Bezenby This Venice-based remake of Strangers On A Train (thanks, back of the DVD cover!) involves Tomas Milian as a snidey, conniving advertising executive who is banging his top model and trying to sell all the shares his wife has in some company in order to get rid of her and marry his model wife. Strangely, his wife isn't too happy with this set up and is quite happy to continually torture Milian. Milian therefore still goes ahead with the business deal, still bangs his mistress, and has now started to arrange to have Power of Attorney over his wife by trying to forge her signature. Things don't look too good until several 'chance' meeting with a certain Count Matteo move things in a more positive direction.You see, Count Matteo is yet another one of these bored, turned on, rich types with barely any soul who have explored most of life's extremes and are pushing for more top sensations. He says to Milian, he says, if I kill your annoying wife, whom I have never met, then you can kill my abusive brother who abuses me and is a moron. Milian's all like 'Err...that's...yeah..'Milian ain't interested in that and wants to bump his wife for the cash but then it soon becomes apparent that Matteo was being serious (the biggest clue being his wife getting murdered). Now the police are leaning on Milian as his many faults are revealed and he still has to hold up his side of the bargain for Matteo, who has various methods in place to make sure that happens. Although a very slow moving, eventless giallo with no blood and only some opening credits boobs, this film is still worth a watch as it must be the only film that totally displays the full spectrum of Tomas Milian's considerable acting chops. He starts off like a snidey moron but then the look on his face when Matteo describes his murderous idea is priceless. Plus we also get his descent into desperation as it becomes apparent to him and the audience that things have not been weighed in his favour. Still, not the most eventful film, but full of atmosphere and as it is mostly set in Venice everything is very good to look at. Probably worthwhile to Milian fans and that.

verbumctf This little known film is available on a DVD brought out by 'Shameless', who add a note to explain that the film was subjected to so many cuts upon its release that we can appreciate it only now that they've restored the missing bits.These 'missing bits' make a difference; but the question remains is this the original, complete film we now see? There are, for example, a few moments from the deleted scenes (part of the DVD bonus) which 'flesh out' the count's character which I think the film needed.My guess is that too many 'cooks' (writers, producers, directors, editors) were involved and there never was a satisfactorily resolved 'original version'.It's interesting how the film veers away from Highsmith's novel and Hitchcock's film. Count Matteo (Pierre Clementi), like his counterparts in Highsmith and Hitchcock, comes from a privileged background, free from the demands of having to earn his living and a place in society. The unhappy husband Stefano was a two cent designer his wife lifted from total social insignificance--now that he's rich (thanks to her) he thinks like a businessman; his wife prefers him as he was and doesn't love him any more, she says.The counts confides that his brother harasses him to the point of making his life unlivable. We never encounter this 'brother' in the film, nor any one else from the count's family (not even a photo. of any family). He indicates to Stefano how by 'trading murders' they can eliminate each man's obstacle to fulfillment.The count tells Stefano that Stefano is his real brother now. He tracks Stefano's every move , seems to know him inside out, and plots with the inescapable logic of a mastermind the events that culminate in the two projected murders. (Here again he differs from the Highmith/Hitchcock character.) Another thing Stefano's wife can't bear about her husband now: he's so irresolute everything ends up some mishmash compromise (like his pretending(?) he was going to put a portion of the money he stole from his wife into her account). At one point the count takes Stefano by the scruff of the neck, makes him look at himself in the glass and says: 'What I'm proposing is what you really want to do.' As if the count is the ideal Stefanno the real one hasn't the courage to be. Guess who's the 'brother' Stefano kills? The film misses becoming truly haunting and profound because some of the filmmaking team didn't understand the potential of their material and treated it like a run of the mill Giallo. The acting and dialogue are above average (in Italian!, the English version sounds like a translation). Given a more sensitive restoration, this could be a minor masterpiece with themes of universal resonance (e.g. don't we all know a 'Stefano': the 'wanabe' who only exasperates us with his pathetic half measures?). All the same, this DVD version should interest those of us who like psychological thrillers.

Red-Barracuda This Italian re-working of Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train has Tomas Milian star as an immoral advertising executive who is frustrated with his wife's refusal to sell their business. Angry that he won't be cashing in any time soon, he goes on a trip to Venice where he has a chance meeting with a foppish aristocrat who looks like a cross between Russell Brand and Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen. The two of them make a pact where Brand-Llewellyn-Bowen will kill Milian's wife in return for the latter murdering the former's brother.In its early stages The Designated Victim looks quite promising. The scenes in off-season Venice where Milian meets the Count and his mysterious lady friend are quite unusual and atmospheric. Unfortunately, the odd lady friend vanishes from the scene leaving Milian and the fop to lead the picture. You will sort of know roughly where the story is going if you are even vaguely familiar with the Hitchcock original. But it's not predictability that's the problem here; it's more the fact that there is a serious lack of suspense and thrills. The film drags for the most part and the dynamic between the two central characters isn't as interesting as it should be. I couldn't really wholeheartedly recommend this one. When you consider the other Italian thrillers on offer in the 70's, this one pales quite a bit by comparison.

The_Void The influence for this film is clear; it's basically an Italian twist on the Hitchcock classic Strangers on a Train. Being a big fan of that film, I was of course intrigued to see how this was going to turn out. I wont say I was too disappointed overall, but it's nowhere near as good as the original and certainly could have been a lot better. The main problem with it is that director Maurizio Lucidi has aimed too high; it's clear he wanted this to be a high quality thriller rather than a slice of Italian exploitation - and personally I'd rather it have been the latter. The basics of the plot will be familiar to most fans of thrillers, and in this film we focus on Stefano Argenti, an advertising executive who is at odds with his wife over the sale of a joint business. He wants rid of it so he can live a life of luxury with his mistress; but his wife wont agree the sale. Stefano meets Count Mateo Tiepolo, who it transpires, is at odds with his violent brother. Mateo suggests a plan in which each man murder the other's vice; though Stefano is reluctant. But then Mateo kills Stefano's wife, and demands that the favour is returned.The lead roles are taken by Tomas Milian and Pierre Clémenti, and both perform well and share an intriguing (almost homo-erotic) bond on screen together. The plot itself is rather slowly paced and it has to be said there's not a great deal of excitement; I was never on the edge of my seat waiting to see what's going to happen, and that's unfortunate since the film is supposed to be a thriller. It's all very well orchestrated, however, and the film has themes that go deeper than merely what we're seeing on screen. Director Maurizio Lucidi obviously wanted to keep the film clean, and therefore we don't see any murders actually happen, which is a bit of a disappointment. The locations are all very beautiful and well shot, and this brilliantly offsets the dark themes of the film. The soundtrack is rather interesting also and not merely the norm for Giallo. The film deviates from Hitchcock's original with the ending, which features a clever twist; though I have to say I prefer how the original turned out. Overall, I would definitely say that this film is worth a look; however, I'd have preferred some more of the classic Giallo style.