Revolver

A promising, clever premise of a prison warden, played by genuine bad-ass Oliver Reed, who surreptitiously allows a prisoner to escape before abducting him in exchange for his (own) kidnapped wife... occurring between steely, intentionally claustrophobic scenes in dingy offices harboring dingier jail sells... almost succeeds...

The best moments of this action/thriller hybrid involves polar opposites Reed ("a stray dog without a home") and prisoner Fabio Testi on the run... in the latter's rogue territory...

Petty thief Testi teaching strict/timid lawman Reed to steal a car is a standout, and there needed more of this kind of Film Noir-inspired ambiguity combined with the European tough guy team-up (although their roles should be reversed) instead of a subpar subplot involving a pretty boy musician connected to a powerful politician...

Leading to an 11th hour escape by use of hiking across a mountain border and yet, despite the flaws, Italian ingenue Paola Pitagora brightens up the joint while Reed, using the same American Classic Gangster accent he had in an episode of THE SAINT (and that he often does as a satirical impression), doesn't need to overact to show the audience his love for this woman...

Any sane man would because, in REVOLVER, Paola's both a knockout and standout.

¨Revolver¨ is an entertaining and thrilling Poliziotteschi , it was retitled "Blood in the Streets" for its American theatrical release . It is an interesting drama/thriller plenty of thrills , taut , intrigue and twists . The picture deals with a prison warden (Oliver Reed who regularly turned-up to the set inebriated) and a small-time crook (Fabio Testi) who is a prisoner at a state penitentiary . As the Italian warden's wife (Agostina Belli) is abducted , and the kidnappers demand that an inmate be released in order for the man to get his wife back . He gets the convict released but then abducts him himself , in order to ensure that the man's compatriots don't murder his spouse . Then , the band sets out to free their colleague and kill the official who took him . At the end it takes place the last battle between crime and the law in the major city in the world : Paris .

This is an exciting but complex thriller plenty of emotion , noisy action , car crashes , pursuits , twists and turns . Some actors claim they made his own stunts , as Fabio Testi told that he did nearly all the stunts in the movie himself, including a difficult roof jumping stunt in Milan that the stuntman was unable to do . Very good acting by Oliver Reed as an enraged warden ; however , there had problems because of his alcoholism , as he become difficult to work with . In fact , co-star Fabio Testi also expressed that it was both exciting and difficult to work with Reed due to his alcoholism, and he would become violent on the set on many occasions . Support cast is frankly good , full of European familiar faces such as Frédéric de Pasquale , Marc Mazza , Reinhard Kolldehoff , Bernard Giraudeau , Peter Berling and Salvatore Borghese . Furthermore , two gorgeous Eurotrash actresses : Agostina Belli and Paola Pitagora . Colorful cinematography by Aldo Scavarda , though a perfect remastering being necessary . Special mention for the sensitive and enjoyable musical score composed and arranged by maestro Ennio Morricone ; including a marvelous song : Un Ami Written by Ennio Morricone and Performed by Daniel Beretta .

The motion picture was compellingly directed by recently deceased Sergio Sollima , he even choreographed the fight scenes himself because he wanted each character to have a fighting style tailored to their personality . Sergio Sollima's direction is well crafted, here he's less cynical and more inclined toward violence and too much action . Sergio wrote and directed all kinds of genres such as Pirate films as ¨ Sandokan ¨ and the ¨ Black Corsario ¨ ; Peplum : ¨Rocha¨ , "Spartacus and the Ten Gladiators" , "Triumph of the Ten Gladiators" , ¨Ursus¨ "Goliath Against the Giants" ; Euro-spy : "Requiem for a Secret Agent" , "Agent 3S3: Hunter from the Unknown" , ¨Tanger 67¨ ; being especially known for his ¨Cuchillo trilogy¨ : ¨Run Cuchillo run¨, ¨Face to Face¨ , ¨The big Gundown¨. And this ¨Revolver¨ is essential and indispensable watching for Oliver Reed fans . This is a satisfyingly violent and thrilling flick that avid fans of the genre will love .

I'm a big fan of Italian crime flicks, but it has to be said that a lot of them are rather similar. That's not the case with Revolver however! Some of these films go off on a bit of a tangent and while in keeping with the elements that make this sort of film what it is (car chases, shootouts etc) deliver something more than the average cop flick, and these are the best of the genre; films such as Almost Human, Street Law and this film. Revolver benefits from a strong plot, two strong leading men and the fact that the film actually has a point to make. The plot focuses on Vito Cipriani; a prison warden and former police officer who finds himself with a choice to make when he is told by criminals that his wife has been kidnapped and the only way he can get her back is to spring crook Milo Ruiz from jail and make the exchange for his wife. Vito is not happy just to take the criminal's word for it, however, and so decides to kidnap the criminal himself before the exchange is made. It also soon becomes apparent that the criminal's aren't playing straight, which leads to an unlikely combination of prisoner and prison warden on the hunt for the warden's wife.

Oliver Reed takes the lead role, and I have to say that he should have made more Italian crime flicks! His performance is typically over the top, though he looks completely at home chewing the scenery and swearing his head off, and it's a joy to watch too. Esteemed Polizi star Fabio Testi stars opposite and is the polar opposite of Oliver Reed, which ensures that they make a fascinating pairing on screen. The plot moves at a brisk pace throughout and it never veers very far off course, which is a bonus if you ask me considering how these films often do. There are a few moments where it does slow down a bit too much, and Revolver is just slightly overlong; but as I said, it doesn't get boring so it's not too big a problem. There's less action in this film than the average Polizi flick, but we do still get a couple of decent car chases and there's a fair bit of gunplay too. Oliver Reed's performance really makes up for that anyway, however; the man himself has more impact than any amount of cars and bullets! Perhaps the best thing about this film is the point it has to make; I don't expect much more than entertainment from a Polizi flick, so getting that little bit extra is a nice bonus. Overall, this is certainly one of the better of examples of this genre and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to my fellow Polizi fans.

Oliver Reed rages at most of Italy and some of France and with good reason - his hot young wife has been kidnapped! He's the warden of a prison in Milan and someone wants him to release Milo (Fabio Testi) for reasons unknown. Even Milo doesn't seem to know why he's being released, no matter how many time Reed beats him up. Maybe it has something to do with that high profile assassination at the start of the film? But then, what does that have to do with that rock star guy?

Reed has to break some rules to get Testi out, but this is no simple case of doing a swap and getting his wife back. After beating the crap out of each other several times, they have to learn to rely on each other to get to the truth of the matter, which will take them through the alps while trying to outrun a massive manhunt.

There's too many twists to ruin so let's not go any further with the plot and let's talk about Oliver Reed. His red-faced rage at every single person involved in the kidnapping is a joy to behold (and drink fuelled by the sounds of it). He screams, swears, threatens, berates, assaults and even shoots his way through the film, and yet can still be loving and tender to his wife or calm when trying to subdue a suicidal inmate (a quick cameo by Sal Borghese). My favourite bit was when he was trying to convince a work colleague that nothing was wrong when at that exact moment the kidnappers call. The look on his face is priceless.

Fabio Testi does good as Milo, a crook resigned to his life of crime who can't think of anything else but a big pay-off. Yet he too has a soft side, seen in the film's strong start as he carries the dead body of a friend along a canal to Ennio Morricone's moving soundtrack. In fact, by the end of the film he's as greatly changed as Oliver Reed's character too, as he does begin to see life outside of crime. Yet another good Euro-crime film that starts off making you wonder why you're being hit with seemingly unconnected scenes that all ties together nicely at the end, if you don't think about it too hard. It's also nearly two hours long so be prepared for that.

If you are a fan of Sergio Sollima then I don't have to tell you that you will enjoy this film. I am so glad that I have discovered Italian action films from the 1960s and 1970s. I only wish that I could see some of these films on the big screen. There is something special about these films.

Revolver takes the viewer on a sort of chase. There is elements of mystery and action, but during the course of the film the relationship between the two

characters, played by Oliver Reed and Fabio Testi, evolves in a way that brings in drama into the story. Like Sollima's other films, there is fast paced action, violence, and a little bit of sex.

There is a gray area between who is good and bad, and that is something

Sollima has stated in interviews. In fact he has said that he has always been a fan of bad guys because sometimes the good guys mess things up more in the

end then the bad guys. He shows that in Revolver.