Blutiger Freitag

This is a film about a bank robbery, with little concern for other's well being. The lead is a self centered egotistic homicidal maniac. He surrounds himself with people he can control. He has no respect for women. Lots of violence, some shooting & deaths, really low budget. There is a rather interesting sex scene where the lead & a consenting hostage have different views about sex, I thought it had a realistic ring to it. I rented this under the title Violent Offender. I thought that it was enjoyable if you can get past the low budget.

"Whatever they can do in Italy, we can do better" they must have thought in Germany. Extremely violent crime thrillers were very popular in Italy during the early 70's and at least a dozen of awesome ones got released every year. "Bloody Friday" is more or less Germany's response to this successful trend and a damn perplexing one, I may add! When the heavy criminal Heinz Klett escapes police custody during his transport to court, he promptly executes his plans to commit the biggest bank robbery ever in the history of the country. He, his regular partner and his girlfriend's brother storm into the bank heavily armed and take 10 people hostage. While the police attempts to gather the $1.000.000 ransom, and entire media circus unfolds outside on the streets. You usually know pretty much exactly how this kind of movie develops. Things don't go according to plan, there's the Stockholm Syndrome and a couple of unplanned deaths along the way. Apparently the film is inspired by similar real-life events as they occurred in Germany. I don't know which parts of the film were fictionalized, but I seriously wonder if the real events ended in such a nauseating and shocking bloodbath as well. I hope not. Probably the greatest accomplishment here is the biting social satire. While the hostage is going on inside, the public outside shouts for the re-implementation of the death penalty and there are even are some sly businessmen that unscrupulously want to make money out of the gathered crowd. It's certainly also not a film for people with an easily upset stomach or tangled nerves. Heinz' escape is bloody already and there's massively shocking sequence involving a hand grenade at the beginning of the hold-up. "Bloody Friday" is well-directed (by the guy who did "Shocking Asia"), the acting performances are pretty great and everything else (music, editing, photography, atmosphere) is simply in-your-face brutal and confronting.

Excitingly shot against the undeniably picturesque backdrop of Bavaria, Germany, Rolf Olsen's schnapps-sharp 70s shoot 'em up, 'Blutiger Freitag (1972) (aka) 'Bloody Friday' is a bullet-shredded, blazingly brutal, Euro-crime classic! This bona fide, bloody-knuckled German icon of cult Grindhouse cinema benefits greatly from red-headed rapscallion, Raimund Harmstorf's super-masculine charisma, its appealing Munich exteriors, and suitably energized score. Olsen's grimy, full-throttle exploitation epic,'Blutiger Freitag' is certainly no less skull-rattling an experience than equally flint-edged poliziotteschi classics, 'Bloody Payroll', 'Violent Naples', 'Almost Human', and Michael Apted's vastly underappreciated Brit-crime masterpiece, 'The Squeeze'.

With its unleavened thuggery, exhilaratingly cavalier vehicular carnage, close quarters douchbaggery, and an unfiltered, genuinely terrifying performance from the muscular, enigmatic actor, Raimund Harmstorf; a force of corrupted nature, his bellicose, hugely misogynist misfit, Klett frequently indulges in bloody bouts of splenetic, bone-breaking violence; all the while cutting a darkly erotic dash in bespoke grungy, 1970s turtleneck sweater'd, leather-jacketed chic! 'Blutiger Freitag' is one of those rare 70s actioners that more than lives up to the fanboy hype, all its destructive Alpha energies resolutely undimmed! Throw in a sinuous crime-funk score from the estimable composer, Francesco 'New York Ripper' De Masi, and you have an all-time, Top Ten-list making, gun-happy Goliath of German grindhouse madness that deliriously delivers bravura, hard-boiled 70s skulduggery unlike any other German film from then, or now. Prost!!!!

Womansing thug (Harmstorf) is sprung from the courthouse by two accomplices, then sets about planning the big heist of a local bank, equipped with a cache of high-powered weapons he's acquired from an American army outpost. Together with his faithful protégé (Macchia), who reluctantly on-boards his young girlfriend (Bohm) and her AWOL brother (August), the quartet bumble their way through the supposedly full-proof plan that aims to deliver them a cool million in cash and a new life in Australia. Predictably, things deteriorate quickly at every turn.

Harmstorf struts around in tight leather trousers, dropping C-bombs and picking fights he never wins with confidence and virility, an utterly repugnant and degenerate character. His internal adversary, the more even-tempered August character proves to be impotent to both the affections of one of the hostages, and to Harmstorf's increasing lunacy, remaining compliant in the hope of protecting his sister (Bohm) from harm. Generally the acting seemed pretty committed, although at times the atrocious dubbing makes it a mockery.

Paints a fairly miserable picture of working class Munich, often vulgar and violent, yet strangely engaging. The pitiful attempts by the gang to execute their plan, the constant set-backs, and Harmstorf's unbending belief that they'll all be free and filthy rich in spite of the escalating odds is worthy of the deepest sympathy. The climax was a bit disappointing but remained consistent with the overall tone, and while the jazz-pop soundtrack and dubbing will annoy some viewers, if you're not too picky, you might enjoy this quirky Bavarian bank robber flick.

Violent criminal mastermind, Heinz Klett (Raimund Harmstorf) escapes police custody in order to pull off his latest caper. Rejoining his cronies and acquiring heavy military weaponry, the gang sets out to rob a bank.

Unfortunately, everything goes pear-shaped. Surrounded by the police, Klett and company grow more desperate by the second. Then, a kid gets a hold of a grenade and... BOOM!

The true strength of BLOODY FRIDAY is the Klett character. Harmstorf is an imposing figure like a Kodiak bear, only hairier! His enormousness is accentuated by his giant Elvis sunglasses, leather pants, and bomber jacket. Harmstorf gobbles up his role with gusto and sadistic glee.

This is a classic of German / Italian crime cinema...