henry8-3

The bodies of three young people are found buried in the snow next to the skating rink in Gorky Park in Moscow. They have been shot in the mouth and chest, their faces and their fingerprints have been cut off. Arkady Renko (William Hurt) is placed in charge of the investigation but he is reluctant as evidence suggests the killings were carried out by the KGB.

Enjoyable and exciting procedural thriller set in and around Moscow which itself adds to the glorious sense of paranoia that pervades the whole thing. Renko is followed / studied every second of the day by KGB etc but secretly supported by American detective in hiding Kirwill ( Brian Dennehy). The motive for the crimes baffles our man and his team but has something to do with rich, powerful and rather menacing American Jack Osborne (Lee Marvin) but Renko can't get to the bottom of things.

The film boasts a terrific cast aside from the leads, Hurt and Marvin, largely of British character actors which helps in adding an air of authenticity somehow to proceedings eg Michael Elphick, Ian Bannen and an amusing turn from Alexei Sayde. Brian Dennehy also does well as the tough American cop looking for revenge. It's a fairly complex story but a rewarding watch offering a strange and very Russian solution. If I have any criticism, I'm not sure I really bought into the Hurt / Joanna Pacula love story plus Hurt's character seemed to change considerably throughout the story although in the grand scheme of things this didn't distract from what is certainly a solid thriller.

A cut throat razor killer is doing the rounds in Vienna when Julie Wardh returns to the city with her diplomat husband Neil after spending time in New York. On arriving she both hears from her sinister ex sadomasochistic lover Jean and also starts a fling with a man, George she is introduced to at a party. So who is the killer and are they really after Julie?

Typical Giallo Italian horror film featuring as usual plenty of blood and naked women. The plot itself is a trifle convoluted allowing for Julie to indulge in many scenes of high emotion. There are a considerable number of twists and turns in the last thirty minutes, but this is explained to us in scenes of explicit and forthright exposition - they might as well have just held signs up. Anyway, it's a good example of Giallo, all style over substance with a lively soundtrack and bad acting / dubbing. It's fine.

Swedish whaler George Hansen (Sterling Hayden) returning home to Prairie City discovers that his father has been killed. Hansen seeks revenge against McNeil (Sebastian Cabot) who had him killed by one armed gunslinger Johnny Crale (Nedrick Young) to set an example to the other townsfolk because he wants all their land because he knows there is oil on it.

Whilst the general themes of revenge / fighting the local big man are not exactly new, this is a bit different. It is a singular and now cult western that in the absence of anything approaching a budget relies on characters and script. It is therefore quite wordy and light on action but sharp on delivery and often quite brutal. The film has a number of sterling performance not least from Hayden (with a fine accent) as he tries to beat land grabbing McNeil. Cabot, suitably pompous eloquent and greedy and Young as the ruthless killer who knows the world is changing and that he has no place in it. A strong western.