Hart himself is front-and-centre throughout most of this insanity, yet strangely enough comes across as a likeable guy who just seems to be ‘having a go’ – an attribute that we Aussies appreciate.

I happened to find the full movie on YouTube that has all the nudity blurred out, and trust me – that’s not a bad thing. I have added the link below, courtesy of DDF: Movie Day – but as it is age restricted, you might have to sign in to view it.

*Note: John De Hart made a cameo appearance in the 2006 film ‘The Champagne Gang.’

Champagne and Bullets – the greatest vanity project ever?

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In the early 1990’s, middle-aged John De Hart was convinced that he possessed all the qualities needed to become a Hollywood leading man. According to him, not only did he have the physique of an Adonis, but could recite Shakespeare as well as sing and dance on par with any West End or Broadway performer. To round out the entire package, De Hart believed he was a comedian of the highest calibre, trend-setting fashion icon and a sex symbol second to none.

The only way John De Hart could harness all his powers and announce himself to the world was to produce, direct and star in his own movie. If this wasn’t enough, he sang all the musical numbers throughout the film and I believe wrote every song.

When none of the major distributors picked up ‘Champagne and Bullets’, De Hart went back to the drawing board and made a few changes. As far as I can tell, some of the sound editing was improved and the gratuitous sex scenes shortened (a little). In a major shift, the opening credits were swapped around with different music and footage. De Hart’s songs, including the entire ‘Shimmy Slide’ performance survived the cut as did his jokes.

This resulted in the film’s re-release under the title ‘Road to Revenge’.

De Hart was passed over again, but came back stronger with a new-look version of his masterpiece. I’m not sure what changes were made third time around, only that the film was now called ‘GetEven’ – one word.

Sadly, ‘Champagne and Bullets’/’Road to Revenge’/’GetEven’ was the only film John De Hart ever made.

You only need to digest a handful of scenes from this movie to understand the dangers of pursuing a vanity project of this size. John De Hart could not act, nor could he sing and dance. He was a fifty year old man with zero sex appeal and a wooden personality. Yet because De Hart was writing the cheques and calling the shots, chances are no one informed the boss of his shortcomings during the film’s production.

Almost thirty years on, ‘Champagne and Bullets’ (or whatever you wish to call it) is still regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. To comprehend just how bad it is, there was a recent review by Jason Brant on his awesome YouTube channel which is worth checking out. Hit the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvQo_AeW3gk

All cover images courtesy of Monarch Productions.