L'Homme, l'Orgueil et la Vengeance

I was excited to watch this film, a spaghetti western starring Franco Nero, of Django fame. However, this film had little to show for it. It is not a western in the usual sense, but takes place in Spain. It follows the exploits of a solider Hose, who is enthralled with a gypsy woman Carmen, and is led down an increasingly dark path, as he loses rank and privilege, and ends up joining a group of outlaws in the Spanish countryside. They begin to suspect each other of treachery however, and competition over Carmen leads them to conflict. Carmen herself is not always honest, and plays the men off of each other in order to survive.

This movie is full of issues however. The story is weak and muddled. The romance that develops between Carmen and Hose is interesting, but transparent. There were many problems with the story and action that made the movie closer to unwatchable than enjoyable. The action is shot in the dark, and difficult or impossible to view properly. Hose's character is very shallow.

However, there are some interesting points. As I said, the romance that develops between the two leads is interesting. Nero plays his part well, as do most of the actors/actresses. There were some interesting scenes and shots. Carmen's character is also complex and interesting. All in all, this is a bit of a mess. I would say this is a pretty safe "no" if you are looking for a good film. It isn't a complete waste of time however.

Scores of films have been inspired by Georges Bizet's opera Carmen, but here is one with a difference. The director Luigi Bazzoni (working with Italy's most illustrious script-writer, Suso Cecchi d'Amico) chose to ditch the opera, go back to Prosper Merimee's original novella - and shoot it in the style of a Spaghetti Western!

Bazzoni's camerawork is more frenetic than inventive, and his film never quite works. Still, it does boast a wondrous cast. Franco Nero, blue eyes blazing in his dark-bronzed face, is the naive young soldier Jose. Klaus Kinski, teeth gnashing and lips curling in his usual manner, is the sadistic bandit Garcia. And lovely Tina Aumont enjoys a rare leading role as Carmen - the amoral and seductive gypsy who drags both men to their doom.

Aumont may not be the world's greatest actress. (In fact, she can barely act at all!) But like her mother, Maria 'Cobra Woman' Montez, she seems to have the words FEMME FATALE emblazoned in bright scarlet letters across her forehead. Her enormous dark eyes are wells of untold depravity. Her pouting, voluptuous mouth would lure any man to his ruin. If you remember anything in this film, it will be her.

Although "Man, Price & Vengeance" has more on one occasion been labelled a spaghetti western on this side of the Atlantic - as well as in a few other countries - it really isn't. What it happens to be is a twist on the Prosper Mérimée novella of the same name, which was later turned into the well-known opera by Georges Bizet. The twist is that a number of familiar spaghetti western elements are thrown in, from the Spanish desert landscape (though this particular story IS set in Spain instead of the American southwest) to the cinematography. If it sounds offbeat, that's because it is, and this offbeat telling does make the movie interesting at times. However, there are some significant flaws to the entire enterprise. The movie feels really rushed at times, which may have been inevitable given the movie crunches the story down to about 90 or so minutes. And because of this rushed pace, some things are not given enough detail, like just why Franco Nero's character quickly gets infatuated with the character of Carmen. There is definitely some interest with this movie, but I think its prime audience will consist of spaghetti western fans wanting to see something significantly different, as well as for fans of the opera/novella wanting to see a radically different than usual take on the story.

This is an adaption of the classic novel Carmen which puts the main characters into a Spaghetti Western setting, but instead of yet another Spaghetti Western director Luigi Bazzoni created a brooding drama full of psychological tension and visually spectacular sequences. If you are looking for an action movie, look somewhere else, although the movie does contain a very well photographed chase sequence.

Franco Nero again proves to be a great actor and Tina Aumont does a splendid job, too. Klaus Kinski is typecast as the crazy villain again and he again plays this part very well. Look out for the guest appearance of the Austrian Burgschauspieler Karl Schönböck!

Carlo Rustichelli's score matches the movie perfectly since it's a lavish mix of operatic music and brooding low-key pieces. (Get the soundtrack CD released by CAM!)

Only a heavily cut version made it to the German cinemas and again it was tried to sell a movie as yet another adventure of Django, which is even more nonsensical if the literary source of this movie is considered.

Two thumbs up and many thanks to Black Hill/McOne who released the uncut version on DVD in Germany!

An auto 9 for noir. A bit slow though and Klaus Kinski was in it.