Probabilità zero

Nice Italian film about typical plot : a bunch of Allied soldiers are drafted to execute a near-suicide mission and attempt to eliminate an underground secret base located in Norway . Here Henry Silva as Major Duke assumes the character of the leader in this wartime Spaghetti Combat . The recruited soldiers form an oddball , rag-tag and undisciplined gang under command a stiff-upper-lip officer . Set in Norway and it has a crack team of dispensable characters commanded by Major Duke (Henry Silva) sent to blow up a headquater where the Nazis have taken a crashed Spitfire that packs a new radar system and whose secret the Allied attempt to avoid , before it falls into German hands . Silva leading a group of commandos (mostly unknown actors exception for Spaghetti actor Peter Martell, adding a local freedom fighter : Katia Christine) and a torpedo go behind German lines .

This ¨Operation Red Point¨ is a ¨Dirty Dozen¨ style movie , an entertaining film with Henry Silva as tough officer along with the ordinary team of renegade soldiers of World War II assigned to a extremely perilous mission : to blow-up a fortified Nazi bunker that's harboring an advanced radar unit from a shot-down British plane and krauts want to copy it . As Silva recruits a group of rebel and misfit soldiers for a dangerous assault on an underground Nazi factory , as they are specialists and experts on climbing , diving or weapons . In the hands of hardboiled director Maurizio Lucidi and a tough-as-leather cast headed by Henry SIlva , as a stubborn U.S. Army Major , that's all the plot that's needed to make one rip-roaring wartime flick . Henry Silva's mission is two-fold and in violent and cynical style : first chooses his soldiers into the fighting unit and then turn them loose on a ship that lead them to the Norwegian hidden fortress . The first half of the film allows the colorful cast of character actors to have their fun as they get their tails whipped into shape and develop shaky relationship with their leader . The final part is all action, as the commandos wreak havoc and then run for their lives . Despite the fact that few of the "heroes" survive the bloodbath , the message here isn't that war is hell . Rather, it seems to be : war can be a hell of a good time... if you've got nothing to lose . The relentless assignment is set against strong obstacles , risked adventures and hazardous feats . The dangerous mission includes a numerous and misfit group , being formed by a motley and diverse squadron played by an unknown support cast . This is a rugged WWII actioner concerning an experienced officer to draft a dropout group of soldiers who get a chance to redeem themselves , as they have to destroy a prototype radar system that the Nazis have got from a crashed Spitfire and Allies need to be destroyed . At the end they must participate in the suicidal mission behind the enemy lines , to wipe the German group by means of a violent assault over a strongly protected hidden base ; this ordinary plot being scripted by terror expert Dario Argento and director Maurizio Lucidi himself . This moving film packs frantic thrills, perilous adventures , relentless feats , and buck-loads of explosive action and violence . The noisy action is uniformly well-made, especially deserving of mention the rip-roaring final scenes on the undercover fortress , including some spectacular shootouts and bombing . Apart from the values of team spirit , cudgeled by Henry Silva into his peculiar group , the film is full of feats , suspense , and thrills . Rough Henry Silva gives a fine acting as leader of the motley pack together thwart the Nazi schemes, as well as the largely secondary cast with special mention for Peter Martell and the beautiful Katia Christine .

It contains atmospheric and martial musical score by Carlo Rustichelli and appropriate cinematography filmed by Aldo Tonti shot in several locations . The motion picture was professionally directed by Maurizio Lucidi , though it has some flaws , but being a passable warfare flick . Lucidi was born in 1932 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy and died in 2005 , Rome . He was a director and editor, known for ¨The Man from the Organization or The sicilian cross or Los ejecutores¨ (1976) with international cast including Roger Moore and Stacy Keach and even made thrillers as ¨The last chance¨ with Elli Wallach, Fabio Testi and Ursula Andress . And he directed three Westerns as ¨Halleluja for Django¨(1967) with Hunt Powers , ¨Saddle tramps¨ with Bud Spencer and ¨Pecos¨ with Robert Woods . And furthermore , Probabilità zero (1969) and La víttima designata (1971) , among others . Rating : 6/10.

Maurizio Lucidi's PROBABILITY: ZERO has a lot of things going for it. "Mistar Ice" Henry Silva -- who did not age between 1969 and 1989, apparently -- leads a misfit commando squad on what somewhat predictably becomes a suicide mission behind German lines to infiltrate & destroy an impregnable Nazi fortress using a recycled torpedo. Gritty commando raids, some brutal small-unit battle scenes, convincing scuba combat footage and a grim overtone of doom for those involved make this one somewhat less of a cartoon Spaghetti Western with tanks and more of a "conventional" war movie: The subject is treated with a kind of seriousness that fans of war movies in general will find quite satisfactory.

The movie's plot also touches on most of the traditional Spaghetti War formula topics in a manner that Ernesto Gastaldi would have been proud of: We get the obligatory Commando Raid Against All Odds theme, a Devil May Care Squad Leader a bit too dedicated to his mission to the point where his motivations become ambiguous, the Seemingly Washed-Up Team Members he puts his faith in who must overcome personal demons to prove effective at their assignments, the Mata Hari-Like Femme Fatale who must use her beauty & body to help defeat the enemy, the Heroic Sacrifice Scene where one of the team members has to make a decision between his own life and the completion of the mission, the Impregnable Fortress Objective with it's allied victory stultifying WMD that needs to be neutralized lest the Nazis win, the War is Hell Sequence where the arbitrary cruelty of war is brought home to the viewer, the Ruthless Commander Intermission where an otherwise sympathetic officer is forced to kill against his wishes to ensure the safety of others, the Good Guys Dressed Up In Nazi Uniforms Flourish, which always look a bit too good on them (even Captain Kirk fell victim to that plot device at one point), and a fittingly somber & downbeat ending to emphasize that this was only one episode in a war that cost millions on both sides their lives; The mission may be over but the battle continues, and War Is Hell.

PROBABILITY ZERO's production standards are surprisingly high, with weapons, locations and sets all having a feel of authenticity to them. Doubtlessly filmed in Spain & Italy, the movie covers some familiar ground to those who have seen their share of Spaghetti Westerns or other Euro War potboilers: One valley in particular is recognizable as being the same one used in THE GRAND DUEL and TEPAPA to name just two which come to mind sitting here typing. The acting is universally competent, with an ensemble cast all hitting the right notes rather than one or two standout stars stealing the show. Henry Silva's rather sinister air of duality is well suited to his role as a commando leader who must keep his attention focused on their mission rather than the team's well being, and his final exit scene is actually quite fitting. Kind of puts a lump in your throat, and who wants a war movie with a happy ending? War Is Hell, after all.

The music by veteran genre composer Carlo Rustichelli moderates between stirring odes to the film's martial themes and more pensive, thoughtful organ sections fitting of the more bleak aspects of the costs of war. And Dario Argento's screenplay is also appropriately convoluted, with double crosses, hatred rivalries between comrades, somewhat scintillating exploitation, and the kind of romanticized droll posturing dialog that one might expect from an Italian Spaghetti B-movie actioner. Some decent talent and a bit more money than usual was sunk into this project, including above average title design during the opening credits. Such may not seem like that big of a deal but usually these potboilers went about the low-cost, no frills route, and it is revealing of the film's attempt at prestige to see a title sequence that brings to mind those of Sergio Leone.

All in all this would be another good starting point for traditional war movie buffs in looking at the Italian Euro War boom from 1967 - 1970 or so. Only about 50 to 75 examples of the form were made and most of them were content to be entertainments rather than statements about the conflict, the men/women who fought it, and the price they paid to defeat the scourge of Fascism. Here is one that does, and like some of the better examples -- SALT IN THE WOUND, THE WAR DEVILS, A PLACE IN HELL, DESERT COMMANDOS -- has stood the test of time well enough to be evaluated on it's own terms rather than as just an extension of a fad.

And, it stars Henry Silva. 'nuff said.

7/10

A decent Italian World War II commando action film.

Henry Silva is the American officer selected to assemble a band of misfits for a "probability zero"- mission in nazi- occupied Norway.

Simple plot, OK acting, good locations and great production design. Not very gritty, though, nor sleazy.

Released on video in Finland in the eighties.

An excellent Henry Silva thought otherwise, taking on the odds. Sure, it's virtually a suicide mission, but they're not going down without a fight. The Italians wanting to cash in on "THE DIRTY DOZEN", instead delivered something more along the lines of the "GUNS OF NAVARONE" in this rather bleak boys' own Spaghetti war adventure.

Conventional to a tee, moving at a steady clip and staying grounded, yet the solid production design shows authenticity in its battle raids, underground sets and picturesque locations. This is all building to a pressure pack final third of dangerous rock climbing (a win-win if you like dummy work), fierce machinegun fire, lethal knife encounters, flame-throwing action (although not enough) and ravaging explosions. What we see throughout is that the mission does come first, as a stone-faced Silva grits his teeth. Leading a ragtag group of commandos and a torpedo behind German lines (Norway) to blow-up a fortified Nazi bunker that's harboring an advanced radar unit from a shot-down British plane.

Co-written by Dario Argento, the plot is lean, but when set in motion it's filled with obstacles, elaborate scheming, tough dialogues, heated rivalries, double-crossings, and typical self-sacrifice with a stirringly downbeat closing.

Don't watch this if you are hoping for something historically accurate. The uniforms, and actors portraying soldiers are awful.