Portrait of a Hitman

I remember seeing the full 1 hour 26 minute version of this late 1970s crime movie on VHS. It held together ok and although not able to stand up against the truly magnificent films of this genre, it was watchable.

My low score however, is for the 2002 "Hollywood DVD" release. Its transfer looks terrible and its missing 16 minutes, clocking in at only 71 minutes duration.

Not only is it missing key scenes, but the edit is totally different than the VHS version.

If you have a VHS player and can find a VHS version cheaply then 'Portrait of A Hitman' is worth seeing but don't buy the 2002 dvd version distributed by 'Hollywood DVD', that company was operating at a low budget level and obviously couldn't afford to perform a proper restoration of this movie

Maybe in time, 'Vinegar Syndrome' or 'Arrow' may release a Blu Ray version given its cast boasts Rod Steiger, and Jack Palace. If not, don't waste your money on the butchered 2002 release.

What in the world were Jack Palance and Rod Steiger thinking about when they agreed to appear in this film? It is so poorly written and the characters so shallow as to be beyond belief. It reminds me of the really trashy porn movies of the early 70's where plot and character development didn't feature, just the naked flesh. There is no porn here just the lack of plot and every other item that makes for an interesting and enjoyable film. The lack of realism is also evident and all concerned appear to be 'going through the motions' as if paying back some obligation . My vote is 1/10. why oh why did you do it Jack? you can't have been that hard up.

i want to write about the paintings used in the movie. They are an integral part of the plot and I guess that being a painter and a hit-man is what constitutes the main character traits. The paintings you see in the house and during the opening of the exhibition at the end of the movie are all the work of the painter Tony Mafia. I think I remember him telling that they were originally in the house of the Nassi family. The portrait of the lady, wasn't done by Tony Mafia. You can easily tell by the style and the brush strokes. Tony didn't want to do that one. In the movie they give credits to him and the other painter. He was kind of proud of that. So I have a question: Why are the credits not here also? The plot works well, since the painting brings the movie to a logical conclusion. Tony like the part were the art critics rant and rave about his work at the opening of the show. He showed me that part a few times.

I rented this movie with my girlfriend years ago. I liked the cover at the video store. Unfortuanately that and the name were the only good aspects of this film. The first 2 minutes were good, and the rest of this film is one horrible ride. If he UN arm inspectors found this movie it would be labeled a weapon of mass destruction. I remember watching this films years earlier with my dad; I for got about it because the film was that bad and I only watched half of it. The second time I watched this insomnia cure the second half made me remember this film forever. At least this time I got to cuddle with my girlfriend. This film is incredibly awful, and will haunt your memory. Not too many films merit a 1 out of 10

This movie sounded to me exciting because I like films about hitman and stuff like this. But his film has a boring story and I only watched it half before I fell asleep