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Reviews
Un homme est mort (1972)
Decent little actioner--
--that is the embodiment of the stripped-down, lean, hard look of LA 'noir-in-broad-daylight' crime drama of the early 70's. Trintignant plays a 'shades of Camus' hit-man who's imported from France to make a completely impersonal hit on an organized crime figure he does not know; Scheider is the equally stony hit-man hired to kill him (I get a laugh out of the mental picture of these two actors probably having on-set competitions to see which one could remain the most poker-faced throughout the shoot. Tough call as to who'd win). Ann-Margaret is fetching and somewhat pathetic as Trintignant's hooker ex-flame who puts herself in danger to protect him in spite of his apparent coldness and indifference to her; Angie Dickinson is suitably ice-maidish as the crime boss's widow who has her own hand involved in his murder, and Alex Rocco is suitable sleazy as her lover and the boss's heir apparent. There are also some funny bits from Georgia Engel as a dippy housewife who manages to cross the paths of both hit men (and wants to know aloud 'where the TV people are' when she gets questioned by the cops a second time), and quick appearances by John Hillerman and Talia Shire. The ending is a particularly bleak 'nobody wins' scenario that smacks hard of French Existentialism; in fact the film's whole chill sensibility makes it easy to spot the European influence. The old Venice Amusement Pier also makes an effective guest appearance in all its rotting glory. A pretty good film in its own right, and if you're feeling a degree of nostalgia for the period, the backgrounds make for a good dose of the era's look and feel.
La piovra (1984)
Grand Opera!
A brilliant crescendo/climax to the brilliant original 4-part series with Michele Placido's Corrado Cattani; full of betrayals, murder, love, loss, suicide and madness, no one lives happily ever after at the end of this, with the possible exception of the sinister Espinoza. The 6-part arc starts out slam-bang, with Cattani conducting a drug raid on a warehouse where street children are being held as runners for the Mafia, veers into the story of Salvatore Frolo, whose wife and small daughter years ago were supposedly murdered by the mob, and Frolo's revenge killing of the man he mistakenly believes was responsible for their deaths. It then plunges on to Cattani's quest to find Frolo's daughter who is still alive, and in the hands of the shadowy Il Pupare...sound complex? Running parallel to this, the story of Tano Cariddi's quest for power in the Antinari banking empire continues, with the marriage of Tano to Ester Rasi, daughter of a powerful banker who who is blackmailed into giving over his beloved child to Tano in a marriage of convenience that has tragic consequences for all. And from there, the series moves into high gear, with the beautiful Judge Silvia Conti becoming ever more deeply involved with Corrado, Tano's machinations becoming ever more complex and grandly corrupt, and the bullets flying and bodies falling at a rapid-fire pace. The climax in Episode 6 is virtually that of tragic opera, with the penultimate scene of Ester's hysterical confession of her betrayal to her husband-of-convenience Tano Cariddi, and his reaction to it--a terrific scene, and almost painful to watch; Remo Girone evokes great sympathy for the character of Tano throughout this series, whether it's deserved or no--and no fan of the series will ever be able to forget the final images of Corrado Cattani's ultimate fate. La Piovra 4 is better if you've already viewed the preceding three series, but it's not absolutely necessary; Part Four is mesmerizing and an exciting viewing experience even on stand-alone terms.
Masquerade (1983)
Fun show
Being a big Rod Taylor fan, I got a kick out of this show just for his appearance alone. It was a fun, offbeat concept, and really should have been given a chance to survive. Its run was so brief, I don't think it was ever made available to DVD and as far as I know, has never been rebroadcast anywhere, which is a shame. Kirstie Alley was really gorgeous too, a long way away from the tabloid 'fat-joke' fodder she became. I thought the only weak link in the cast was Evigan, a standard issue pretty-boy whose acting left no particular impression. He wasn't awful, just kind of blah next to Rod and Kirstie. Most of the guest stars were quite good. This was made during the height of Reagan's attempts to reignite the Cold War. Spy shows were making a comeback, but the trend was fairly short lived. All the same, 'Masquerade' was one that ought to have lasted for a while.