Milano calibro 9 (1972)'s comments

Do you want to let us know what you think? Just login, after which you will be redirected back here and you can leave your comments.

Though I felt Fernando Di Leo's The Italian Connection was too sadistic and didn't use its American stars well, I wonder if part of my ambivalent reaction was due to the English dub. Caliber 9, part of the same thematic trilogy and also released in 1972, was much more to my liking... and in the original Italian. The story here is that over Ugo Piazza, a thief accused of taking his boss's money and hiding it, so when he gets out of jail, he gets consistently harassed by his former cronies AND the cops. Gastone Moschin is a real cool cucumber in the role, at odds with Mario Adorf (who stars in The Italian Connection) who is everything but, and in love with a beautiful dancer played by Barbara Bouchet (from Star Trek's "By Any Other Name"). Di Leo's direction is cool and stylish, and though there's a lot of violence (that Milanese mob doesn't mess around!), it's largely bloodless. Instead, he produces an incredible amount of tension by crafting a world where you can't trust anyone's motives, not on any side of the fence. Whether your suspicions are proved or allayed, it's a wild ride. I do think the cops blathering on about the system's innate injustices is too didactic, but I suppose this is part of the Milieu trilogy's theme of corruption. It is better served in Part 3.

1 year 3 months ago

allisoncm

Kanopy USA

3 years 3 months ago

St. Gloede

The opening was horrendously stupid. After that it got a bit more generic, and ended up containing a nice bit of entertainment, but of course it starts slipping into stupidity again. Overall it was ok.

13 years 2 months ago