Borsalino and Co.

An old recipe of crime-thriller-revenge, good for fans of Alain Delon but easy to see it with large indulgence today. All is more than familiar, correct and predictable against the effort to surprise. So, murders and America. And, sure, Alain Delon as the blank-faced hero.

For those who enjoy 'the Godfather' and the Sicilian landscapes, Borsalino & Co. is a different view of French gangsterism in the South of France around the 1930's. Alain Delon plays the lead character of Roch Siffredi, a gangster who must fend his empire against the Italian mob who tries to muscle its way through Roch Siffredi's territory and enterprises. How Roch is able to fight back and make an unprecedented comeback while exacting his vengeance on the Italian mob is most original and Machiavellian.

Bottom line, revenge is sweet, and the movie makes great effort in recreating a 1930's decor. The background music and the theme song are particularly enjoying.

Alain Delon, already past his prime, returns to the tried-and-trusted formula of BORSALINO (1970), a fondly-remembered gangster pastiche (which I had watched some time ago, albeit dubbed, and been somewhat underwhelmed by) with a surprisingly mean-spirited but ultimately indifferent follow-up. The film is one of a staggering 9 Delon made with director Deray (the only other one I've seen is LA PISCINE [1969], which I remember liking). However, since I had purchased LE SAMOURAI (1967) while in Hollywood and recently ordered LE CERCLE ROUGE (1970), I thought I might as well give this one a try...

Though Delon served also as producer, he delivers a typically blank-faced performance and the film, with no new ideas in either script or direction, is tolerable mainly for its bouts of excessive, almost cartoonish violence. The international cast is reliable but their contribution is pretty ordinary on this occasion: Riccardo Cucciolla in a dual role (!) as Delon's gangleader rival and his twin; Rene' Koldehoff as Cucciolla's heavy-set chief thug; Catherine Rouvel (still looking gorgeous 15 years after swimming in the nude for Jean Renoir in LUNCH ON THE GRASS [1959]) also reprising her role from the original as a high-class prostitute and Delon's old flame, Daniel Ivernel (from Bunuel's DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID [1964]) as the level-headed Police Commissioner, Alfredo Lastretti (from Jess Franco's VENUS IN FURS [1968]) as one of Delon's lieutenants...plus a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo from Anton Diffring (perhaps imposed on the film by its backers, BORSALINO AND CO. being a French/Italian/West German co-production).

First of all, I admit that I will watch anything with Alain Delon in it. Even that insufferably pretentious 1960s snooze-fest, The Eclipse. That drop-dead gorgeous man will continue to accelerate my pulse until I'm 90 (if I get that far). Nature's most perfect production and never repeated.

Having made that clear, I'm surprised at the negative reviews. I find this second installment far superior to the first Borsalino. In the first place, it's daubed in English (American English) and that is a lot better than the first one, which was daubed by French people speaking English (and you can tell). In the second place, then fight scenes are much more realistic than in the first film, where you could see very clearly that the blows didn't even reach the recipient. IMO, the first Borsalino was more of a comedy caper, while B & Co. is more sober, more of a real gangster film. Perhaps a bit slow, but that's how they did things in those days. Personally, I prefer them to the crash, bang, thank you, ma'am 'action' films of today.

Maybe I'm biased because I grew up watching European films of that era and I still love most of the French flic and gangster films made in those days.

My advice to young people is if you cannot watch old films with an open mind (e.i. without automatically comparing them unfavorably to the new ones, or without making the necessary concessions) just pass them by. Stick to The Godfather and Good Fellas (the last one atrocious, in my opinion, but that's just me).

All in all, B & Co. is not a bad film. Give it a chance.

I rented this DVD today and was very disappointed. I had been seeking "Borsalino" and the clerk said, "Borsalino and Co." is in the foreign section. I wasn't yet aware there even was a sequel. I haven't seen "Borsalino" since its original '72 theatrical run. At that time I went to see it three times. I remember seeing the first run of "The Sting" and thinking it was good but not as good as "Borsalino". I loved the original, the music by Claude Bolling was unforgettable. The original had masterful dynamic interplay and tension between Belmondo and Delon. I began watching "Borsalino and Co." and soon realized it was trying yet failing to recapture its predecessor's magic. I loved Delon in "The Sicilian Clan" and other films. He is a cool screen presence, but was so effective contrasted with Belmondo's volatility.