morrison-dylan-fan
When a friend of mine recently passed over two Giallo films to me,I was surprised to find that they had also passed me a third film,which I had heard nothing about.After having asked my friend about what this film is,I was thrilled to find out that it was an Italian Crime film.During my viewing of the film,I became extremely intrigued by the surprisingly different execution of the films story,which makes it really stand out from some of the other Italian Crime films that I have seen.The plot:With having been given a twenty three year prison sentience for murder, (after his girlfriend and some of his "friends" have given valuable evidence to the police,which they used to prosecute him) Nanni Vitale decides that he does not want to spend the next twenty three years of his life in prison.So when Vitale and three other prisoners see an opportunity to escape,they instantly jump at the chance.This leads Vitale and the gang grabbing a prison officer,and using him as a hostage.Although some of the other officers try to grab Vitale as him and his gang drive away,they,and the hostage all end up getting left for dead.After having (for now) gotten away Scott-free,Nanni Vitale becomes extremely determined that he and his gang our going to show all the "rats" that betrayed him,that they will never be able to get away from him,until they are dead.This leads to Vitale getting hold of one of his former "best friends".When he gets a hold on his friend and his friends girlfriend,Vitale orders the rest of the gang to "stay back" so he can have all the "fun" with them on his own.Whilst Vitale beats the life out of the rat (who ends up getting an acid-type substance poured on him),he decides that killing the girlfriend,is a far too "soft" option,so he instead brutally rapes her,whilst her battered boyfriend has to watch.Mean while,Commisionner Giulio Santini becomes very nervous about Vitale striking back at the people that put him in prison,especially due to the fact that Santinis dad was the judge that sentenced Nanni Vitale to jail.With hardly any leads,Santini struggles to find out about any of Vitales plans.Suddenly a girl walks into the police station,who tells Santini that she is being kept as a "helper"/hostage for Vitale to help him succeed in getting a huge amount of cash,out of her very wealthy dad.Realising that time is of the essence,Santini feels that he has to make a move for Vitale as soon as he comes out to commit the crime,but with Nanni Vitale having his wits (and guns) on him,it is going to be a far from easy aeriest.. View on the film:For the screenplay to the film,writer/directer Sergio Grieco makes the film firmly stand out in its genre,by giving the movie a completely different structure to most of the Italian Crime film that I have watched before.Unlike the other films,which spend the whole of there running time following the criminals and focusing on their activates,Grieco instead divides the film into two,and gives an equal amount of time showing the stories of the criminals and the cops,which really help to increase the tension of the film,due to Sergio showing us Comisionner Giulio Santinis increased desperation in nabbing gang leader Nanni Vitale.Happily,along with the entertaining plot,Grieco is also able to make this film stand out by injecting a strong "Grindhouse" element into the action and violence of the picture.And although some of the slow-motion and Foley sound effects in the film,slightly take you "out" of the movie,due to them seeming to have been pasted on from a very rusty old Kung-Fu film!,the blending of the genres (mostly) works very well,with the ending scenes of Vitale holding a gun and,later on a knife to the chest and throat of a woman,whose father ruined Vitale life by giving him up to the police,being very gripping and extremely intense.Whilst Sergio Grieco does deserve praise for the movie,the film would not have been half as fun without the terrific performances of Helmut Berger and Richard Harrison.As Vitale,Berger gives an excellent enchanting performance,with Helmut showing that due to Vitale feeling completely betrayed by all of his close friends,he now feels that the only way that he can get back at them is to ruin their lives,so they can feel (just before he kills them) as much hopelessness as they have given to Vitale.Although his character is no where near as ruthless as Berger,Harrison is still able to give a fun performance as Santini,whose macho side really comes out as he gets closer,and closer to getting his hands round the neck of Nanni Vitale. Final view on the film:A fantastic Italian Crime/Grindhouse hybrid,that stands out in the Italian Crime film genre due to a very intriguing screenplay,an insanely catchy score and excellent performances from Berger and Harrison.
merklekranz
Helmut Berger gives a gritty performance as a sadistic killer. Unfortunately there are two kinds of punishment being dished out, Helmut's and that which the audience must suffer. The police work in "Beast With a Gun" is mortally laughable, and the stilted dialog in the dubbed version rivals that in the worst "Godzilla" movie. Berger's deranged killer, and a nice Morricone-like score save this from being just another Italian crime flick. So, if you can throw logic out the window, cringe a bit with each spoken word, and suspend disbelief, you might be ready to watch this gloriously sleazy tale of robbery, rape, and revenge. - MERK
bensonmum2
Four escaped convicts, led by Nanni Vitali (Helmut Berger), go on a killing spree. Their main target is the man who turned them in. After he's murdered, Nanni kidnaps his girlfriend, Giuliana Caroli (Marisa Mell), and threatens to kill her unless she agrees to help him pull-off a payroll heist. She double-crosses Nanni and goes to the police. Now Giuliana's life is in real danger.What Works: The Vicious Nanni. Nanni Vitali is one of those vicious, brutal, sadistic type characters that are necessary for this kind of film to work. The things he is capable of doing can be at times shocking. The ferocious way he beats-up the gas attendant for no real purpose at all is the perfect example. He's the kind of character you wouldn't want to run into in real life.Marisa Mell. Marisa Mell is another of those European actresses who may not have been much of a thespian, but she has a certain screen presence that's undeniable. It's too bad the decision was made to ignore her character for the final third of the movie.The Score. Until seeing Beast with a Gun, I'm not sure I had seen a film scored by Umberto Smaila. His main theme is one of those pieces of music that gets stuck in your head and you can't get it out. The rest is above average and adds to the drama and tension on screen.What Doesn't Work: Unbelievable Plot Points. While I could write about several instances where the movie stretches credibility, I'll limit these comments to two. First, no real police would bungle a heist set-up as bad as the police in this film. They have inside information. They know where and when the robbery is to take place. They have their own people poising as factory workers. Yet two people are killed and the robbers make off with a van full of hostages. Second, while scouting the vast Italian countryside, the police just happen to select and climb the very electric pole that will give them a clear view of the killers' hideout. How lucky can you be! Originality. Beast with a Gun is a fairly standard Italian police thriller that offers very little in the way of innovation. It's all routine, run-of-the-mill, seen-it-before type stuff. A little more creativity would have gone a long way to making it a good film of its type.In the end, if you're a fan of this kind of film, you probably won't see anything you haven't seen before. But what is presented is generally well done with some very nice accompanying music. And, Marisa Mell makes the whole thing worthwhile for me.
HumanoidOfFlesh
Helmut Berger leads a group of prison escapees on a rampage targeting cop Richard Harrison,who testified against him in court.After Berger rapes beautiful Marisa Mell("Danger:Diabolik"),then forces her to join the gang,Harrison hatches his own plan to stop dangerous Berger.The film is loaded with sleaze and violence,but it's not as nasty as it's reputed to be."Mad Dog" is well-acted,well-directed and has a fast pace from beginning to end.So if you're a fan of Italian crime flicks give this one a look-just don't expect something mind-shattering.
