Revolver & Almost Human

Soon after having watched my first poliziotteschi movie I found a list from tasteofcinema.com called The 10 Best Poliziottesci Films. This week I watched the two final movies on the list and I want to talk about them today.

Here's the list if you're curious: http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2020/the-10-best-poliziotteschi-films/

We begin with Revolver (1973).

Oliver Reed stars as Vito Cipriani, the vice warden of a prison. Someone kidnaps his wife and instead of a ransom, they demand that he springs the freelance criminal Milo Ruiz (Fabio Testi). Soon thereafter they realize that Milo doesn't know who it is that wants him free, and the unlikely duo gets pulled into something much bigger and more dangerous than they were expecting.

All in all Revolver was a really enjoyable movie. Reed is intense as always and Testi knew his stuff, so the acting is on point. The locations are gorgeous, the shots are nice, basically it's all good. Except for one thing. The story drags on quite a bit at times towards the end. There are a couple of scenes that are superfluous, and a tighter script could have elevated Revolver from a good and tense movie to the next tier.

In essence, Revolver is a bit of a buddy cop movie with elements of the odd couple. The officer of the law who has to cooperate with a criminal wasn't new in 1973 let alone now, but it works well enough.

Filming was problematic due to Reed's alcoholism. At about two or three in the afternoon he was drunk and became abusive and aggressive which lead to the fact that the director had to tell the crew that filming would stretch three days longer than it did. Otherwise they would have kicked the crap out of Oliver for his behavior.

 

 

Our second movie is Almost Human (1974).

Almost human is essentially a reverse poliziotteschi. Tomas Milian expertly portrays Giulio Sacchi, a low life, eternal screw-up thug. Tired of being kicked around he snaps and together with two accomplishes kidnaps the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Along the way he commits several brutal murders, fueled by a combination of his own lack of self esteem, drugs, alcohol and a hatred for those above him socially.

The inspector chasing him, Commissario Walter Grandi is played by Henry Silva who appears twice on the list, both times as a heartless killer. I was keen to see him portray a cop, but I ended up somewhat disappointed. I mentioned that Almost Human is a reverse poliziotteschi and it is true. Most of the movie is about Giulio with the police being present here and there. So Silva was a bit wasted, unfortunately. He is good, but totally overshadowed by Milian, who went on to have an excellent career in film and TV.

The movie is well made, I have no complaints. The score by Ennio Morricone is good if a little weird. Definitely a product of the 70's. The story isn't really all that interesting, it is Milian's performance that is the stand out. Sacchi is completely reprehensible and vile yet somehow fascinating. He is actually surprisingly intelligent and if he could get over himself, he could have gone far either as a career criminal or in an honest field. As it is, he is his own worst enemy and you can't outrun yourself.

 

So, do I recommend these movies? Yes. Both are solidly in the middle of the poliziotteschi genre. Not as great as Caliber 9 or Goodbye & Amen but not as mediocre as The Big Racket. Fans of the genre or thrillers should have a good time here.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have a great and safe week!