Ricco

If you have ever seen the title "Cauldron of Death" in your horror section, and it has the same cover or close to it as what's seen on this page, you are in for a definite surprise!

This is actually a very well made crime/revenge flick starring Chris Mitchum as Ricco. Who upon release from prison delves back into the underworld to seek revenge for his Mafia Chief fathers murder.

A great soundtrack and a hell wad of violence makes this a real winner for Italo/Crime buffs

Whoo-hoo, what a film! This film is lots of fun. Of course not in the masterpiece kind of way. Tulio Demicheli's "The Mean Machine" is a pretty bad flick indeedy. But it's such a perfect example of Euro-Trash, that I felt someone had to mention it. First off, it has Christopher Mitchum (where else can an a major actor's son find work? In Italy of course!) giving such a wooden performance, that my roomate mearly rolled his eyes, snickered, and walked out of the room shaking his head (c'mon Tony, you know you did). Christopher with his Dad's droopy eyes just stares off with that same blank expression through out the entire film. Of course he must have known it was a pretty bad script, so I won't fault him too much (I haven't seen his other artistic efforts). But it really cracked me up that on the video box there was this drawing of him looking handsome and muscular, which he definately is not. He was pretty wimpy looking, and evertime he tried to give a macho pose, or flex his authority, I nearly laughed myself silly. Though I excuse all of this, because the real reason I rented this flick was because of the wonderful and beautiful Barbara Bouchet! And this film delivers! She does this great little strip dance in front of these gangsters in a car, right before Chris (Rico the "Mean Machine") throws them into a lake! It's so funny, that Italy will take any oppertunity they can to show off Barbara's attributes. Of course it gratuitous, but it's just too much fun! And of course even after the big ambush, Chris looks to Barbara and she's still has no clothes on. She's having a good time tackling gangsters in the nude! Well, at least Barbara looks to be having fun. Another Euro-babe favourite Malisa Longo (as Chris' ex-girlfriend)also likes to spend her time flirting with Bodygaurds and sitting around in the buff. But unfortunately she meets with a very grizzly end, and becomes the film's sacrificial lamb (what else was gonna come of her character? Chris Mitchum was now with Barbara Bouchet.) in a tub of Acid! This film contains all the unnecessary violence (gory stuff as well), nudity (lots of it), macho posturing (Chris' Ricco is not opposed to giving a lady a smack if she's not behaving), and crummy acting that 70's Italian cinema is so famous for. Would I recommend it? Hardly! Did I laugh my fool head off? Yep! After this review, I'll let the reader make their own call. Barbara Bouchet is amazing!

Ultra-nasty gangster film from Italy with Christopher Mitchum and Barbara Bouchet

After his release from prison, young Ricco Aversi (Christopher Mitchum) has to cross a symbolically long highway bridge to get to his family's run-down gas station. There isn't much left for the Aversis since their father Gaspare (Luis Induni) was treacherously murdered by his competitor Don Vito (delightfully evil: the five-time ACADEMY AWARD nominee Arthur Kennedy). Ricco's sister Conchetta (Paola Senatore) and brother-in-law (Luigi Antonio Guerra) don't get to see much of anything other than the intensive mattress sports they do together. Due to their constant obsession with orgasm, they completely neglect the small gas station. It's only understandable that the wheelchair-bound mother (Rina Franchetti) puts her last hopes on Ricco. He should finally avenge Don Vito for his father's murder. But the long-haired milky face has other plans. Then, during a visit to downtown Turin, he meets the beautiful fraudster Scilla (Barbara Bouchet), who, in a breathtaking pants suit (only the fantastic Bouchet could wear that!!!), sells her uncle's (Angel Alvarez) counterfeit money to drooling guys. Ricco learns from the two that Don Vito also picked up his former bride Rosa (Malisa Longo). Although Ricco realizes that, despite her dislike for Don Vito, she has already adapted too much to the monster's behavior, he can't help but screw Don Vito in his business with the help of Scilla and the rogue Cirano (Eduardo Fajardo). To spit. The situation escalates when Don Vito catches his wife Rosa in bed with his hunky bodyguard Tony (Manolo Zarzo). Don Vito's anger no longer knows any bounds, and Ricco and his family will soon feel this too...

What a tough police officer! Tulio Demicheli's film is really a trip into human depths. Arthur Kennedy (1914-1990), the "nice" Dr. Quimper from the Miss Marple classic "4:50 p.m. From Paddington" (1961), convinces as a super nasty mafia boss. In the 1950s, the actor was nominated for an Oscar five times. The scene in which he cuts off a rival's best piece (close-up!!!) has long since become a cult! As a soap manufacturer, he can elegantly dispose of the remains in hot soapy water (made in the WELLA factory in Madrid). Scary! Barbara Bouchet (born in 1943 in the Sudetenland) is great as always! Her striptease on the hood is worth a viewing alone. Her fantastic pants suit has already been appreciated. The wonderful actress Barbara Bouchet can wear anything, but also play anything. The film's big flaw is Robert Mitchum's son Christopher in the lead role. He just seems too limp and too soft to be convincing in his role. Luc Merenda or Antonio Sabato would certainly have been too old for the role, but Marc Porel or Ray Lovelock would have fit the film much better.

In any case, this film, which is also extensively acknowledged in the "EuroCrime" documentary (2012), is a true exploitation classic among Italian gangster films. But beware! Some scenes could be extremely shocking!

Rico Aversi(Christopher Mitchum)is the son of a murdered mafia chief,who is slowly engulfed by a world of forgery and drugs in order to avenge his father's slaying.His adversary,Don Vito(an excellent Arthur Kennedy,who never achieved the recognition he deserved),is cruel,vicious and has years of gangland experience on his side.Here is a battle of wits,blood and violence that ends in a powerful and dramatic climax."Mean Machine" is a memorable Italian crime thriller.It has wall-to-wall nudity(supplied by Malisa Longo and Barbara Bouchet),plenty of gunplay and some nasty bits of gore for example the castration scene.The film is pretty hard to find,but you should search for it.My rating:7 out of 10.

"Ricco", better known as "Ricco, the Mean Machine" is an outlier among Poliziotteschi for quite a few reasons. This sub-genre of Italian film was clearly inspired by American productions such as "Dirty Harry", "The French Connection", and perhaps most notably, "The Godfather".

Some have noted the difference in portrayal of the mafia in Italian flicks as opposed to American ones, ie. The portrayals being far less flattering in the country of la cosa nostra's birth. Italians had actually had run-ins with the real mafia, it was speculated, or perhaps they grew up hearing tales. They knew, better than anyone, that there was no honour among thieves.

So in its portrayal of this forever-famous, vaunted criminal organisation, how is "Ricco" different from other Italian flicks from the same time, about the same subject? For one thing, the movie lacks the relentlessly grim and self-serious tone that pretty much every other Italian mafia flick has. It's also not concerned with realism: in fact, it feels more like a Bond flick than a serious crime movie.

Christopher Mitchum is miscast as a guy who just got out of jail and is now on the warpath for some mafia boss - unoriginally named Don Vito - who he thinks killed his father. Though, of course, Christopher Mitchum is miscast as anything other than a surfer bum and the talentless son of a movie star. He inherited his dad's indifference to the craft of acting, but not much else.

Adding to the Bond villain comparison is the villain owning a factory with a pool full of acid he feeds people to. He, along with all the characters, seem like broad archetypes, ie. Good guy, bad guy, love interest, henchmen. None of this suits a mafia flick where shades of morality are absolutely necessary, especially when the "good guy" is a criminal too.

The biggest point of contrast between "Ricco" and other Poliziotteschi, though, and the only thing it seems to be remembered for, is its heavy violence. It's not the most violent Italian crime flick of this time - leave it to the gore-met, Lucio Fulci, to give us that with "Contraband". But the focus is on violence more than anything else. Look out for a shot where two guys have their heads smashed into the wall, and the camera zooms in so that we can see their distorted bloody faces at the moment of impact. The camera substitutes for the wall so it's like they're being bashed against its lens.

Probably the only scene that anybody will remember the movie for, though, is an unconvincing, though still garish, castration scene, which is followed by a more-graphic acid bath.

You know, I didn't know who was getting castrated, or who was getting burned. Does that surprise you? I mostly didn't follow the smaller details of this movie's silly story. Christopher Mitchum is definitely not one to watch when you want to go deep into a film, since his commitment to the role is barely more than Matt Hannon's in "Samurai Cop".

I still enjoyed "Ricco", though. It wasn't nearly as boring as most Poliziotteschi - there's yet another difference for you.