Tony Arzenta (1975)

Nothing original in the story here of mafia guys falling out, something going wrong and the wronged one seeking revenge. Directed with such slickness by Duccio Tessari, however, that it is a great watch. Great locations, including Copenhagen, Milan and Sicily even if the weather in the Northern cities looks so dismal. Interiors are also shot with fine Italian style, colourful fashionable furniture and lampshades, a fish tank, of course plus the essential bottles of J&B here and there. Alain Delon persuades with often no more than a glance and is ably supported by Richard Conti and others. Erika Blanc and Rosalba Neri regrettably have only the tiniest of roles but Carla Gravina (The Antichrist) is great - she spends half her screen time laying dishevelled and bloodied but scrubs up nicely for the last section and does well alongside Delon. Predictable, as I say, but still irresistible.

Alain Delon visits swift, sure vengeance on the ruthless crime family that employed him as a hit-man in the Duccio Tessari thriller "Big Guns" after they accidentally murder his wife and child. Tessari and scenarists Roberto Gandus, Ugo Liberatore of "A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die," and Franco Verucci of "Ring of Death" take this actioneer about a career gunman for the mob right down to the wire. Indeed, "Big Guns" is rather predictable, but it still qualifies as solid entertainment with lots of savage and often sudden killings. Alain Delon of "The Godson" is appropriately laconic as he methodically deals out death to the heads of the mob families who refused to let him retire so that he could enjoy life with his young son and daughter. Richard Conte of "The Godfather" plays a Sicilian crime boss who wants to bury the hatchet with the Delon character, but the rest of his hard-nosed associates want the hit-man dead. Like most crime thrillers in the 1960s and 1970s, "Big Guns" subscribes to the cinematic morality that crime does not pay. Interestingly, the one man who has nothing to do with the murder of the wife and son of the hero survives while another betrays the hero with extreme prejudice. Tessari does not waste a second in this 90-minute shoot'em up. Apart from the mother and son dying in a car bomb meant for the father, the worst thing that takes place occurs in an automobile salvage yard when an associate of the hero is crushed in a junked car. Ostensibly, "Big Guns" is a rather bloodless outing, but it does have a high body count for a 1973 mobster melodrama. Only at the last minute does our protagonist let his guard down and so the contrived morality of an eye for an eye remains intact. Tessari stages a couple of decent car chases and the death of a don in a train traveling through a train tunnel is as bloody as this violent yarn gets. The photography and the compositions are excellent.

Icy and lethal ace hit-man Tony Arzenta (a divinely smooth and commanding performance by Alain Delon) wants to quit the assassination business, but the dangerous mobsters he works for won't let him. After his wife and child are killed, Arzenta declares open season on everyone responsible for their deaths. Director Duccio Tessari relates the absorbing story at a constant snappy pace, maintains a properly serious and no-nonsense tone throughout, stages the stirring shoot-outs and exciting car chases with considerable rip-snorting brio, and punctuates the narrative with jolting outbursts of explosive bloody violence. Delon's suave and charismatic presence adds extra class to the already engrossing proceedings. This film further benefits from sterling acting by a bang-up cast, with praiseworthy contributions by Richard Conte as wise Mafia kingpin Nick Gusto, Carla Gravini as Arzenta's supportive lady friend Sandra, Marc Porel as Arzenta's loyal pal Domenico Maggio, Anton Diffring as ruthless, calculating capo Grunwald, and Lino Troisi as the venomous gangster Rocco Cutitta. Silvano Ippoliti's glossy cinematography boasts several graceful pans. Gianni Ferrio's funky score hits the get-down groovy spot. Erika Blanc and Rosalba Neri pop up briefly in nifty bit parts. Better still, there's no filler to speak of and we even get a decent dab of tasty gratuitous female nudity. The startling conclusion packs a mean and lingering wallop right to the gut. A solid and satisfying winner.

Alain Delon is a hit-man who decides he wants out of the mob and finds that they don't want to let him go. When his bosses decide to take him out the hit goes wrong and his wife and son are killed in a car explosion. Things get even more complicated when they try to kill him moments after laying his loved ones to rest. Okay action film has some spectacular action set pieces and some good performances. Unfortunately the film has a plot that is as old as the day is long and once we move away from the action the film becomes less interesting. Its not that its bad, its just that we've been here before any number of times and you can pretty much write the plot yourself. I'd say take a pass except the car chases are very well done and worth a look (on a slow night)