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April 25, 2014

Movie Review: "Meet Him and Die" (1976; Raro Video)

...since the sixties, Italian cinema has relished a most illustrious and deliciously visceral engagement, in the eclectic arena of cult cinema, having dabbled in just about every genre under the sun. There's no denying the fervored fans of devotees of each and every genre...the Sword and Sandal flicks...the Gothic Horrors...the Spaghetti Westerns...the Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi and Space flicks...the Gore-Drenched Splatter & Zombie Horror...the Enigmatic, Mystery-Drive Giallos. And of course...though measurably under-appreciated...there's the Action-Packed Crime Thrillers, or 'poliziotteschi', as they are coined by ardent devotees of the sub-genre. Wrought with tension-filled drama...crosses, double-crosses & even triple-crosses...daring getaways & dynamic chases...and of course, rampant & bloody gunplay, graphic & visceral enough to unnerve even the most seasoned & jaded of gore-mongers. Often emulating their American crime thriller counterparts, with parallel themes of revenge, family loyalty, undercover ops, honor amongst thieves, corruption amongst law enforcers, carefully planned & executed heists, and capers gone oh-so wrong, the 'poliziotteschi' films have still managed to garnish a most exclusive and exotic flavor, which has genuinely individualized and singled them out from their domestic inspirations...gritty, pulpish, juggernaut 'beasts', unto their own selves. Director Franco Prosperi's (..uh, no...not that Franco Prosperi, the director of the 'Mondo Cane' shockumentaries, as well as the brutally visceral and unflinching "Africa: Blood & Guts") singular entry into the genre, the 1976 actioner, "Meet Him and Die", might not be the best example, as far as this particular niche of film; however, there's still a whole heck of a lot here, to relish, nonetheless...


...suave and arrogant Massimo's (Ray Lovelock) first foray into heisting a jewelry store, becomes a heist-gone-wrong, and as the result, he is sent to the confines of the local penitentiary. While there, he makes it a point to gain the trust of an incarcerated mob boss, Giulianelli (Martin Balsam) who has proven far from being ineffectual in running the city's shadowy drug trade from behind the stone & bar-barriered prison walls. However, it soon proves obvious that there's underlining madness to Massimo's deceptive methods; in truth, he's an undercover police officer, sent in to infiltrate the drug ring, shake things up, and...unbeknownst to his superiors...underliningly exact some highly desired revenge, for the heinous attack on a close family member of his. Tension, suspense and intrigue result, as Massimo feigns the enactment of trusted mob tasking, all while trying to keep his true identity shrouded...in the midst of dastardly deeds, high speed pursuit, rampant sprays of bullets, and the resulting bloodshed...
...and of the latter, there is assuredly enough of those aspect, to satisfy and excite even the most skeptical of viewers, yet un-privy of this type of genre film...and that's still saying a a lot, in reiterating that "Meet Him and Die" is hard the best of this exotic and unconventional cinematic ilk. And yet, in being adorned with such a moniker, the film still manages to pack quite a punch, on a dynamic level, as well as a visceral level. With the first half of the film, wrapped in enigmatic intrigue and character play, the proceedings are captivating, if not somewhat workably flawed, as far as character development; for instance...and this may well be merely due to the character's idiosyncrasies, and how they are manipulatively written...it becomes somewhat difficult to determine the motivation and loyalties of the Massimo character...even when we know fully well that he's working undercover. Actor Martin Balsam's mob boss caricature seems more of a cliched 'presence'...a 'name star', to draw the domestic movie crowds...than a workable character; often, during his scenes, he'll merely step in, intimidate with his presence, begin to suggest a plan for action, point to the nearest flunkie to explain in further detail, and then walk away. Even Elke Sommer's contribution to the film, as a fleeting love interest for Massimo, seems more predisposed for merely for a quick entice, than anything specifically applicable to the film's storyline...
...however, it's the second half of the film, where the pace picks up, and becomes so hyper-kinetically frenzied, as a viewer, it might tend to take one's breath away...in a good way, of course. The ante, as far as tension and suspense, is raised to a dynamic level, and one cannot help but clearly engaged a sense of nervousness for the Massimo character, as his balance of maintaining his cover, his desire for vengeance, and his engagement of the vehicular chase scenes, as well as the shoot-outs between the mobsters and the cops, threatens to usurp and compromise his overall mission...
...but then, as Massimo, this is one of Ray Lovelock's more intriguing showcase performances. In this, his first film with director Prosperi (...he would later work with him, in the psycho-perverse shocker, "Last House on the Beach"), Lovelock portrays the handsomely blond Massimo as confident and suave, though arrogant...at times, appearing as sort of James Spader-ish, with an early smooth Robert Redford swagger and sexual visage (...the film, perfect for the drive-in circuit, even has some drive-in flavored background pop music, which reflects that swagger...seemingly, it's own signature 'Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head"-like musical cues)...

...amusingly enough, director Prosperi's overall direction, given the first half/second half switch-over, almost seems to favor an aura, somewhat resembling an urban, inner-city spaghetti western, especially during the shoot-out confrontations...with accompanying musical cues, that almost emphasize and reinforce such an observation...
...Raro Video's print of this film is rendered in anamorphic widescreen, and retaining (despite the overall clean-up of the print) it's soft and subtle grainy image, which delightfully exudes the classic drive-in movie feel of the film. An overall balanced sound, throughout the film, even when taking into consideration, either the digital HD English or Italian dialog versions, of which there are little to no difference, soundwise. Included on the disc...the prerequisite trailers, as well as an eccentrically rendered look at "Meet Him and Die", as well as a capsule overview of the EuroCrime/poliziotteschi sub-genre, in general...

...Once again, not exactly the best of the sub-genre (...check out 1973's "The Violent Professionals", 1980's "Contraband", and 1974's "Street Law", as comparison), merely by virtue of the film's minimal and generalized character rendering; however, even a flawed film, such as this, has a whole heck of a lot to offer. One cannot be help but to be blown away by "Meet Him and Die", nonetheless, and as such, definitely worth checking out...

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