Runtime:
95 minutes
Directed
by: Fernando Di Leo
Starring:
Mario Adorf, Henry Silva, Woody Strode, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi
From:
Cineproduzioni Daunia 70
Yep,
I have returned to the Italian crime genre of the poliziotteschi,
where I had previously seen and talked about Caliber 9 and then
Rulers of the City. This time the movie stars the psychotic tan Jay
Leno of Caliber 9, Adorf. This time he's the lead. This won't be like
the movie I reviewed earlier today (located just below this review),
where longtime actor in Coen Brothers films Jon Polito referred to
his manhood as “my commander” and pulled a Chuck Berry and
pleasured himself while looking at security camera footage of a woman
using the bathroom. There's also no attempted rape. Sure, here the
hero is a low-level pimp, you see plenty of nudity, and some women
get slapped around. But, I ended up loving this movie... no, not
because of the women getting slapped around thing; rather, because
it's so damn entertaining.
The
plot is rather simple: a mob boss in New York sends two hitmen (Silva
and Strode; because they're partnered as hitmen and one is
Italian-looking and the other is African-American, Vincent and Jules
comparisons have been made; it works but it's not a complete copy) to
Milan to go after Adorf, who has been accused of ripping them off.
The
movie is wildly great. You have quite a few funny moments. The hitmen
are told to act like dumb Americans in order to get attention, and
Silva is happy to do it as his character is rather loud and a party
animal, where Stode is quiet and serious. There are plenty of
situations and moments that are humorous, such as seeing the two in a
nightclub and a tall woman wearing a curly blue wig starts flirting
with Strode. It's never boring, that is for sure. It's also amusing
that two people from Thunderball are in this, Celi and Paluzzi. No
surprise that Adolfo plays another villain.
But
it's also serious when it has to be and when Mario gets pushed too
far he raises a lot of hell and it's great to watch. The highlight is
a long car chase that turns into a foot chase and it's all exciting
and well-done and intense. The action in general is high-quality,
from seeing headbutts and bitch-slapping to shootouts and guns being
used to knock out teeth. You even get to see what the hippie scene
was like there in the early 70's. Oh yes, and some hilariously great
clothing; one woman wears quite the outfit of black hooker boots, red
hotpants, and a black top (obviously without bra) with a giant red
rotary phone on the front of the shirt! I guess that was hip Milan
fashion back then...
If
you're familiar with this genre or even if you aren't, I really
enjoyed this action/crime drama film, which can be found on Netflix
Instant.
I'll
be back Saturday afternoon.
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