SteinMo
What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.
Gurlyndrobb
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Yazmin
Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
Michael Ledo
Tony (Tony Lo Bianco) is a likeable lower tier criminal. When noted crime boss Frankie (Lee Van Cleef) comes to town, Tony wants to meet him. Frankie ignores Tony as he has plans on his own, i.e. get arrested so he has an alibi. Frankie accepts Tony in prison after Tony saves his life. Things go horribly wrong for Frankie as his lawyer and brother gets killed, his empire crumbles, and he is stuck in prison. He must rely on Crazy Tony for help.The film is not top notch. It has some comedic elements that border on camp. Likewise the tough guy talk is more camp than serious. Because it was foreign, it is difficult to tell what was meant to be funny and what was accidentally funny. The production is not a timeless classic, and will only have a narrow audience.Parental Guide: Edwige Fenech- shower nudity
lazarillo
One of the few good things (maybe) to come out of Quentin Tarantino's recent ill-fated attempt to bring a multi-million dollar 70's "grindhouse" flick to suburban multiplexes is a renewed interest in actual 70's grindhouse movies. I don't know if this movie ever actually played grindhouses (it's a little tame actually), but like a lot of movies on the recent "The Grindhouse Experience" DVD compilation it's just as bad and in the same crappy condition as many movies that did. This is an Italian crime thriller featuring two very familiar figures from 70's Italian exploitation films--no, I'm not talking about an aging Lee Van Cleef or still-unknown (and-never-really-to-be) Tony LoBianco, I'm talking about Edwige Fenech's left breast and Edwige Fenech's right breast.Fenech herself is wasted (as woman usually were in these films) in a story about a young, ambitious mobster (LoBianco) who gets himself arrested so he can meet his idol, a powerful godfather (Van Cleef), but gets a lot more than he bargained for, becoming mixed up in a prison break and raging gang war. Some of these Italian crime thrillers are pretty good actually, but it's hard to know how seriously to take some others because they are often horribly dubbed by English-speakers who were obviously taking their job pretty lightly. This is a gritty urban 70's action movie, but the idiotic dubbing crew act like their doing an off-Broadway rendition of "Guys and Dolls" (Fenech in particular is saddled with the incongruous voice of a bad Mae West impersonator). This might be a decent movie with subtitles or halfway competent dubbing, but it's hard to tell. As it is I'd recommend it only to those who just can't get enough of Edwige Fenech boobs.
lastliberal
Everyone is familiar with Lee Van Cleef from the spaghetti westerns - Return of Sabata, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - but, he also made spaghetti crime flicks, too.This one, produced by Dino de Laurentiis and directed by Michele Lupo, also stars Tony Lo Bianco, who is a familiar movie name on both sides of the law.This was in his younger, thinner years, and he plays a small-time hood that is infatuated with big boss Frankie Diomede (Van Cleef), who pays him no attention until he saves his life.Neat car chase down the mountains and lots of killer by gun, drill and freezer.And skintastic display by Edwige Fenech (Hostel II), who has many many skintastic moments to her credit.
Fritz Langlois
We already knew of the spaghetti western, but in the same era (early 60s to late 70s) there have been other American genres paid tribute to by the Italian film industry. So, we deal here with a spaghetti jailhouse action thriller, which also conveys many elements of parody (especially through Tony Lo Bianco's character). It's all very efficient, with Lee Van Cleef playing his old Sentenza bit from THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY. Director Michele Lupo knows what he's doing and hits all the right buttons, mixing violence with comedy (not always as funny as intended, however), an unlikely and tasteless alliance typical of Italian productions. The music (by Morricone clone Riz Ortolani) is great, in that now much sought after sleazy'n funky organ-laden tradition. Women have no role, of course. As to French actor Jean Rochefort, it is highly surprising to find him involved, for this is not in his usual line of action, as he plays the head mafioso over whom Van Cleef wants revenge. Packed with massive shootings and car chases, this is perfect entertainment as far as I'm concerned. Tasteless, gritty, lovely. They don't make'em films like in those days anymore (sigh).
