Borsalino and Co.

For those who enjoy 'the Godfather' and the Sicilian landscapes, Borsalino & Co. is a different view of French gangsterism in the South of France around the 1930's. Alain Delon plays the lead character of Roch Siffredi, a gangster who must fend his empire against the Italian mob who tries to muscle its way through Roch Siffredi's territory and enterprises. How Roch is able to fight back and make an unprecedented comeback while exacting his vengeance on the Italian mob is most original and Machiavellian.

Bottom line, revenge is sweet, and the movie makes great effort in recreating a 1930's decor. The background music and the theme song are particularly enjoying.

Alain Delon, already past his prime, returns to the tried-and-trusted formula of BORSALINO (1970), a fondly-remembered gangster pastiche (which I had watched some time ago, albeit dubbed, and been somewhat underwhelmed by) with a surprisingly mean-spirited but ultimately indifferent follow-up. The film is one of a staggering 9 Delon made with director Deray (the only other one I've seen is LA PISCINE [1969], which I remember liking). However, since I had purchased LE SAMOURAI (1967) while in Hollywood and recently ordered LE CERCLE ROUGE (1970), I thought I might as well give this one a try...

Though Delon served also as producer, he delivers a typically blank-faced performance and the film, with no new ideas in either script or direction, is tolerable mainly for its bouts of excessive, almost cartoonish violence. The international cast is reliable but their contribution is pretty ordinary on this occasion: Riccardo Cucciolla in a dual role (!) as Delon's gangleader rival and his twin; Rene' Koldehoff as Cucciolla's heavy-set chief thug; Catherine Rouvel (still looking gorgeous 15 years after swimming in the nude for Jean Renoir in LUNCH ON THE GRASS [1959]) also reprising her role from the original as a high-class prostitute and Delon's old flame, Daniel Ivernel (from Bunuel's DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID [1964]) as the level-headed Police Commissioner, Alfredo Lastretti (from Jess Franco's VENUS IN FURS [1968]) as one of Delon's lieutenants...plus a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo from Anton Diffring (perhaps imposed on the film by its backers, BORSALINO AND CO. being a French/Italian/West German co-production).

'Borsalino and Co.' (the English title is 'Blood on the Streets') is a good case study of the risks of 'sequel' films. Film director Jacques Deray and producer Alain Delon tried in 1974 to repeat the success of 'Borsalino' released on screen in 1970, which featured Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo, in an elegant and well choreographed production, in which the two mega-stars almost mathematically divided their time and space on the screen, being extremely careful not to shadow each other. Francois Capella, the hero played by Belmondo, dies in a spray of bullets at the end of the first film, and 'Borsalino and Co.' begins with his funeral. Roch Siffredi (Alain Delon) will spend the sequel looking for the assassins of his friend, taking revenge upon them in a cruel and spectacular way and fighting with his rivals for the control of Marseilles in the mid-1930s. The task will not be easy.

Although it is happening at the same period and in the same locations, the story of 'Borsalino and Co.' has a tone different from the one of the original movie. If there is a moral motivation in 'Borsalino' that balances the character and deeds of the heroes this was friendship. Friendship remains in the second film only a pretext mentioned in the first scenes, revenge takes its place as a feeling that guides the actions of Roch Siffredi. 'Borsalino' was more like a mobsters movie inspired by successful similar American films. 'Borsalino and Co.' slips much further into the 'film noir' genre. Less successful are the political or historical nuances, the introduction of the fascist association of Roch's enemies seems forced. From the light atmosphere, the local color, the humor and the fun of the original film, there is nothing left, even Claude Bolling's music is less inspired this time.

'Borsalino and Co.'o and Co.' it's not a bad movie. It is a cursive action film, and the story has something from 'Count de Monte Cristo', if we are already in Marseilles. Delivered by the need to be careful about the pharmaceutical partition of the screen with Belmondo, Delon dominates the film and creates a role closer to that he had other gangster films in which he played the role of the bad guy with an angelic face. However, the rest of the casting is much less inspired than the first movie in the series, and none of the supporting roles provide the opportunity for an acting creation to remember more than five minutes after the screening ends. 'Borsalino' was a special film, a piece of entertainment with the chance to be remembered long after watching it. 'Borsalino and Co.' it's just a reasonable vintage action movie. It ends with a 'to be followed' sign that never happened, and I believe that the producer and the director were inspired not to continue the series.

I rented this DVD today and was very disappointed. I had been seeking "Borsalino" and the clerk said, "Borsalino and Co." is in the foreign section. I wasn't yet aware there even was a sequel. I haven't seen "Borsalino" since its original '72 theatrical run. At that time I went to see it three times. I remember seeing the first run of "The Sting" and thinking it was good but not as good as "Borsalino". I loved the original, the music by Claude Bolling was unforgettable. The original had masterful dynamic interplay and tension between Belmondo and Delon. I began watching "Borsalino and Co." and soon realized it was trying yet failing to recapture its predecessor's magic. I loved Delon in "The Sicilian Clan" and other films. He is a cool screen presence, but was so effective contrasted with Belmondo's volatility.

An old recipe of crime-thriller-revenge, good for fans of Alain Delon but easy to see it with large indulgence today. All is more than familiar, correct and predictable against the effort to surprise. So, murders and America. And, sure, Alain Delon as the blank-faced hero.