Vendredi sanguinaire

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...

Heinz is a bit of a nutter. While heading to court, he manages to escape with the help of his mates and gives two policemen a severe beating for their troubles. Hunted nationwide, Heinz plans to rob a bank and start a new life in another country, with the help of his Italian mate and his girlfriend Helen, plus Helen's brother Christian, an AWOL soldier who is a last minute replacement for a guy who was captured during Heinz's escape.

Christian is reluctant to help and does so only to protect his sister, but he becomes more worried about the whole situation when Heinz starts displaying not-so-sane tendencies, including nearly murdering to American soldiers they were robbing for explosives. He goes ahead with the plan however, which turns out to be more complicated and dangerous than he thought, and things go wrong almost right away when a small child picks up a hand grenade that Heinz dropped on the way into the bank...

Okay, there's not much plot to be honest, but it's a good film nonetheless, mostly due to gigantic actor Raimund Harmstorf as the psychotic Heinz and his interactions with his hostages, plus his confidence that his plan is going to work, despite the self-evident truths. This is also a film that doesn't skimp on the violence, especially when a cop jumps on a hand grenade to protect the public. It's the goriest part of the film and something that was sure to shock audiences back in the day. Ah, the seventies.

Grim from beginning to end. What else can I say?

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.

If you consider the fact that the Italians, back in the seventies, were champions in the eurocrime exploitation genre (poliziotto), than it's no wonder they would have a go at it in other countries as well. Cineproduzione Daunia 70 (from Caliber 9) tried it in Germany with actor/director Rolf Olsen. He made the crime film Wenn es nacht wird auf der Reeperbahn in 1967, and the prostitution drama Der Pfarrer von St. Pauli in 1970, which are both quite good, so you understand why he wrote and directed it.

Bloody Friday is a more German version of the stylistic Italian poliziotto. It is tougher, more direct and also more over the top, I mean, it is sometimes TOO SILLY. The escape of Heinz Klett (great acting by Raimund Harmstorf by the way) on itself might be believable, but why would Heidi incriminate herself suddenly for her boyfriend Luigi, or would her brother do just the same for her? Just robbing a bank with a maniac, what can go wrong?

The heart of the film is this violent character Heinz. He is the cause of everything. How he bluntly accepts these amateurs for nothing less than a bank robbery, that's typical Heinz. He is like a caricature of a man, aggressive, sexist, opportunist and over confident. People who die just deserve it because they are weak, in his opinion.

Bloody Friday might look terrible at some point, but this film isn't as bad as it looks. It actually brings some surprising social undertones to the genre, which are usually lacking in poliziotteschi. The desperation from the other robbers give the film an humanistic context. Heidi and Luigi want to escape from their shitty jobs, while the brother is a deserter. It is also (very loosely) based on a real story, as Germany had to endure a lot of violence in this period – terrorism from extreme left wing organizations and violent bank robberies, not only by professionals, but also by amateurs, like in this film. I rate it 7/10.

This is just a great, over the top story of a bank heist gone wrong with the greatest bad boy of movie history, Raimund Harmstorf. Chock full with (visual) violence, cheap FX and really the greatest trash talk of all times. And Gila von Weitershausen as the naive bit on the side isn't too bad either.