***Warning! SPOILERS!*** Sergio Grieco's "La Belva Col Mitra" aka. "Beast With A Gun" / "Mad Dog Killer" of 1977 is a cult-favorite to some of my fellow fans of Italian genre-cinema, but, personally, I cannot really see why. The film has the reputation of being one of the nastiest highlights of 70s Poliziotteschi/Italo-Crime cinema, but it isn't at all, really. The insanely brilliant score is the film's one truly outstanding aspect. Otherwise, it is pretty routine stuff with a pretty lame and illogical storyline, and actually below par for an Italian crime flick from the 70s. The film has the reputation of being particularly nasty and violent, but, for its time, country and genre, this just isn't the case. Italian 70s Poliziotteschi generally are ultra-violent and supremely stylish films, and while there is no doubt that "Beast With A Gun" has some genuinely nasty moments, it does in no way stand out in this respect. Many of the great Poliziotteschi by Umberto Lenzi, for example, are easily nastier than this one, and, which is more important, vastly superior in all regards.
Helmut Berger stars as Nanni Vitale, a psychotic criminal who goes on a murderous rampage after escaping from prison. After murdering a guy he deems a traitor, Vitale rapes and kidnaps his victim's sexy girlfriend Giuliana (Marissa Mell); in the meantime, Commisionner Giulio Santini (Richard Harrison) is out to get him...
Some people praise Helmut Berger's great performance as the villain here, but, in my humble opinion, Berger actually doesn't fit in the role of a thug at all. Berger is a good actor and may be predestined for the role of a psycho, but he isn't credible as a professional criminal - he simply doesn't seem proletarian enough; he looks and seems too bourgeois and vain, simply not 'tough' and 'working-class' enough for someone who is supposed to lead a life of crime. His sadism is believable, but then, there are many sadistic psychos in Poliziotteschi that are just so incomparably superior: Take, for example, the villainous roles the great Tomas Milian played in Umberto Lenzi's films, most memorably that in "Milano Odia: La Polizia Non Puó Sparare"/"Almost Human". Milian is brilliant in this role of the sadistic psycho - sadistic, yes, but also a typical, low-life criminal; nothing like the cocky, neat-as-a-pin Nanni Vitale, who always seems to be looking for a mirror to look at himself. Neither is Richard Harrison very memorable as the cop. The film has many plot-holes. Neither Nanni Vitale's nor the cop Santini's actions make the slightest sense: Nanni Vitale first lets the kidnapped Giuliana go in order to help him rob a bank. She goes to the cops who, instead of arresting Vitale where he is, wait at the bank he plans to rob. The Inspector even sends her back to Vitale, who is known to brutally murder anyone he considers a traitor. And she goes back to him. Now that makes perfect sense! The film is full of violent shootouts and action, including lots of cool-looking slow-motion. It doesn't get boring. Still, the ending is pretty lame for what we have hoped for, and makes the cop-character even more pathetic. In my humble opinion, at least, cops in Italian 70s flicks are supposed to take the law into their own hands, and not just 'arrest' evil-doers. My review of "Beast With A Gun" may seem a little too harsh - after all, it is a decent and entertaining film. But, due to the praises from some fellow Italo-Crime fans, I simply had high expectations for this film. As stated above, there is one truly brilliant aspect about the film: the ingenious score by Umberto Smaila, which ranks among the most captivating scores I've heard in Italian Crime cinema - and we're talking about a genre that tends to be greatly scored in general.
Overall, this isn't a bad film as such, but it certainly isn't the genre-highlight it is sometimes hyped to be. In case you want to see an Italian Crime Thriller that handles topics such as kidnapping and sadistic criminals, there are two masterpieces that top my long list of the recommendations: Mario Bava's "Cani Arrabiati" ("Rabid Dogs", 1974) and Umberto Lenzi's "Milano Odia: La Polizia Non Può Sparare" ("Almost Human", also 1974). Anybody who is new to Italian Crime Cinema is generally well-advised to check out any of the great films by Fernando Di Leo, Umberto Lenzi, Enzo Castellari and others before this one. All things considered, "Beast With A Gun" is worth watching for my fellow Poliziotteschi fans, but it's not one of the genre's greats.
Helmut Berger stars as Nanni Vitale, a psychotic criminal who goes on a murderous rampage after escaping from prison. After murdering a guy he deems a traitor, Vitale rapes and kidnaps his victim's sexy girlfriend Giuliana (Marissa Mell); in the meantime, Commisionner Giulio Santini (Richard Harrison) is out to get him...
Some people praise Helmut Berger's great performance as the villain here, but, in my humble opinion, Berger actually doesn't fit in the role of a thug at all. Berger is a good actor and may be predestined for the role of a psycho, but he isn't credible as a professional criminal - he simply doesn't seem proletarian enough; he looks and seems too bourgeois and vain, simply not 'tough' and 'working-class' enough for someone who is supposed to lead a life of crime. His sadism is believable, but then, there are many sadistic psychos in Poliziotteschi that are just so incomparably superior: Take, for example, the villainous roles the great Tomas Milian played in Umberto Lenzi's films, most memorably that in "Milano Odia: La Polizia Non Puó Sparare"/"Almost Human". Milian is brilliant in this role of the sadistic psycho - sadistic, yes, but also a typical, low-life criminal; nothing like the cocky, neat-as-a-pin Nanni Vitale, who always seems to be looking for a mirror to look at himself. Neither is Richard Harrison very memorable as the cop. The film has many plot-holes. Neither Nanni Vitale's nor the cop Santini's actions make the slightest sense: Nanni Vitale first lets the kidnapped Giuliana go in order to help him rob a bank. She goes to the cops who, instead of arresting Vitale where he is, wait at the bank he plans to rob. The Inspector even sends her back to Vitale, who is known to brutally murder anyone he considers a traitor. And she goes back to him. Now that makes perfect sense! The film is full of violent shootouts and action, including lots of cool-looking slow-motion. It doesn't get boring. Still, the ending is pretty lame for what we have hoped for, and makes the cop-character even more pathetic. In my humble opinion, at least, cops in Italian 70s flicks are supposed to take the law into their own hands, and not just 'arrest' evil-doers. My review of "Beast With A Gun" may seem a little too harsh - after all, it is a decent and entertaining film. But, due to the praises from some fellow Italo-Crime fans, I simply had high expectations for this film. As stated above, there is one truly brilliant aspect about the film: the ingenious score by Umberto Smaila, which ranks among the most captivating scores I've heard in Italian Crime cinema - and we're talking about a genre that tends to be greatly scored in general.
Overall, this isn't a bad film as such, but it certainly isn't the genre-highlight it is sometimes hyped to be. In case you want to see an Italian Crime Thriller that handles topics such as kidnapping and sadistic criminals, there are two masterpieces that top my long list of the recommendations: Mario Bava's "Cani Arrabiati" ("Rabid Dogs", 1974) and Umberto Lenzi's "Milano Odia: La Polizia Non Può Sparare" ("Almost Human", also 1974). Anybody who is new to Italian Crime Cinema is generally well-advised to check out any of the great films by Fernando Di Leo, Umberto Lenzi, Enzo Castellari and others before this one. All things considered, "Beast With A Gun" is worth watching for my fellow Poliziotteschi fans, but it's not one of the genre's greats.