Le fauve à la mitraillette

Remember the scene in Jackie Brown with Robert DeNiro and Bridget Fonda watching TV and then Samuel Jackson walks in and goes: "Is that Rutger Hauer?" and Fonda replies: "No, it's Helmut Berger."?

Well, it's this movie they're watching.

It's a typical low-key Italian gangster movie with a bunch of evil, skinny, mustached (except Helmut Berger) crooks driving around doing evil stuff. The violence scenes are very brutal but there are many moments where also unintentional humor is present.

Once again, I have a Finnish super rare version of this movie with Finnish title (roughly translated) "Death Obeys No Law" on the front cover and in the back cover it says "Best With A Gun", (obviously a typing error). In the opening credits it says "Furious" (or "Ferocious"). A movie with so many names can't be that bad, can it?

Helmut Berger gives a gritty performance as a sadistic killer. Unfortunately there are two kinds of punishment being dished out, Helmut's and that which the audience must suffer. The police work in "Beast With a Gun" is mortally laughable, and the stilted dialog in the dubbed version rivals that in the worst "Godzilla" movie. Berger's deranged killer, and a nice Morricone-like score save this from being just another Italian crime flick. So, if you can throw logic out the window, cringe a bit with each spoken word, and suspend disbelief, you might be ready to watch this gloriously sleazy tale of robbery, rape, and revenge. - MERK

He's mean! He's profane! He's armed and extremely dangerous! His name is Nanni Vitali (Helmut Berger), and he's a one-man hit squad! Boiling over with bitterness and vengeance over his time in prison, Vitali sets out on a mission to destroy those whom he deems responsible.

Anyone in his way will be raped, murdered, or both.

BEAST WITH A GUN is a nasty bit of crime-drama cinema in keeping with similar Italian films of the period. Berger plays his vicious role with gusto. He's pretty scary!

Co-stars the breathtakingly gorgeous Marisa Mell...

Helmut Berger leads a group of prison escapees on a rampage targeting cop Richard Harrison,who testified against him in court.After Berger rapes beautiful Marisa Mell("Danger:Diabolik"),then forces her to join the gang,Harrison hatches his own plan to stop dangerous Berger.The film is loaded with sleaze and violence,but it's not as nasty as it's reputed to be."Mad Dog" is well-acted,well-directed and has a fast pace from beginning to end.So if you're a fan of Italian crime flicks give this one a look-just don't expect something mind-shattering.

You can't get much cooler than an Italian crime film, and Beast With a Gun is yet another excellent example of this cult sub-genre! The film is quite a lot nastier than the majority of Italian crime films that I've seen, and at times it feels like it owes a lot to the exploitation genre! Naturally, there's the usual array of fistfights, shootouts and car chases; but here we've also got rapes and scenes of torture - among other stuff. So Beast With a Gun might not be everyone's cup of tea - but I think most people would agree that the nasty edge certainly gives the film a bit more 'bite'! The film begins with the escape of three nasty convicts. Their leader is a man named Nanni Vitali, and their first port of call after escaping from jail is killing the dirty scumbag that turned them in. However, when they catch up with him; Nanni takes a shine to his girlfriend, and proceeds to brutally rape her before killing the snitch. He also wants the girl to help them pull off a robbery; and she agrees to help them, but not before telling the police all about it...

The main strength that this film has is undoubtedly Helmut Berger. Berger is absolutely spot on with his role as the nasty criminal at the centre of the tale, and every moment he's on screen is completely gripping. He is joined by experienced Eurocult actress Marisa Mell, who provides the eye candy in style! Richard Harrison rounds off the central cast with the token 'cop' role and like his co-stars - plays it well. Beast With a Gun also features an excellent soundtrack, which goes well with the film and definitely adds to every scene it features in. Realism obviously wasn't big on director Sergio Grieco's priority list, however, as the film features numerous instances that don't make a lot of sense - the scene that springs to mind instantly is the one where a certain female cast member is shot in the leg...and then instantly diagnoses it as 'not serious' and barely bats an eyelid! I've got to say, if I got shot it would be VERY SERIOUS, no matter where it got me. However, this isn't important as Beast With a Gun does the important thing - that being entertain the audience - very well, and fans of Italian crime films won't want to miss it!