Scott LeBrun The legendary Oliver Reed plays Vito Cipriani, vice-governor of an Italian penitentiary. Some very bad men kidnap his gorgeous young wife Anna (Agostina Belli) in order to force him to release one of his prisoners. That prisoner is lifelong crook Milo Ruiz (Fabio Testi), who claims to have no idea who these men are, or why they should want him free. Vito and Milo will end up forming an unlikely duo as they work to stay one step ahead of the villains and secure Annas' freedom."Revolver" is not really an action movie, but more of a Eurocrime drama, somewhat slowly paced but not uninteresting. It gets most of its juice out of the give and take between the two "buddies". It does introduce political / social themes towards the end, trying to make the point that there are bigger issues in the world than the welfare of individuals, whether they're an innocent like Anna or a common thief like Milo. The plot is ultimately a little convoluted, but entertaining characters like Milo, Vito, mobster Michel Granier (Frederic de Pasquale), and the helpful Carlotta (Paola Pitagora) help to maintain ones' attention. There's also the benefit of fine location work and a typically wonderful Ennio Morricone soundtrack.Study Italian actor Testi shows some charisma as the amiable Milo, who takes his fair share of physical punishment. (To the point where you can't help but be amused when he finally gets to dish some out.) The supporting cast is fine, but many eyes will likely remain on Reed, who is compelling. You can't help but root for him, although he is the kind of hero who resorts to violence to get what he wants.Perhaps most interesting is the unexpected ending, which is downbeat and cynical. It does help to make "Revolver" at least somewhat memorable.Seven out of 10.

arfdawg-1 I'm not a huge fan of cheap Italian films that over use the zoom so they don't have to cut the film.That said, this movie is one of the better ones.It's well done.It's a colorful movie that is rather fast paced.The acting is good too as is the direction.Oliver Reed is in it and for some reason they dubbed him with an American voice!Plot An Italian official's wife is kidnapped, and the kidnappers demand that a notorious prisoner be released in order for the man to get his wife back. He gets the man released--but then kidnaps him himself, in order to ensure that the man's colleagues don't kill his wife. Enraged, the gang sets out to free their compatriot and kill the man who took him.

The_Void I'm a big fan of Italian crime flicks, but it has to be said that a lot of them are rather similar. That's not the case with Revolver however! Some of these films go off on a bit of a tangent and while in keeping with the elements that make this sort of film what it is (car chases, shootouts etc) deliver something more than the average cop flick, and these are the best of the genre; films such as Almost Human, Street Law and this film. Revolver benefits from a strong plot, two strong leading men and the fact that the film actually has a point to make. The plot focuses on Vito Cipriani; a prison warden and former police officer who finds himself with a choice to make when he is told by criminals that his wife has been kidnapped and the only way he can get her back is to spring crook Milo Ruiz from jail and make the exchange for his wife. Vito is not happy just to take the criminal's word for it, however, and so decides to kidnap the criminal himself before the exchange is made. It also soon becomes apparent that the criminal's aren't playing straight, which leads to an unlikely combination of prisoner and prison warden on the hunt for the warden's wife.Oliver Reed takes the lead role, and I have to say that he should have made more Italian crime flicks! His performance is typically over the top, though he looks completely at home chewing the scenery and swearing his head off, and it's a joy to watch too. Esteemed Polizi star Fabio Testi stars opposite and is the polar opposite of Oliver Reed, which ensures that they make a fascinating pairing on screen. The plot moves at a brisk pace throughout and it never veers very far off course, which is a bonus if you ask me considering how these films often do. There are a few moments where it does slow down a bit too much, and Revolver is just slightly overlong; but as I said, it doesn't get boring so it's not too big a problem. There's less action in this film than the average Polizi flick, but we do still get a couple of decent car chases and there's a fair bit of gunplay too. Oliver Reed's performance really makes up for that anyway, however; the man himself has more impact than any amount of cars and bullets! Perhaps the best thing about this film is the point it has to make; I don't expect much more than entertainment from a Polizi flick, so getting that little bit extra is a nice bonus. Overall, this is certainly one of the better of examples of this genre and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to my fellow Polizi fans.

MARIO GAUCI I had long wanted to catch this poliziottesco (which has never turned up on Italian TV) but was ultimately rather let down by it: the plot involves a buddy buddy partnership between two unlikely characters – prison warden Oliver Reed and petty criminal Fabio Testi. Director Sollima had already made the superior THE BIG GUNDOWN (1966) on similar lines (the “Cult Movie” website claims this is a remake of it but I don’t buy that, as the narrative takes a wholly different direction).The film, however, isn’t quite as engrossing as it should be and rather muddled into the bargain – but, at least, it looks good and is undeniably bolstered by a beautiful and typically effective Ennio Morricone score (reminiscent of his work, much later, on THE UNTOUCHABLES [1987]!). Reed is an ideally sturdy yet world-weary hero – but Testi is just okay in the role of his quarry/associate (though the English dubbing may have undermined his original performance), especially as he displays little of the cunning and deadly prowess which had characterized the Tomas Milian counterpart in THE BIG GUNDOWN…and, in any case, he’s ultimately established to have been merely a pawn in the game being waged! The female cast is comprised of lovely Agostina Belli (as Reed’s young wife, who’s kidnapped so as to ensure his collaboration) and Paola Pitagora (somewhat wasted as an underworld ‘groupie’ who briefly hooks up with Testi).Even if the film doesn’t have the socio-political scope of THE BIG GUNDOWN, this element is belatedly introduced towards the end – leading to a curiously downbeat (and cynical) finale. While not plentiful, the action sequences are certainly as efficiently handled as any in this type of film (Sollima made at least one more poliziottesco – VIOLENT CITY [1970], which I’ll be getting to soon); still, the director seems less at ease within the ‘urban jungle’ landscape than he was in the wide-open spaces provided by the Spaghetti Western milieu.The main supplement on the Blue Underground DVD is a 13-minute featurette consisting of separate interviews with Sollima and Testi. Among other things, the former admits to having been roped in at the last minute and claims that he finally agreed to make it on detecting connotations with another Spaghetti Western of his – FACE TO FACE (1967). Testi, a regular of action movies, takes pride in having done most of his own stunts (in fact, he had started out in films in this field!). Both, then, have complimentary things to say about the late Oliver Reed. There are also two Easter Eggs – one in which Sollima criticizes the film’s half-hearted publicity campaign (which he blames for its lack of box-office success), while the other is yet another anecdote pertaining to the film’s notoriously hell-raising British star.