BEAST
WITH A GUN (1977)Director: Sergio Grieco
Anchor Bay Entertainment
BEAST
WITH A GUN (1977)Probably better known under the
titles "Mad Dog" or "Mad Dog Killer," Anchor Bay has presented
Sergio Grieco's exemplar "poliziotteschi" thriller on DVD as BEAST
WITH A GUN. The "poliziotteschi" genre is violent style of police/crime
drama that was very popular with Italian filmmakers during the 70s. Directors
like Enzo G. Castellari, Umberto Lenzi, Sergio Martino, Fernando Di Leo, Damiano
Damiani, and even Lucio Fulci got in on the act at one time or another. These
films often featured European actors like Fabio Testi, Tomas Milian, Luc Merenda,
and Franco Nero, as well as vacationing American stars such as Henry Silva,
Richard Conte, John Saxon, Lee J. Cobb and Arthur Kennedy. 
This one features Austrian-born favorite Helmut Berger as Nanni Vitali, a murdering psychopath who has recently escaped from prison with his small band of thugs. After robbing and beating an old gas station attendant and stealing the car from a young couple, Vitali kidnaps the informant responsible for putting him in the pen. The guy is kicked, punched (with the loudest dubbed-in slaps this side of The Three Stooges), and buried alive in the desert while lime is poured all over him. The guy's girlfriend Giuliana (Marisa Mell) is witness to all the brutality, and she is smacked in the face with a rolled up newspaper and then viciously raped by Vitali. Vitali keeps the girl as a prisoner/plaything and threatens to kill her if she opens her mouth.
With her unwilling help, Vitali
next plans to set up a heist at the factory where Giuliana's father works, but
she manages to escape for a while. She runs to a trustworthy police chief, 
Santini
(Richard Harrison) who interviewed her earlier while she was forced to keep
hush about the matters. Now, Giuliana informs Santini about the murdered boyfriend
and that Vitali is planning a heist. Double-crossing Vitali to help the police,
the heist gets completely botched, but after killing an old lady and attempting
to retain hostages, the bastard Vitali is able to crash through a police roadblock
by himself. Now all of his buddies are in police custody and he realizes that
Giuliana was the snitch that ratted on him.
Now
under police protection, Giuliana is in dire fear of Vitali. Being guarded in
a luxury hotel isn't good enough, as Vitali plays sniper and nearly finishes
her off for good. Once again, Vitali flees the law, and teamss with a young
punk in designer jeans whose claim to fame was shooting a cop in between the
eyes and getting off Scott free. Santini's connection to Vitali becomes personal,
as the nutter captures his father (the judge that sent him to prison) and his
younger sister, holding them at ransom. Keeping them tied and tortured in a
secluded area, it's up to Santini to track this maniac down and save his family.
As Vitali, Berger plays one of the most ruthless, unsympathetic, barbaric pricks ever seen on film. A pretty boy with blond hair, devilish grin, and an irritating vocabulary (dubbed by an American actor) made up mostly of four-letter words, Vitali is extremely hateful and has a kisser you just want to punch. Berger is best known for films like Luchino Visconti's THE DAMNED (1969) and as the lead in the Harry Alan Towers version of DORIAN GRAY (1970), but he also worked for Jess Franco in FACELESS (1988) and for Francis Ford Coppola in THE GODFATHER PART III (1990). It's interesting to note that Berger received a "very special thanks" credit in Quentin Tarantino's JACKIE BROWN (1997). The reason for this is because in the film, Bridget Fonda's character is seen watching BEAST WITH A GUN on TV.
Also
Austrian-born, Marisa Mell starred in many international films from the 50s
to the early 90s, but she's best known as the sexy super criminal Eva Kant in
Mario Bava's DANGER: DIABOLIK (1968). She died of cancer in 1992. Richard Harrison
is an American-born actor, who like many of his contemporaries during the 60s,
went to Italy to star in a number of sword and sandal and spaghetti western
productions. More recently, Harrison was spotted in several Fred Olen Ray films.
Anchor Bay's presentation of BEAST WITH A GUN is magnificent. Never given a proper treatment on U.S. home video, the source print is fully uncut and is presented in the appropriate 2.35.1 aspect ratio (with Anamorphic enhancement). The image is sharp and well detailed throughout, and the color looks exceptional. There's only minor grain in several dark scenes, but nothing at all to squabble about. The mono audio is fine, with the post-synched dialog and Umberto Smaila's wonderful score perfectly balanced.
A European trailer is included (under the title FEROCIOUS) as is a 5x7 replica of the poster art. For those who like their "cops and robbers" movies fierce and fast-paced, as well as slick without the tired Hollywood gloss, get some pizzas and beer, invite some buddies over and throw on BEAST WITH A GUN. Hopefully many "poliziotteschi" thrillers are on their way from Anchor Bay. (George R. Reis)