Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

InspireGato Film Perfection

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

bebromana I read Der Richter under Sein Henker in college German class and fell in love with it. Then we saw the German movie version, which was a dubbed version of End of the Game, and I was disappointed. Drastic changes from the source material. Anna's role has been plumped up to the point I scarcely recognized her. She appears only fleetingly in the book, is just the girlfriend of Schmied, and is more innocent. Different person pushed from the bridge. Novella is a great psychological drama; the movie is a bit a a mish-mash. After about 25 years I saw the English version of the film on TV. Book review: Wow! Movie review : Meh. It retains a shadow of the original. Maybe one day they'll do a proper adaptation.

t_atzmueller A countryside cop discovers the corpse sitting behind the wheel of a car, having been killed with a shot to the head and decides to cart the body off to the next village. It turns out the corpse (Sutherland) was policeman, Lt. Schmied, assistant of commissioner Baerlach (Ritt), a grizzled veteran, suffering from a stomach disease that will likely kill him within a year. Baerlach investigates and demands a new assistant: young, ambitious policeman Tschanz (Voight). They discover that Schmied had worked undercover, seemingly on in own account, and had investigated a certain Gastmann (Shaw), an ominous "businessman" who was connections with high-ranking politicians and officials. What ensues is a cat and mouse game, which involves not only the current case but a murder that took place decades ago, a bet between two friends, a self-appointed judge and his chosen hangman.I have to admit that Friedrich Dürrenmatts novel "The Judge and his hangman" is among my personal favorites, which I have read countless times (and still enjoy occasionally in the form of an audio-book). As far as adaptations go, Maximilian Schell has it spot on – however, I can understand how people who are not familiar with the novel will find the film awkward, sometimes strangely timed or even sketchy.It is not that Schell is a bad director, but that he had decided to stay very close to the novel: Dürrenmatt (who had a small part as a quirky novelist) is an exceptional writer, who doesn't care much for genres or conventions. "The Judge and his hangman" is not just a mere crime-story but a crime-story that's also a moral play, a pitch-black comedy and a social commentary. In essence it's about the past (or fate, if you want) catching up on people, even if it may be at the end of their lives.Ritt as disillusioned policeman with a past, often reminding off a Swiss Columbo, Shaw as nihilistic, cynic master-criminal and Voight playing his role (very close to the novel) as a man-child with cherub face that a grandmother would probably like to pinch but, like the rest of the characters, seems to have his own secret agenda; the cast is altogether excellent. Bisset, though very pleasant to behold, seems a little out of place (at least in the context of the novel, where her character plays a minor role at best) but Schell does a good job incorporating her into the story. Not to forget: Donald Sutherland must have had a field-day playing the most animated corpse since "Weekend at Bernie's". Story and performances are topped off by an excellent soundtrack of Ennio Morricone. "Once you've heard this music, it will never leave you completely", comments one of the figure on a marching band. I can only agree: I've had the haunting score creep up in my head ever so often for the past 30 years.A final word of advice: I have only watched the original version once and find it rather irritating or unfitting to hear the characters talk in English. In the German synchronization the actors (with the exceptions of Shaw and Bisset) are given throaty Swiss accents, which are way more "authentic".If you expect a run-of-the-mill who's dunnit, you might end up disappointed but as far as adaptations go, few have gotten as close to the source material as "End of the Game" (a title which is true, but I still prefer to call the film "The Judge and his hangman").8/10

Poseidon-3 Fans of foreign films in general may get more satisfaction out of this movie than those who are accustomed to more standard mystery movies. Even though the cast all speak English and it was released in English, it has a very European sensibility with the type of subtle humor and quirky idiosyncrasy rarely found in mainstream American films. Ritt plays a Swiss police detective who is bound and determined to bring down Shaw, a man who has led a life of crime, and, in particular, committed a murder before Ritt's eyes 30 years prior for which he was never prosecuted. Ritt's partner is slain in the process and he is assigned a new partner (Voight) whose job it is to solve the murder of the previous partner and finally pin down Shaw for his various crimes. Bisset plays the slain man's girlfriend who also draws the interest of Voight. While the often twisty pieces of the mystery are put together, Ritt provides a strong character study of a man who is, himself, close to death, yet longs to fulfill his mission before he peters out. The film has many memorable attributes, none more so than the appearance of Sutherland as the dead detective. He never plays the character while alive! Aside from a few photos, he is only shown rocking back and forth (in a darkly humorous way) as his body is being brought into town from the murder scene. Many of the scenes in the film have a surreal feeling and are loaded with strange little touches that are more likely to be found in French or German films. Ritt, in a rare acting appearance, gives a committed and textured performance. Voight is also strong, though his sometimes manic, wide-eyed portrayal may not be everyone's cup of tea. Bisset is always lovely to watch and she has a few decent scenes, but mostly she's window dressing in a characterization that ends up appearing pretty sleazy. Shaw has the customary amount of authority and slickness that aided him in parts of this kind throughout his career. All of these folks do a solid job of acting, but oddly, none of them have accents that even remotely match the nationality of their characters. Voight attempts the faintest accent, but he and Ritt are clearly American in their delivery. Shaw is obviously British and Bisset makes no effort in the slightest to suggest the Irishness of her character, speaking in her usual clipped UK accent. Ferzetti, an Italian, only adds to this as a Swiss police chief. The resolution of the mystery isn't all that difficult to piece together, though the reaching of it does have some moments of interest. The whole film tends to be uneven, but it's rarely uninteresting. Voight has a somewhat lengthy nude scene that would be typical for many French actors, but unusual for Americans, in which he wears only some grey socks and one sleeve from his shirt. Frontal nudity is partially shown for a couple of frames. It adds up to a movie with English-speaking actors, but with strong European sensibilities and the combination may not work for all viewers.

oldmovieman This very artsy movie has within it the elements of a fine noir thriller, but stumbles over its own excesses. First the good news: there are three superb performances here. Martin Ritt (best known as director of "Norma Rae","Hud", "Sounder", "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold", and many others), is superb as the weary but guileful old detective out to settle a score. So is Jon Voight as his newly assigned assistant; Voight's performance right from the beginning suggests he is a seriously unbalanced character and makes much of the remaining action plausible. Though dismissed by some reviewers as bad acting, this really was the only way to make this character work. Finally, Robert Shaw is the bloodless villain, recreating essentially the same character as he did the previous year in "The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three." Now for the bad news: the plot is murky and the ending illogical; the direction and cinematography are grotesque (apparently there is more fog in Switzerland than London and Kodak had a special on grainy film); and the score is so whimsical that it suggests a parody of the genre. Best subtle scene: after Martin Ritt's character is apparently mauled by the Shaw character's guard dog, he (out of everyone's sight) removes a protective shield he had under his coat. That's a first clue that the old detective is up to something.