Scorpio

This is a convoluted espionage thriller with shades of John Le Carre. Unfortunately Michael Winner directs it like an early 1970s Europudding with most of the main actors sound like they have been dubbed.

Burt Lancaster is veteran CIA spook Cross who wants to retire and live in peace with his wife. He has accumulated a nice nest egg.

However Cross is now branded by his employers as a double agent. It helps them to know that Cross has leftist sympathies during the Spanish civil war. His protege codenamed Scorpio (Alain Delon) has been tasked to wipe Cross out, a task he has been forced to do.

Both play a cat and mouse game across various cities. Scorpio is not sure if Cross is a double agent or has merely been framed.

Winner has adopted a cynical look at spies. Both Cross and his Soviet counterpart Zharkov (Paul Scofield) are disillusioned old men, both of live and their countries.

There is plenty of good action but it is a muddled story and with a disappointing ending.

A compelling title on one of the most compelling astrological signs and the movie is a 'tall order' to live up to, but brings it. The scenes go from scene to scene in a rapid pace to upkeep interest, maybe on a slight directorial ability to bring more out of the script which is good on the dialogue just could have a bit more action scenes , only because there is one main sequence for this about chasing down the main hero through a dilapidated/construction site. There are numerous assassinations though which are satisfying to checkout.. As for the dialogue it is nifty because of lots of spy talk , like mentioning 'get his posting' like getting his assassination gig job, or putting the 'net' on someone, boxing someone in, getting 'out' (exiting the assassin business), alluding cats not letting to go out because they could not survive since they are bred for debauchery like wh***s (?), wetowrk (?), wanting 'inside' (?), this does make a person know about spy stuff more, as they exchange these words in numerous offices, apartments, or even a bird sanctuary (!), and also rooms that look positively of a decor of yore (!) years, pretty elegant curtains, wooden surfaces. A discussion about Greek Gods clarifies the title, and one of the two main characters names who is a compelling person and I appreciate this bringing in mythology to this gritty raw spy thriller. One sequence went on too long involving two spies getting drunk in a living room, one being a Soviet and reminiscing of them being part of the 'old guard', which is cliche talk, other than that, there is some good sinister type music at parts, but not the construction/alley stuff which seems just *ok* but other music parts, piano type sounds. The two main characters Cross and Scorpio played by Lancaster and Delon are good. This is my first Delon movie, compelling intense guy. Lancaster is dope which I've noted from westerns.

In Paris, CIA operative Cross (Burt Lancaster) uses freelance assassin Jean 'Scorpio' Laurier (Alain Delon) to kill. It's their sixth or seventh assassination together. CIA don't usually do the killings themselves. They try to take out Cross within the Agency and fail. They do a deal with Scorpio to kill Cross. In Paris, Cross is given a safe house from his Soviet opposite Zharkov.

Cross and Scorpio need to be closer. There is a connection but a deeper emotional connection would make the chase more compelling. Scorpio can't be an outsider especially considering their conversation later in the movie. They talk like teacher and student. It doesn't really fit their relationship as described in the beginning. I still like their connection. It just needs some minor changes. On the other hand, Cross and Zharkov are almost perfect. They are both world-wearied warriors on their last legs. The movie does drag a bit too long after the explosive climax in Paris. Despite that scene, the movie could use a good action car chase in the city. It could use some more action and it needs to get to the ending faster. Overall, it has some interesting aspects of the genre but it's not one of the memorable ones.

Back in the 1970s when Capitalism and Communism were fighting the cold war with undercover activities, a film such as this was able to play on our fears of the "good" guys as well as the "bad" guys. So, along with Burt Lancaster's aging C.I.A. agent, Cross, we can't know whom to trust. We like Burt, but we also like Alain Delon (Scorpio) the free agent assigned to assassinate him. We loathe John Colicos as the C.I.A. chief, yet he's supposedly working for our side. We like Paul Scofield's Zharkov, yet he's a commie. (Indeed, Scofield who is a master of cold characters has never been so charming.) The film offers great action scenes as well as unmitigated suspense. There is a superlative cast, and a lot of surprises. (Burt ain't named Cross for nothin'.) If you are a fan of thrillers, or even you aren't, this one's a must see!

The movie hasn't aged well, but it still lives with great performances by it's lead actors. The editing and pace feel a bit odd (or off) and it's not only, because it's a slow moving movie, but because some choices seem "wrong".

If you can overlook those "flaws", you can surely enjoy the movie. The story is pretty complicated though and you might feel a bit confused at the ending. But this confusion can be a good thing, too. And the more I think about the ending, the more I like it. While it could have a better set-up, it still delivers and gives the movie one final punch, that will leave you surely with some sort of taste in your mouth (as the saying goes). If you like spy movies, this is essential, otherwise be aware of it's flaws and downfalls.