Like many other people I'm sure, I first became aware of this Oscar nominee when I read the closing credits of its Al Pacino remake. That was in 1992 and I have been trying to locate a copy of the Italian original ever since. According to the critical opinion I've encountered in the interim, the Gassman original was said to be superior, with the Pacino version incorporating its extraneous subplot about Chris O'Donnell's troubles at his private school.
Well... I have finally managed to see the illustrious original. It certainly seems far inferior to me. Its potential is all latent and unrealized; the American version takes the unusual blind officer character and does colourful and then dramatic things with him. The Italian original just walks the character through some conventional sex farce situations.
The result seems so trivial, and the film is as cheap and ugly to look at as any Italian film of the 1970s. Some credit naturally goes to Vittorio Gassman for originating the character for the screen, but that's about it.
Well... I have finally managed to see the illustrious original. It certainly seems far inferior to me. Its potential is all latent and unrealized; the American version takes the unusual blind officer character and does colourful and then dramatic things with him. The Italian original just walks the character through some conventional sex farce situations.
The result seems so trivial, and the film is as cheap and ugly to look at as any Italian film of the 1970s. Some credit naturally goes to Vittorio Gassman for originating the character for the screen, but that's about it.