Damiano Damiani. The name will be best known to many for his lacklustre sequel to The Amityville Horror, and that's unfortunate because by far his best work was carried out in the seventies in the crime genre. The directors films could be said to be a part of the popular Polizi genre that was spawned in Italy after the release of Don Siegel's highly successful Dirty Harry; although Damiani's films often offer a lot more substance than the car chases and shootouts seen in films by directors such as Stelvio Massi and Fernando Di Leo, and this one is no exception. The film would appear to take more influence from The Godfather than anything else and the plot focuses on organised crime. The lead character is Ludovico Graziano; a man employed as a body guard for a successful judge. There is political unrest in the city and after the death (apparently suicide) of a man in prison, the judge and his bodyguard come across a secret courtesy of the dead man's wife and decide to try and do something about it, despite the fact that they are putting their lives on the line.
The film does have some action sequences and moments of suspense, but the focus of the film is clearly on the plot line and its implications. That is not to say that the film isn't exciting; there are several shootouts and car chases and the way that Damiani builds the atmosphere of mystery is excellently done in that it is always interesting. There also other things going on around the central plot, including the lead character's relationship with his girlfriend, which helps to build the plot and make the film more realistic. The acting is superb throughout and the film is lead by an excellent performance from Gian Maria Volontè who epitomises the title as he unwittingly finds out secrets that could lead to his death. The great Riz Ortolani provides the score which suits the film well also. The film pulls no punches throughout its running time and this stays true for the ending also; and while it is a hard ending, it suits the film well and Damiani couldn't have ended it any differently. Overall, this is an excellent example of the Italian crime thriller and comes highly recommended!
