Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Woodyanders Sadistic no-count killer Nanni Vitali (excellently essayed with lip-smacking wicked relish by Helmut Berger) and three equally brutish hoodlums escape from prison. The foul foursome embark on a savage spree of rape, murder and robbery. Vitali even abducts and defiles frightened hapless lass Giuliana Caroli (a solid turn by the strikingly gorgeous Marisa Mell). Rugged police Inspector Giulio Santini (a properly steely performance by Richard Harrison) becomes determined to bag the despicable Vitali. Writer/director Sergio Grieco keeps the movie rattling along at a constant swift pace, stages the stirring action scenes with considerable rip-snorting brio (the occasional use of strenuous slow motion is especially effective and impressive), and does an expert job of creating and sustaining a harsh, gritty, resolutely tough-minded and nasty-hearted tone. Vittorio Bernini's crisp, handsome widescreen cinematography gives the picture an attractive glossy look. Umberto Smaila's funky, throbbing score likewise hits the groovy spot. Best of all, this extremely hard-edged winner certainly doesn't skimp on the excessive full-bore profanity, tasty female nudity, raunchy sex, and rough, unflinching, no-holds-barred ferocious violence. A satisfyingly sick and vicious little beaut.

The_Void You can't get much cooler than an Italian crime film, and Beast With a Gun is yet another excellent example of this cult sub-genre! The film is quite a lot nastier than the majority of Italian crime films that I've seen, and at times it feels like it owes a lot to the exploitation genre! Naturally, there's the usual array of fistfights, shootouts and car chases; but here we've also got rapes and scenes of torture - among other stuff. So Beast With a Gun might not be everyone's cup of tea - but I think most people would agree that the nasty edge certainly gives the film a bit more 'bite'! The film begins with the escape of three nasty convicts. Their leader is a man named Nanni Vitali, and their first port of call after escaping from jail is killing the dirty scumbag that turned them in. However, when they catch up with him; Nanni takes a shine to his girlfriend, and proceeds to brutally rape her before killing the snitch. He also wants the girl to help them pull off a robbery; and she agrees to help them, but not before telling the police all about it...The main strength that this film has is undoubtedly Helmut Berger. Berger is absolutely spot on with his role as the nasty criminal at the centre of the tale, and every moment he's on screen is completely gripping. He is joined by experienced Eurocult actress Marisa Mell, who provides the eye candy in style! Richard Harrison rounds off the central cast with the token 'cop' role and like his co-stars - plays it well. Beast With a Gun also features an excellent soundtrack, which goes well with the film and definitely adds to every scene it features in. Realism obviously wasn't big on director Sergio Grieco's priority list, however, as the film features numerous instances that don't make a lot of sense - the scene that springs to mind instantly is the one where a certain female cast member is shot in the leg...and then instantly diagnoses it as 'not serious' and barely bats an eyelid! I've got to say, if I got shot it would be VERY SERIOUS, no matter where it got me. However, this isn't important as Beast With a Gun does the important thing - that being entertain the audience - very well, and fans of Italian crime films won't want to miss it!

John Seal This vicious crime drama certainly scores points for sleaze, but it doesn't hold up for more discriminating viewers. Helmut Berger plays a handsome and cruel killer who breaks out of prison and leads his gang on a rampage of rape, murder, and kidnapping. Along the way he ravages Marisa Mell, who pretends to enjoy his impositions whilst plotting her own secret revenge with police inspector Giulio Santini (the incredibly wooden Richard Harrison). Though the film was shot in widescreen, cinematographer Vittorio Berini displays no talent for the 2.35:1 lens, relying on static centred shots throughout. The screenplay is brutally bad, with characters lacking motivation and no back story to explain why Berger is such a complete bastard, and the dubbed English track is awful. (A close viewing reveals that Beast With A Gun was probably shot in phonetic English, as the actors' lips do seem to approximate the words they're speaking.) The only saving grace of the film is Umberto Smaila's persistent and minimal score. Only for hardcore fans of Eurotrash.

Jarkko Makkonen Remember the scene in Jackie Brown with Robert DeNiro and Bridget Fonda watching TV and then Samuel Jackson walks in and goes: "Is that Rutger Hauer?" and Fonda replies: "No, it's Helmut Berger."?Well, it's this movie they're watching.It's a typical low-key Italian gangster movie with a bunch of evil, skinny, mustached (except Helmut Berger) crooks driving around doing evil stuff. The violence scenes are very brutal but there are many moments where also unintentional humor is present. Once again, I have a Finnish super rare version of this movie with Finnish title (roughly translated) "Death Obeys No Law" on the front cover and in the back cover it says "Best With A Gun", (obviously a typing error). In the opening credits it says "Furious" (or "Ferocious"). A movie with so many names can't be that bad, can it?