L'Homme, l'Orgueil et la Vengeance

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.

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

This is a peculiar adaptation upon the known classic novel written by Próspero Merimee . Here a gypsy , Tina Aumont , seduces a straight-lace brigade called José , Franco Nero . This one falls big time for the beautiful gypsy who is working at a cigarette factory . The soldier then runs off after he kills an officer , Franco Ressel , and quits the army . José abandons everything to follow her band formed by various nasty brigands as Klaus Kinski , Lee Burton , José Luis Martín and Alaberto Dell'Aqua . José becomes interested in robbing , but Carmen tired of the pretty boy wanders upon a prize bullfighter .

This is an exciting story about a crazy love , in which a soldier , Don Jose , falls in love with a beautiful factory worker , but she does not reciprocate his feelings , she is a gorgeous gypsy who becomes the object of obsession for a local brigade and things wind up badly of his jealousy . Here cast does a fine job , giving acceptable interpretations . Nero and Tina Aumont are great to look at and the film's main selling point . Passable support cast plenty of secondaries from Spaghetti/Paella Western , as Klaus Kinski , José Luis Martin , Franco Ressel , Guido Lollobrigida or Lee Burton who is Gina Lollobrigida's brother , and Alberto Dell'Acqua who played along with Franco Nero in the classic ¨Adios Texas¨ . It packs colorful cinematography shot on location in Guadix , Granada and desert of Tabernas , Almeria , where was filmed a lot of exteriors and marvelously shown . Thrilling and atmospheric musical score by Carlo Rustichelli . This Carmen film version was well directed by Luigi Bazzoni who gives a surprisingly effective realization . Luigi directed a few films , 3 giallos as ¨The Firth cord¨ , ¨Footprints on the moon¨ and ¨Donna Del Lago¨ , and 2 Spaghetti Westerns : ¨Blue Gang¨ and this one.

The story has been adapted several times , such as : First silent retelling (1915) by Cecil B De Mille with Geraldine Farrar , Wallace Reid , Pedro De Cordoba . Hollywood rendition 1948 ¨The loves of Carmen¨ by Charles Vidor with Rita Hayworth , Glenn Ford , Ron Randell , Victor Jory , Luther Adler . ¨Carmen De Ronda¨ by Tulio Demicheli with Sara Montiel , Mauricio Ronet , German Cobos . ¨Carmen Jones¨ by Otto Preminger with Harry Belafonte , Dorothy Dandridge . ¨Carmen Baby¨ (66) by Radley Metzger . Musical rendition ¨Carmen¨ (83) by Carlos Saura with Laura Del Sol , Antonio Gades . ¨Carmen of Bizet¨ by Francesco Rosi with Julia Migenes Johnson , Plácido Domingo , a film version of the famous Bizet opera and to use spoken dialogue between all the musical numbers rather than being sung all the way through . ¨Carmen: A Hip Hopera¨ by Robert Towsend with Beyoncé Knowles , Mekhi Phifer . And ¨Carmen¨ by Vicente Aránda with Paz Vega and Leonardo Esbaraglia

Why are all the beautiful gypsies women so difficult? To make your life so miserable that you want to kill them? I had a similar experience with one, but I didn't kill her, in the end I found another woman. The film is well done, Franco Nero and Tina Aumont, in particular, they are very good, very believable and natural. What didn't convince me are two scenes: when they make love fully clothed and when Klaus Kinski shot the boy, although in the previous scene he had no bullets left in his revolver, because he had shot them all (far too many than a revolver can have - usually only 6) in the man he had been following on horseback. To appreciate the ease with which Klaus Kinski always knew how to make himself unbearable, to want to kill him too.

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!