Io ho paura

"Io ho paura" means "I am scared"... It is a terrific movie which tries to summarize some of the totally real (despite the disclaimer at the titles end, significantly put below the main title "I am scared"...) links between secret services, criminality & politics. This link we now know, has been real throughout the 70's and is not just alive now, but more complex, as it appears that it now includes also banks, mafia and masonry. Gian Maria Volonte' gives one of his best performances, playing the scared policeman who unwillingly becomes aware of secrets which he perfectly knows might lead him to his death. Riz Ortolani's score is as usual perfect. Damiano Damiani direction is secure as the movie never drops its rhythm and the ending is tough, but a great one. Damiani will later direct the serial on mafia called "PIOVRA", a huge success in Italy and abroad in the 80s. "Io ho paura" is a fantastic and unknown movie with tension, great acting, a perfect score and an alarming accusation message, still real, on the deviation of our society. 10/10

As to be expected, the beautifully acted, superbly immersive crime drama, 'Io ho paura' (1977) is yet another refined, strongly written, engagingly adult thriller from the hugely respected Italian auteur, Damiano Damiani, whose staggeringly classy output of immaculately made Gialli/poliziotteschi tends to focus intelligently on narrative nuance, probing deeper into character development, and moral complexities, rather than merely exploiting the more visceral approach of haymaker fisticuffs, car-carnage, and balletic blood spills to maintain the viewer's interest.

Disenfranchised, visibly shop-worn Bodyguard, Ludovico Graziano, played to perfection by the enormously charismatic actor, Gian Maria Volontè gradually finds his life spiralling into ever murkier, increasingly dangerous waters after fatefully accepting the far from routine position of bodyguard to Judge Cancedda (Erland Josephson). The internecine political squabbles eventually escalate to palpable life threatening dread whereby Graziano is forced to confront a truly terrifying reality! 'Io ho Paura' aka 'I am Afraid' (1977) is a damn fine motion picture, and one desperately in need of a brand-new restoration for a long overdue Blu-ray edition. It would be entirely remiss of me if I failed to mention the lushly appealing, extraordinarily effective, skin-caressingly lovely score by the incomparable music maestro, Riz Ortolani.

Damiano Damiani. The name will be best known to many for his lacklustre sequel to The Amityville Horror, and that's unfortunate because by far his best work was carried out in the seventies in the crime genre. The directors films could be said to be a part of the popular Polizi genre that was spawned in Italy after the release of Don Siegel's highly successful Dirty Harry; although Damiani's films often offer a lot more substance than the car chases and shootouts seen in films by directors such as Stelvio Massi and Fernando Di Leo, and this one is no exception. The film would appear to take more influence from The Godfather than anything else and the plot focuses on organised crime. The lead character is Ludovico Graziano; a man employed as a body guard for a successful judge. There is political unrest in the city and after the death (apparently suicide) of a man in prison, the judge and his bodyguard come across a secret courtesy of the dead man's wife and decide to try and do something about it, despite the fact that they are putting their lives on the line.

The film does have some action sequences and moments of suspense, but the focus of the film is clearly on the plot line and its implications. That is not to say that the film isn't exciting; there are several shootouts and car chases and the way that Damiani builds the atmosphere of mystery is excellently done in that it is always interesting. There also other things going on around the central plot, including the lead character's relationship with his girlfriend, which helps to build the plot and make the film more realistic. The acting is superb throughout and the film is lead by an excellent performance from Gian Maria Volontè who epitomises the title as he unwittingly finds out secrets that could lead to his death. The great Riz Ortolani provides the score which suits the film well also. The film pulls no punches throughout its running time and this stays true for the ending also; and while it is a hard ending, it suits the film well and Damiani couldn't have ended it any differently. Overall, this is an excellent example of the Italian crime thriller and comes highly recommended!

I AM AFRAID tells the story of a bodyguard who, upon the assassination of the judge he was meant to protect, comes to find out that the new judge to whom he is assigned is corrupt with ties to the mafia and high places in the Italian government, and realizes that his own life is in danger.

70s paranoid thrillers and later movies made in their mold, such as Roman Polanski's THE GHOST WRITER (2010), are a favorite of mine. American audiences think mainly of US movies like THE PARALLAX VIEW (1974), THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975), ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976)-all excellent-which were inspired by the Watergate scandal.

But it turns out that sociopolitical turmoil in Europe in the late 60s and the 70s, and especially the fight in Italy against the mafia during that time, provided inspiration for some excellent films in this genre as well, and I AM AFRAID belongs to the very best examples of it.

There is an atmosphere of paranoia right from the first assassination scene a couple minutes in, and it rarely lets up. The movie does a fantastic job of allowing us to emphasize with the protagonist who, upon realization of the tangled web of darkness in which he was thrown, is nothing short of terrified. This is in no small part due to the performance of Gian Maria Volonte in the protagonist role.

The ominous drum motif supplemented with a wonderfully paranoid melody by Riz Ortolani does for this film what Bernard Herrmann's piercing string motif did for PSYCHO(1960) and John Williams' propulsive motif did for JAWS (1976).

The action scenes are beautifully staged, and story-wise, the film stands out not only for its originality and intricacy but also because it shows how the bodyguard uses his acumen to devise an ingenious yet credible way to at least attempt to save himself in the face of overwhelming forces of evil.

This is a perfectly crafted thriller by director Damiano Damiani and I recommend it highly to any fan of this genre.

This is what I call a movie, and not any movie, but Hard Caliber! Volontè is a policeman, as in the "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion"(1970), but this time he's a totally different kind of cop. You must watch both films one after another to understand why Volontè is the greatest actor of all time. The characters, though both cops, are diametrically opposed. In "Investigation...", he is the super-intelligent but evil and fearless cop, who commits a murder only to prove himself how idiotic is the whole Italian police-justice system, rotten to the core by the mafia. In "I Am Afraid" he is also a very smart cop, but who is this time just a fearful good, too good man. Because he's working for the same Italian police-justice system rotten to the core by the mafia, and he is afraid for his own life, he is forced to kill, even he doesn't want to. It is Damiani's best film and one of the best movies ever made. Damiani also worked with the genius called Volontè in another masterpiece, "A Bullet for the General". All actors are exceptional. Especially Ingmar Bergman's favorite, Erland Josephson, and the favorite of many international directors, the brilliant Mario Adorf. Angelica Ippolito, in the role of Gloria, Volontè's girlfriend, is more than compelling. Great cinematography by Luigi Kuveiller and great music by Riz Ortolani. This movie deserves all the possible stars, unfortunately, 10 are the maximum...