Revolver (1975)

Overrated

Good movie but grossly overrated

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Another great and unconventional crime drama from those beloved Italians, this one made by master of class Sergio Sollima (SANDOKAN) and containing a greater depth of plot and character than one might expect from other pulp adventures from the time. This tough flick is great and interesting thanks to the unconventional plot and the raw, almost documentary-style camera work which follows the characters around a variety of European settings. The plot is complex and gets murkier as the film progresses, with multiple characters lurking around the edges who have no clear motives. At times the film ventures into the area of the psychological thriller as it puts the characters through tense situations, at all times leading to a climax that you just know won't be a happy one.Chief enjoyment comes from unlikely star Oliver Reed, playing a typically gruff character who is forced to confront his morals as the film progresses. Reed is great in the role, especially as he is forced to become more and more emotive as the film goes on, and he really fits into the role of the character nicely so that you forget that he's acting; personally I think this is one of the best performances I've seen from the underrated star. Fabio Testi is the criminal, Milo Ruiz, and puts in a genuinely good performance along with Reed, shining in a part that allows him to play a character rather than a wooden figure for once. The supporting cast is fine, especially Agostina Belli's frightened captive.BLOOD IN THE STREETS is more plot-centric than most and thus contains a lesser degree of action than you might expect, although Sollima does throw in one outstanding shoot-out in a street for action fans. Nonetheless the sheer level of twists and turns in the plot and the performances make it hugely engrossing. One last thing to mention: there's a fantastic and stylish score by the acclaimed Ennio Morricone which enhances the action no end. This combination of winning elements makes it one to watch.

The premise had so much promise: of a government official, Oliver Reed, who surreptitiously allows a prisoner to escape and quickly abducts him as exchange for his kidnapped wife.While there are a few great moments, some involving the convict, Fabio Testi, showing gruff and glum Reed (described as "a dog without a home") the ways of thiefdom, which should have been more of the film, the side characters, like a popular folk musician oddly connected to the bad guys, and long bouts of plodding (badly looped) dialog, muddle the lean storyline.Reed, with a scowling catfish countenance, is more than watchable, while Testi's much too pretty as a believable challenger. Although their ultimate camaraderie, which builds throughout, does seem genuine and works for the poignant climax.Iconic composer Ennio Morricone, known for his usually intense Spaghetti-Western soundtracks, evokes a flowery, era-dated score more befitting a frolicking light comedy.

I had long wanted to catch this poliziottesco (which has never turned up on Italian TV) but was ultimately rather let down by it: the plot involves a buddy buddy partnership between two unlikely characters – prison warden Oliver Reed and petty criminal Fabio Testi. Director Sollima had already made the superior THE BIG GUNDOWN (1966) on similar lines (the “Cult Movie” website claims this is a remake of it but I don’t buy that, as the narrative takes a wholly different direction).The film, however, isn’t quite as engrossing as it should be and rather muddled into the bargain – but, at least, it looks good and is undeniably bolstered by a beautiful and typically effective Ennio Morricone score (reminiscent of his work, much later, on THE UNTOUCHABLES [1987]!). Reed is an ideally sturdy yet world-weary hero – but Testi is just okay in the role of his quarry/associate (though the English dubbing may have undermined his original performance), especially as he displays little of the cunning and deadly prowess which had characterized the Tomas Milian counterpart in THE BIG GUNDOWN…and, in any case, he’s ultimately established to have been merely a pawn in the game being waged! The female cast is comprised of lovely Agostina Belli (as Reed’s young wife, who’s kidnapped so as to ensure his collaboration) and Paola Pitagora (somewhat wasted as an underworld ‘groupie’ who briefly hooks up with Testi).Even if the film doesn’t have the socio-political scope of THE BIG GUNDOWN, this element is belatedly introduced towards the end – leading to a curiously downbeat (and cynical) finale. While not plentiful, the action sequences are certainly as efficiently handled as any in this type of film (Sollima made at least one more poliziottesco – VIOLENT CITY [1970], which I’ll be getting to soon); still, the director seems less at ease within the ‘urban jungle’ landscape than he was in the wide-open spaces provided by the Spaghetti Western milieu.The main supplement on the Blue Underground DVD is a 13-minute featurette consisting of separate interviews with Sollima and Testi. Among other things, the former admits to having been roped in at the last minute and claims that he finally agreed to make it on detecting connotations with another Spaghetti Western of his – FACE TO FACE (1967). Testi, a regular of action movies, takes pride in having done most of his own stunts (in fact, he had started out in films in this field!). Both, then, have complimentary things to say about the late Oliver Reed. There are also two Easter Eggs – one in which Sollima criticizes the film’s half-hearted publicity campaign (which he blames for its lack of box-office success), while the other is yet another anecdote pertaining to the film’s notoriously hell-raising British star.

If you are a fan of Sergio Sollima then I don't have to tell you that you will enjoy this film. I am so glad that I have discovered Italian action films from the 1960s and 1970s. I only wish that I could see some of these films on the big screen. There is something special about these films. Revolver takes the viewer on a sort of chase. There is elements of mystery and action, but during the course of the film the relationship between the twocharacters, played by Oliver Reed and Fabio Testi, evolves in a way that brings in drama into the story. Like Sollima's other films, there is fast paced action, violence, and a little bit of sex. There is a gray area between who is good and bad, and that is somethingSollima has stated in interviews. In fact he has said that he has always been a fan of bad guys because sometimes the good guys mess things up more in theend then the bad guys. He shows that in Revolver.