Thread necromancy, though given the status of the title and the fact that this thread was long buried by the time the Raro USA BD was released, it seems justified.
What a classic. Much has been said of the cold open. I'm especially partial to the opening shot. The tilt down the tower to Omero Capanna's wet, combed head entering frame... You'd almost think he's going to be the protagonist, but nope, cut to Bruno Bertocci stacking U.S. ten's into a suitcase placed next to a pack of what I'm assume are Pall Mall's (a common sighting in films, Italian and otherwise). Capanna sure doesn't like pigeons in two shots that were unquestionably "caught." The first shot especially; the camera never quite catches up focally with the sudden storm of birds. Works fine though, as this whole sequence balances itself via all the seemingly improvised tilts and pans.
In addition to Capanna and Bertocci, Empedocle Buzzanca (the vendor), Sergio Serafini (the student), and Imelde Marani (the woman) are well-cast. Di Leo talks about these kind of performers in the booklet. I chopped the booklet and the DVD art up to put it on my walls, so I can't reference it now, but I think he referred to these character actors as encompassing "the garden," a garden he returned to use again and again to fill out his films. I've often seen reviews refer to this scene as the moment when Rocco et alii discover Ugo's betrayal. I disagree. Ugo is uninvolved in the chain. Marani is the traitor; Buzzanca and Serafini lack the time to switch packages, and the glitzy nature of her home is probably meant to tell us something. Contrast her with the student-type they're going for with Serafini or the old blue-collar guy in Buzzanca. It's easy to interpret, especially given the speed of the scene and how these scenes usually operate, the shave-and-a-haircut as being part of the rewards that come with ripping off "big air dollars from the Mikado," but it's just a means to an end--an opportunity for the setpiece that arguably (along with Django) inspired the claim to fame of Reservoir Dogs.
No, the woman swapped it before sitting next to the student, and the magnificent triple murder is as much about Rocco's (et alii) anger at the thought of getting swindled by such low, inferior people as it is tying up loose ends and attempting to get the dough back. These men (and wo-man) don't deserve his honor. Don Vincenzo's criticism that the mafia no longer exists is easy to forget in application to the entire film. He more-or-less is referring to the very tenants of the subgenre. Badge of honor worn flimsily, more-or-less each of the characters are out for themselves and doing pretty sloppy, brutal, and most of all dangerous work as a result.
Take Rocco's first assault on the apartment of Vincenzo and Chino. Granted, he doesn't know it's Chino and is clearly intimidated when told this. Nevertheless, this brazen "let's get Ugo again and bring nothing but our fists into a residence we don't know!" method is pitifully stupid. But doing yourself in with your own pride is key to the movie. The Mikado's more interested in rubbing Chino out due simply to his roughing Rocco, Pasquale and Nicola up. That the Mikado hasn't done this until now proves his own (justified) fear of Chino's skills, and gunning for Chino is the last mistake he'll ever make because of it.
I find the police house politics underrated. Pistilli and Wolff hit archetypes well, both of their characters useless in their constant devouring of their own tails. Ruined by prejudices, neither character accomplishes much of any good by film's end. Ugo may be smart enough to defeat the Mikado but misses his payday due to underestimating Nelly, just as she makes the exact same mistake with Ugo and Luca with Ugo's tough guy friend-enemies. Chino gets the Mikado but miscalculates his ability to shoot his way out. There's no mafia anymore. Just a bunch of lowlifes snuffing each other out and justifying the carnage through an almost Catholic sense of ritual and obligation (Rocco's fury at the disrespectful nature of Ugo's murder and his duty of loyalty to kill Luca as the last rites to Piazza).
I rather like the English dub. I mean, I'd go with it by default just for Stander's voice. Dubbing him with someone else would be a joke. Also, Frank Wolff, even if not using his own voice, belongs in English. Dependable Mike Forest does a bang-up job too, probably more appropriate a voice than Wolff would have been able to do on his own. But more than that, I think the dialogue is quite an improvement. The Italian version is almost condescending in its desire to constantly provide exposition and loses character subtlety often because of it. Besides, why would you want to miss out on Bob Spafford and Ed Mannix giving the best performances of their lives? Ted Rusoff does his usual good work as Chino and possibly does Luca's few lines. Interestingly enough, Chino in the trailer is voiced by someone else, a rough, non-actor sound, like Nick Alexander, a voice often heard in minor roles, a recording engineer or crewman of some other kind possibly. Lewis E. Ciannelli, probably the mot natural-sounding gangster of the Roman dubbers, is effectively used as Rocco's henchman, Nicola. Bouchet is not dubbed by Susan Spafford like in Don't Torture a Duckling. I've heard the voice before, but I don't know their identity--I'm not very familiar with the female voices of this talent pool. The ubiquitous Robert Sommer contributes as the voice of Julius Baraghini's cop.
"They look like dogs without an owner..."
