March 19, 2025 • 58 mins
The Projection Booth’s Patreon Picks series charges ahead with Blood and Diamonds (1977), a gritty crime saga from Fernando Di Leo. Claudio Cassinelli stars as Guido Mauri, a man fresh out of prison and ready to settle old scores in a world where loyalty is a fleeting illusion. As Guido cuts a ruthless path through former allies, betrayal and bloodshed go hand in hand.
Host Mike White is joined by crime fiction aficionado Jedidiah Ayres and podcast favorite Ryan Luis Rodriguez to dissect this pulpy revenge tale, discussing Di Leo’s signature style, the film’s place in the Eurocrime pantheon, and why Blood and Diamonds deserves a closer look.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth
Host Mike White is joined by crime fiction aficionado Jedidiah Ayres and podcast favorite Ryan Luis Rodriguez to dissect this pulpy revenge tale, discussing Di Leo’s signature style, the film’s place in the Eurocrime pantheon, and why Blood and Diamonds deserves a closer look.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Oh he is, folks, it should die.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
People say good money to see this movie.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
When they go out to a theater, they want cold sodas,
hot popcorn and no monsters.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
In the protection booth, everyone pretend podcasting isn't boring.
Speaker 5 (00:20):
Let it off?
Speaker 6 (00:52):
Can I go, mam.
Speaker 7 (01:03):
We know.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
I call it do say content, But sino choi.
Speaker 8 (01:17):
So sulak Richard with all their day man that gentle
gerd Melopo confirm ariga melo com ferman to day.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
The man on army say on quando site.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Many start domanicolosi.
Speaker 6 (01:41):
A party called let me shut shut.
Speaker 9 (01:48):
Sh sh sh.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Sh Is that metable the amount?
Speaker 10 (01:59):
Tran's a not human geno?
Speaker 9 (02:03):
Yes, last you don't know.
Speaker 10 (02:15):
Loscase So to say the daughter journey the temple stem
A case.
Speaker 11 (02:28):
Came rigost degree.
Speaker 6 (02:31):
Crepy satis dominic at non prie said do meta.
Speaker 10 (03:10):
Branches cut.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
At telaphe.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Cal calder.
Speaker 6 (03:22):
Rizo and Mario ara Qui primo coz.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
Welcome to the Projection Booth. I'm your host, Mike White,
join me once again as mister Jenedi airs inform. Also
back in the book this mister Ryan Luis Rodriguez, we
continue a month of Patreon request with one from Pat Radkey.
Blood and Diamonds written and directed by Fernando de Leo,
the film stars Claudio Cassanielli as Guido Mari, who, after
(04:16):
being arrested and sent to prison for five years, gets
out and swears vengeance against those he thinks wronged him,
carving a bloody path through those he once considered to
be his friends and allies. We will be spoiling this
film as we go along, so if you don't want
anything ruined, please turn off the podcast and come back
after you've seen that. We will still be here. So, Jenediah,
(04:37):
when was the first time you saw Blood and Diamonds
and what did you think?
Speaker 4 (04:42):
I saw it twenty eighteen. According to my Letterbucks at Cow.
It was a couple of years after I first saw
any Police Stachy movies, and specifically Fernando de Leo films,
and I think it was the the great old streaming
(05:02):
service film Struck had, I think a Fernando de Lio selection,
and I really loved those, and this was not part
of that collection, apparently because it wasn't until a couple
of years later.
Speaker 6 (05:13):
I saw this.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
But by the time I saw it, it was not
my favorite.
Speaker 6 (05:18):
De Leo.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
I think the impact of the first ones I saw,
especially Milan Caliber nine, really really blew me away. And
I liked Blood and Diamonds right away, but it wasn't
particularly special to me. But I gotta say revisiting it
for this podcast, it's become one of my favorites. I
really enjoy it for probably a lot of the same
(05:41):
reasons you guys do that I'll wait to get into.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
And Ryan, how about yourself.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Similar to Jedediah, I've been aware of de Leo for years.
A Criterion Channel in twenty twenty three had a big
selection of his just like I mean, the former owners
of Film Strung. They had Caliber nine, The Italian Connection,
The Boss, and Shoot First, Die Later, and I had
heard of Blood and Diamonds, but it was not part
(06:09):
of that collection. So the first time I actually watched
it was two days ago, and I only picked it
because when you were soliciting guests for this season, it
was one of the ones that had an empty box
next to it, so I was like, oh, yeah, I'll
just put my money in there, and then I realized,
after maybe an hour later, like, oh, that's a Delayo
film that'll fill a hole in my knowledge, and now
(06:32):
I have it, so thank you for doing that.
Speaker 7 (06:35):
Well.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
I appreciate that you are willing to take a shot
on a movie that you don't even know what it is,
so not everybody's like that.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
It couldn't be worse than Red Lights.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
This was also a pretty new film for me. I
have a massive blind spot when it comes to a
lot of Italian films, especially these Pelicio Tetsi films. I
remember speaking with Mike Molloy, euro crime documentary director Mike
Malloy back long time ago. We talked about The Italian Connection,
(07:06):
which I think is also a Delo film, And yeah,
I just haven't seen that many of these movies. I
have seen a lot more Spaghetti Westerns than I've seen
these kinds of movies. And I think I've seen more
French Policiers or French noirs than I have any of
these things. So it's a very brave new world for me.
(07:26):
And then when I was trying to listen to the commentary,
and I think we'll talk about the commentary a little
bit later, I mean, pretty much the whole commentary is
just these two yahoos just dropping names of other films
the entire time, so it's like, oh, and then this
is like this, and this is like this, and this
is like this. I'm like, could you maybe talk about
the movie that you're actually supposed to be talking about.
(07:48):
But anyway, made a big list of all these other
movies and I tried watching some of those. I didn't
have the most successful time. But it sounds like this
movie is in conversation with earlier delio, which is Milan
Caliber nine or Caliber nine. And they almost call this
Rome caliber nine, so almost like a follow up movie.
(08:11):
But it sounds like this movie starts almost the exact
same way that the other one ends. So I did
watch a little bit of Caliber nine, but I cannot say, oh, yeah,
this is a natural bookend for the other film.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Yeah, I didn't make that connection whatsoever. But I also
want to add that Eurocrime is an outstanding documentary if
you want to know more about this sub genre. It's
always streaming somewhere. I don't know where it is at
the moment, but I've seen it at least twice on
completely different streaming services. So if you're listening to this
and you're interested, first of all, go to two B
(08:47):
and watch Blood and Diamonds, where it is streaming for free,
then look up Eurocrime on Real Good and you will
have a good double feature there.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I'd like to echo that sentiment. I love that documentary.
I've seen it a few times, and in fact, I
just watched it yesterday or the day before, and I
think it was on two B that it's streaming. I
hadn't made the Milan Caliber nine connection until listening to
the commentary track and they mentioned it, and then suddenly
(09:19):
things really clicked for me, and I said, oh, yeah,
this is really kind of the same situation. You know,
a guy gets out of prison after and when he
gets out of prison, everybody thinks he's got, you know,
a score to settle with his former boss, and he's
(09:42):
pressured by the gangsters who were his former friends and
by the police to you know, come clean and get
protection because he's vulnerable, because everybody's just waiting for this
guy to get rubbed out. The difference, though, is that
the situations end up being kind of like mirror opposites
(10:03):
as far as what the truth of the situation is.
And it is fun to have Barbara Bouchet in both
movies playing pretty similar, ultimately pretty similar roles. I do
think they make a nice a nice conversation. They start
the same. It's not Caliber nine ends where Blood and
(10:25):
Diamonds begins, But Blood and Diamonds just has the little precursor,
the little setup of you see him before he goes
to prison, and then the opening credits happen and he's
getting out of prison, whereas Caliber nine just starts with
him getting out of prison. So good double feature. Caliber
nine is my favorite, both the Leo film and of
(10:47):
the policiateeschies I've seen. I know a lot of folks
like the Italian Connection more I do like the Italian Connection,
and it's perhaps more in the spirit and.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
Of a lot of the the Police Attachi movies.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
It's it's bigger action and broader lead performances and things
like that. But I really do like the kind of
more somber noir ish overtones of Caliber nine and Blood
and Diamonds.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
And when he gets out of prison, it's literally it's
a five year time cut that happens over the course
of like a minute. The narrative of this movie is
not fucking around, like it immediately sets off and like
he gets he gets nabbed. In the first two minutes.
You see the prison, this gothic brutalist compound, you see
(11:39):
him come out, and then immediately that's when the revenge starts.
It's literally there's no wasted time getting to the plot.
Speaker 5 (11:49):
Yeah, I thought maybe Caliber nine ended with that shot
of the phone and the JNB, but it ends with
that shot of the cigarette still burning instead. That's why
I was kind of hoping like it was literally like
the two shots matched up or something. But no, it's
it's definitely not that case.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
I see, I am misunderstood.
Speaker 5 (12:09):
I see where you're coming from, and I see why
my words would say that. But I was really hoping
that there would be more of a connection there and
it'd be like the same shot opening or something. But
the main character, Guido, he thinks that he's been set up,
and he was set up, but he thinks he was
set up by basically his boss, by Rizzo, who's played
(12:31):
by Martin Balsom, But he was not set up by Rizzo.
So like, this whole movie is him trying to get
revenge on Rizzo, and it's completely wrong headed. As soon
as he gets out of prison, he takes a bus
with his wife slash girlfriend. I can't I'm not sure
what their relationship is. But Olga kar lotas playing Maria
(12:54):
and gets out of prison and these two bandits show
up and they try to rob the b that he
and all these other people are on, and he says
to himself out loud, Rizo must have sent these two
goons to kill me, And that's his whole thing after
he thinks that he has been set up to be
killed coming out of prison. I don't know why they
(13:15):
wouldn't have killed him in prison, but coming out of prison,
that becomes his whole thing, and he's wrong. He's wrong
through the whole movie, so you're just like, okay, But
it's an interesting thing as far as when we find
out that he's wrong versus when he finds out and
then just how that changes everything when he finds out
(13:36):
that he is wrong and who the actual person that
set him up was. And I kept thinking the whole time,
through so much of this that it was actually I
think his friend's name is Marco. I kept thinking that
it was Marco maybe that set him up, because Marco.
It feels like Marco is kind of a It feels
like that this movie really influenced A Better Tomorrow. This
(13:59):
whole thing Marco who escaped from this stuff, but he
was lame, so he's going around, you know, with a
limp and everything, and he works at this autobody shop,
and so I just kept thinking of like the t
lung character who runs that taxi stand for ex criminals
and then you know Mark who got the bullet and
his knee, and that he's just kind of limping around afterwards.
(14:21):
But yeah, I thought that maybe Wu had seen this
and had picked up on some of those things for
Better Tomorrow, because there are some elements of these gangster
films that play really well with the Hong Kong films
later on.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
And it's important to add that the guys who try
to rob the bus kill his lady love, which I
think only intensifies that desire for revenge. And Martin Balsom
amazing to say, it's in really well with the rest
of the Italian cast. A lot of times when they
cast American actors in these roles, they look like Americans
(14:58):
hanging out with Italian people, but this guy really blends in,
and probably because Balstam was such a good actor, but
even with the dubbed voice, he fits in perfectly, absolutely well.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
It's him dubbing himself though right it is, well, I
didn't know. I think it is, at least in the
version I saw, because.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
It sounds a little different watching these films that most
of them, or at least several of them, and several
of the first ones I saw, are available either dubbed
in English or in Italian, and I do think it
makes a difference how you first see them. I think
the first time I saw Caliber nine it was in
(15:42):
Italian with subtitles, and watching it later dubbed in English,
it does give it a different a different feel. I
love both versions, but yeah, the whole dubbing and versus
subtitle I mean that would be dubbed two because it
didn't shoot with live sound, but reading subtitles and and
(16:06):
hearing a dubbed actor, it really does make for a
different experience. I think with the films and Blood and
Diamonds and Milan, Caliber nine, specifically with their sort of
more sober tone than you know a lot of the
really gonzo action ones in the genre. The gonzo action ones,
(16:26):
I think that that dubbed quality kind of adds to
the frenetic energy of the things. But these these more
somber ones, I think if you watch them dubbed, I
think you come away with a different feeling thing you
do if if you watch them subtitled soap.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Yeah, this one's definitely more contemplative than the rest of
the of the bunch. I don't. I tried to clock
if there was a if anything could count as a
car chase, and I don't think there is one, which
there is in all the other ones. Yet somber is
the right word. I think it's It's definitely it's a
more morose prime picture as opposed to the excess is
(17:11):
the fun excesses of the other ones.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
I made the mistake of watching this English dubbed with
English subtitles on it, So the English subtitles were for
the Italian version, so it pointed out all of the
times that the subtitler was deciding. And I'm taking it
(17:34):
that the subtitler was only subtitling things that we hear
on screen, So sometimes there are lines that were put
in in the English version that we didn't hear in
the Italian version. It was very strange, especially if there's
somebody on screen and their mouth is hidden, the subtitles
(17:54):
might have an extra line in there. As opposed to
the English version, where you weren't hearing them say something,
so like, you know, a phrase or something would pop
up on screen. I'm like, nobody's talking right now, but
apparently in the Italian version they were, so Yeah. It
was a very strange experience for me trying to make
my way through that. And like, I can't imagine watching
(18:16):
Caliber nine without Lionel Stander's voice because that is such
a part of him as a as a person and
as an actor. That kind of like Martin Balsom, I
was just like, yeah, I can't imagine watching this without
his voice.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Watching it dubbed and subtitled at the same time is
like that episode of News Radio where Jimmy James had
his autobiography translated into Japanese and then back into English.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
Soon No One, super Karate Monkey Death Car where.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Park in MySpace and then you have super Monkey Death
Car and just stuff that makes absolutely no sense.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
Caliber nine was has a slight advantage too, because it's
got Mario Ador there, who is fucking amazing. But this
movie has Pierre Paolo Caponi. I believe it's how you
pronounced the gentleman's name as Tony who basically is that
same role from Caliber nine. But oh my god, and
(19:16):
I wish people could see what you look like right now,
Jedediah with the major fat tie that's tied around your
neck and not around the collar, because.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
Not around the collar collars opened yet.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
Because Tony has this weird fashion sense where he's wearing
it looks like multiple ties hanging around his neck or
maybe an incredibly long cravat. I don't know what's going on.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
It's so delightfully garish.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
He's great, he's great, and every time he shows up,
he's just like a mad dog and he just keeps
yelling conform, conform, And I'm like, okay, you gotta.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Stop that moment when Tony's talking to you, go for
mah conf Now, as I was saying that line is
is great, And I wonder if it was the Italian
you know what the Italian word was that they were,
you know, because on that Eurocrime doc they spent some
time talking with voice actors who did who did the
(20:17):
the dubbing, and you know, they talked about how well
first the actors talked about how there was a lot
of improvising going on, you know, just like get the
essence of that scene from Dirty Harry or you know,
from Bullets say it kind of kind of the same,
you know, make it your own. And then and then
the dubbers are watching the lip movement and trying to
(20:39):
find words that fit the lip.
Speaker 6 (20:40):
Movement, and so.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
That he's saying conform is is kind of funny and
kind of you know, you think it means one thing.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
But then at the end, and you know.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
After he's killed Marco and he's confronting Guido about how,
you know, he's widow's got all his friends killed basically,
and but he's confessing that he didn't like killing Marco
because Marco, you know, was a stand up guy and
really went out like a man.
Speaker 6 (21:13):
He said he.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
Conformed, he could, you know, he conformed all the way.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Just been quite.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
I thought that meant one thing, and you're saying, yeah,
the the usage, I'm not really sure what the intent
was and what the actual word they're transcribing is, but
it's it's a it's a hell of a hell of
a character catchphrase.
Speaker 6 (21:36):
Come firm.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
Aha.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
And to piggyback on the euro crime thing, the one
thing missing in all Delayo movies is pissed torture.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
I haven't seen all the Delayo movies, but i've seen
all the all the policiatteschi ones and and adjacent you know,
crime and action ones. There's a few of the erotic,
dry and sex comedies I don't think I've been able
to find. But I will say he's my favorite of
(22:08):
the Bletiatshi directors that that I'm aware of. I've probably
seen twenty or thirty Gleitziatshi films total, you know, out
of hundreds and hundreds, so not a great sampling, but
I think it's I think he's considered one of the
more important contributors. And even with him, there's a fairly
(22:31):
whyde gap between his best examples in the genre and
his lesser examples. So you know, i'd say there's four
or five of his that I like quite a bit,
and I've seen a few that I really don't care for.
I don't feel like I know him as a person
(22:52):
having watched what I've watched, I feel like, you know,
there's some directors that I feel I understand something about
their personality, and I don't know that I've got that connection.
I wish I knew more about him I've read just
a couple of fairly brief things, biographical things, and Mike,
(23:12):
you sent that documentary about him that seemed to be
people reading his poetry for.
Speaker 5 (23:18):
Wherever eventually it changes. That opening was brutal, though, especially
because they make you read it on screen, and then
they go to the guy and then he reads it again.
You're just like, oh my god. So about five minutes
in it actually becomes like a real documentary.
Speaker 4 (23:35):
Well, yeah, I mean I watched the whole thing, but
I maybe I was a little lulled by all the poetry.
If you guys know about him, I would love to
hear your thoughts on who he was and what does
film say about him, but of the policiatashi stuff specifically,
Even in that small number of films he made, there's
(23:58):
a pretty wide app between his best and his lesser efforts.
Speaker 5 (24:04):
Yeah. I don't seem to get a real beat on
him through his films, at least the ones that I've seen.
I know that he was supposed to be very leftist,
you know, one of those wokesters I think is So
that's probably why we don't know that much, because you know,
you go woke, you go broke and That's why probably
even shouldn't even be talking about this movie.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
He went out of style when woke was not cool yet,
So you know, he was ahead of everybody dying in
two thousand and three. He was whoa he knew woke
before we ever had a definition.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
If that's true his You know, I know that there
are some leftist ideas debated, you know, especially in Caliber
nine The Police Chiefs. You know, there's one leftist and
one fascist, and they spend a fair amount of the
film debating policing philosophies and things like that. But you know,
(24:53):
the genre itself is you know, often fairly really fascist. Frankly,
you know, it was a lot of really over the
top police heroes and vigilati heroes who just you know,
slaughter their way and torture their way through through suspects
and underworlds, and that we're rooting for them most of
(25:15):
the time too. You know, I make no bones about
really enjoying those films, But it's funny that a subgenre
with so many pretty fascist examples would have leftist crews
and directors behind them.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
Well yeah, I mean it was Italy. It didn't all
change after Mussolini was hung upside down. There were still
a lot of fascist sympathizers and a ton of communist
sympathizers at the same time. This was like the prime
time of the Red Brigade, the Brigado Russo. And then
to find out that this movie came out what was
at the day after the Prime Minister was kidnapped by
(25:53):
the Red Brigade and killed box office because nobody was
in the mood to have fun go see a movie.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
It's like when Hardball came out in the wake of
nine to eleven and people were like, I can't watch
a movie about Keanu Reeves teaching a bunch of kids
how to play baseball. It's not what I'm feeling right now.
I'd rather go see Jay and Silent Bob strike Back
for the third time, which is actually an autobiographical moment
that I've just illustrated.
Speaker 5 (26:18):
Didn't Poody Tang come out right around that time as well,
and I think that ruined.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Earlier that summer, But yeah, that's yeah, that definitely happened.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
Nobody wanted to see Poody Tang.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
For the five people who are aware of Poody Tang.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
Yeah, the police Inspector is fantastic I really like this
guy and again feels very woo to me as far
as and also very Jean Pierre Melville as far as
the police inspector who actually cares for the criminal and
wants the criminal to go straight, kind of really empathizes
with this guy. It really feels like the police inspector
is more of a father figure too Guido than anybody
(26:55):
else and really wants him to look at what's going
on and really defends him quite a bit throughout this
entire thing. And it's good that he's there because Guido
as a character, he's just kind of a cipher. And
I hear that DeLeo liked working with this guy because
he didn't give a lot of emotion, and I can
really see that he's kind of an automaton through this
(27:15):
whole movie.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Yeah, I have in my notes here protagonist of inaction.
He doesn't really do much. He kind of stands there
kind of observing everything that goes on. And I noticed
that he looks like if you had an article on
a newspaper with Christopher Lambert and Jason Clark in the
same frame, and he took silly putty and you put
it on it, and then you pull it off and
(27:38):
whatever mangled face you would have that resembles both men,
like some kind of transporter accident in the fly, that's
what you would have. You would have this guy's face.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
That's pretty accurate. That's that's pretty good.
Speaker 6 (27:50):
I like that.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
I was thinking this last time watching it, how he
was physically the opposite of a guest On Moshen, who
played Ugo Piazza, the protagonist of a Caliber nine. And
gust On is is kind of a he looks like
a motherfucker, looks like to think. You know, he's he's
kept the fireplum head, bald head, and you know, he's
(28:16):
he's just kind of yeah, he's not heavy, but he's
he's he's really thick and a slab of stone, you know.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
And and he acts that way too.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
He's completely blank and expressionless through you know, the first
ninety of the film, and then at the very end
there's a big change, whereas Casanelli is you know, kind
of more. He's not I wouldn't say gaunt, but he's
you know, he's got that narrow face and that that
kind of floppy hair and and but he's he also
(28:48):
is is just totally blank and just I mean, he's
there's just rage boiling underneath him for for the whole movie,
but he's not you know, it's only in his eyes,
and he's not never is yelling, he's never showing emotion
except through his eyes until the end of the film too.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
It's either rage or gas.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
Of course, at the end of the film that turns
into two deep sadness. And you know, as he realizes
he's you know, his own mistakes have have you know,
cost the lives of everyone he loved and he was
a fool. And I find that final scene between Martin
Balsom and him.
Speaker 6 (29:30):
To be very moving.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Frankly, I like it a lot. I think every time
I watch it it gets more powerful. And yeah, Martin
balsam Is is terrific through the whole picture, especially when
you know the truth about his character.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Really good shit.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
And I like that speech he gives at the end,
you know that you know, I've got to do this
to make an example of you, not because I can't
get over what you did to me or you know whatever,
but you know, for them, and he's pointing out he's
called an audience of all is underworld contacts and you know,
henchmen and things like that, like they have to learn
(30:08):
what it means to be in this life. And yeah,
and of course I don't. I guess we're spoiling everything else,
but I don't want to spoil the decision. He makes
it at the very end there, so I know you
guys can if you want, but I won't leave that
on my comments here. It's it's just a it's a
it's a great, great scene.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Well.
Speaker 5 (30:29):
I love all those guys in that scene, all standing
by their white cars, and the way that the white
cars are all lined up. It's kind of like the
opposite of a funeral, but yet they're meaning in this
kind of dingy it looks like a parking garage or something.
Am I Oh, okay, this works, And I think he
calls it a funeral, but it looks like the opposite
of a funeral with the what those no hearse or anything.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
And I'm glad you brought up Melville because that that's
definitely a key point in a lot of these polite
is it polye shtty? I don't want to mispronounce it.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
I think everybody who says it mispronounces it.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
So okay, well then polly shatty whatever these poll see movies.
There's definitely the code of conduct that is very much
a Mailville construct, and the kind of idea of the
process of criminality and what it takes to kind of
live that life is very much a Melville thing. Like
(31:27):
you won't confuse it with Leicircle Rouge anytime soon, but
it's definitely like the feet on the ground level of Melville.
Speaker 5 (31:36):
Definitely they all have that code and the whole thing
it's like, who violated the code? Who's the one that
tipped off the cops that I was going to be
doing this thing and set me up the river and
trying to figure that out? And you know, he's got
so many different people that he can basically choose from.
He goes right for the boss obviously, but this whole
thing of like it was, isn't it Maria's s Is
(32:00):
that how that works? And so yeah, who is kind
of like the younger thief that Bob La Flambert takes
under his wings And luckily I don't I know, he
kind of screws up here and there, but he doesn't
actually betray Bob like knowingly, whereas this guy is just like,
oh yeah, And it's funny because you see, like you
were talking about, the second time you watch it, you
(32:22):
get more, and especially you get more of the Balsome character.
And it's like, well, the second time I watched it,
I saw Enzo, you know, opening up the door and
looking at Guido before he goes on that job, and
I'm like, oh, okay, things just kind of really started
to click more for me. And then yeah, when you
see Balsam knowing that he didn't call for this and
(32:45):
just is kind of confused, like why is Guido doing
this stuff? Why does he think I'm the one that
set him up? I really appreciate this even more, and
I can see liking this movie a second, third, fourth
time more than I did even the first time.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
And Enzo has the saddest eyes just of any so expressive,
so very mournful, and very like it's clear that something,
some part of his life has been taken away without
his consent, and he's just kind of he's getting through
the motions basically.
Speaker 5 (33:18):
The sadist size and the hottest girl friend me. Oh yeah,
Barbara Bouschette with her dance numberless she's doing to that
amazing song what shocked me? And I could think of
Ace freely.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
In a nightclub where they have the name of the
nightclub indoors on the wall, just in case you came
in and forgot where you were, or unless I've never
been to a nightclub, so maybe that's what it's like
in it. Maybe Studio fifty four. Every single wall said
fifty four on it. I don't know. I can't say,
but usually if you walk into a nightclub, you're pretty
sure where you are.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Yeah, techdir and the terminator did that.
Speaker 5 (33:59):
Too, Yes, in case you're on your cell phone here,
just like I'm at the tech Noir.
Speaker 11 (34:07):
I'n't just play.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
I pick up a bar called techt Noir.
Speaker 11 (34:11):
I'm really scared, you know.
Speaker 4 (34:12):
Another connection, of course, between Bun Diamonds and Calber nine
is Barbara Bouchet as a go go dancer doing There's
a great sequence in Calber nine where it's you know,
shot at the low angles of her bikini go go dancing.
And I will never complain about those scenes being as
long as they are, but they are long scenes.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
She must have had a non nudity clause because there
are topless dancers right behind her.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
Well, she does get nude a couple of times in
the film, but you're right in that number she doesn't
and the ladies behind her scene to be having a
very good time.
Speaker 5 (34:48):
Yeah, of course, I was thinking of We recently watched
a Just Franco movie and there was a whole thing
at a nightclub, and I was like, oh boy, I
hope this doesn't go that way, because it was basically
simulated sex in the nightclub, and so of like, no, no,
I don't really need to see that again. But luckily
they avoided that. And yeah, and I think there's a
(35:09):
there's a couple of sex scenes, or at least one
I remember from Caliber nine where, but it's more nudity
from the back of memory serves. I'm not sure. It's
amazing that as you get older, you don't watch movies
just for the nudity anymore.
Speaker 4 (35:22):
It's funny when I grew up very sheltered, without cable
and without being allowed to watch much.
Speaker 7 (35:31):
You know.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
I started when I was able to rent movies. I
was still living at my parents' house. It was still
I couldn't, you know, go see R rated films, but
I could. I could rent them, you know, unless that
one lady at the grocery store was working. She wouldn't
rent me. She wouldn't rend me blood Sport or Point
Break or any of those. But well, I found, Yes,
(35:52):
I was absolutely you remember those books, the a Precursor,
the Mister Skin was the Bearer, the Bearess Bears video Guide,
and you know, I would I would find a lot
of interesting things to watch that way.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
And it was it was funny.
Speaker 4 (36:10):
I was renting a lot of like kind of highbrow
art films, European and Asian stuff and and you know
a lot of really trashy exploitation and you know, straight
to video action movies. So I grew up with you know,
I didn't have anybody who was a movie watcher telling me.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
What I should watch.
Speaker 4 (36:30):
I was pretty much looking for nudity all the time.
And and that led me into you know, simultaneous, very
different paths, the art film and the exploitation cheap old
schlocky stuff, as they both tracked in nudity that you
didn't get in those you know, cobious amounts in a
(36:51):
lot of a lot of the fair that I was
at the movie theaters.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
When I was growing up and actually cared about nudity
and movies. There was an issue Maxim magazine with Tara
Reid on the cover, because I will never forget it.
It's the only time I bought a Maxim magazine at
a supermarket and nobody looked at me and said, aren't
you a little young to be purchasing this. They're like, yeah, whatever,
FU could take it. And it had inside the fifty
(37:16):
best sex scenes in all of movies, and I managed
to track down I think maybe forty seven of them,
and I felt so accomplished. And then I grew another
two years, and then ultimately didn't care anymore, and then
I actually started watching movies for the plot, for the esthetics,
for all the stuff that doesn't involve boobies.
Speaker 4 (37:35):
I'll get there someday.
Speaker 5 (37:37):
There's not a lot to talk about when it comes
to this movie, because it just seems to follow pretty
well worn paths. I wasn't surprised by much. There wasn't
in a really tense robbery scene. There wasn't There weren't
like a lot of showcase scenes, you know, it's not
like the robbery is just a thing. And even when
(38:01):
it comes to they've got all these uncut diamonds, and
eventually Guido and Marco go and decide to rip them
off because you know how dear Wittso set me up
all this kind of stuff. It's an okay scene, you know,
but it's not like some sort of like balls to
the wall action type of thing like you were talking
about before.
Speaker 6 (38:19):
Ryan.
Speaker 5 (38:19):
There's not a lot of chasing in here. There's a
chase through a junk yard at one point, but it's
all on foot. It's not a motorcycle race. I mean,
as part of my research for this, I watched a
little bit of what was it Lived Like a Cop
Died Like a Man, which de Leo jered deared Addo.
DeLeo had written that one, so I was like, oh,
(38:39):
let me check that out. And I mean that motorcycle
chase or dirt bike right up front, that right up front,
and it is amazing. Oh it's so well done. And yeah,
just really kicks things in the high gear.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
The thing that really surprised me watching this is that
one of the bad guys drops a reference to Diabolic.
Speaker 5 (38:58):
Yes, I thought that was great.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
I was struck by it because I was like, oh, yeah,
every country has its own self referential pop culture. Quentin
Tarantino didn't invent that. It's not an inherently American thing.
Everybody has their culture, and you know, like stuff might
cross over to America, like Godzilla is now the suffix
Zilla can now be applied to anything. But really it's
(39:22):
a Japanese pop culture artifact.
Speaker 5 (39:25):
And I want to say that it's Diabolic in the
captions and the subtitles, but it's Superman in the dub.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
That's interesting because when he's beating up Guido, he calls
him the steel Man, but never calls him the man
of steel, which is very very interesting.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
You ain't good iron inside? Yeah, he's just like all thems.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
No iron Man, no way.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Henriets is always saying that you're a man.
Speaker 1 (39:54):
E Nah, he's right, you're made of iron, all right.
Speaker 4 (40:01):
Only a man of mine could have did what you done. Yeah,
he's touching Guido earlier in the film, after the robbery
where he kills he gets his girlfriend killed and then
he kills the two robbers and the you know, he's
all over the news and Tony comes in. He's touching
him like his abs and things like that, saying is
(40:21):
there iron in?
Speaker 1 (40:23):
There? Is there steel?
Speaker 4 (40:24):
So yeah, I think that you know, when he comes
back and tells him that he's killed Marco. At the end,
He's like, well, he was full of steel. He was
the iron man. You're soft, but he was iron.
Speaker 5 (40:35):
And really it's Guido's freaking fault that Marco got killed.
It's like, what are you doing?
Speaker 7 (40:41):
It is?
Speaker 4 (40:42):
You know, I thought the first time I saw this,
and probably the second time I saw it too, I
Guido goes to Marco's body shop after he's out of prison.
You know, we get Marco at the beginning of the
film when he's doing the heist, but then five years
later he's a mechanic and he's got a limp and
(41:02):
you know that he got during the robbery. But when
they see each other for the first time after Guido's
getting out of prison, Marco is wearing this like really
inch shirt and he's got this feathery hairdoo that that
looks kind of partially combed over. It may even be
(41:24):
a hair piece, I don't know. It looked it's very
feathery and and and he looks like he's wearing makeup,
like he looks very lamb Rock frankly, and I thought
perhaps there was a gay subtext to their relationship, that
you know, Marco was really in love with him because
of how soft and effeminate he looked in that Cem's
(41:49):
He's got the muscles and you know, he's he's a
tough guy to the end there. But but I I
was struck the first few times I watched it at
that shot of him and the pink shirt and the
you know, looking very made up, and is is you know,
we talked about Enzo's soulful eyes, but Marco's eyes were
(42:09):
pretty soulful there too, And I don't think that that
is actually plays out. I don't think that that was
the intent, but that Marco is an interesting character, like
and we're supposed to like him, and we're supposed to
feel terrible that he gets killed, and we're supposed to
feel as bad as Weirdo does at the end when
you realize, you know, all these people that he loved
(42:31):
died for nothing because.
Speaker 1 (42:34):
He you know, made a mistake.
Speaker 5 (42:36):
Maria would have gotten killed anyway, but everybody.
Speaker 4 (42:40):
Else I don't think so, no, because she only gets
killed because he assumes the robbers are there for him,
and he runs into it, and it's when she starts
running because he's running that the you know, she gets
shot in the back. I think those. I believe Martin
Balsamley says he has no idea who those you know
guys were, and they didn't have anything to do with it,
(43:02):
and so I think the robbery probably would have gone
off without a hitch if Guido hadn't leapt into action
assuming that they were there to kill him. So it's
not unreasonable for Guido to have that kind of instinct,
but it is a wrong instinct, and it does it
causes his attitude to calcify, because once Maria is dead,
(43:23):
he's never going to listen to reason, you know, talking
to him. Martin Balsom, He's never gonna He's too wounded
already to ever think he was wrong.
Speaker 5 (43:32):
And I do have to agree with you, Ryan, I
think that Balsam does fit in very well with these
Italian actors and these gangsters that he's hanging around with.
I think the big side burns help quite a bit.
But I mean, he's just so good and it's just
always so nice to see Balsam show up in anything,
and yeah, I really enjoyed his character, and yeah, especially
(43:55):
that speeches at the end that he gives I thought
was just really really well done.
Speaker 1 (44:00):
The only cast member missing was Henry Silva. That's how
you know you're watching an Italian exploitation film is when
Henry Silva pops up. He goes, of course, now I
know exactly what kind of movie I'm watching, and he's
actually in. I believe The Italian Connection and The Box.
Speaker 4 (44:16):
Those are two of the best of I think the
whole genre, but definitely of the Leo's films.
Speaker 5 (44:23):
It was I was nice to see those American actors
show up in these things, and I know that was
always like the box office draw, which is just so
weird to me, because like, who's going to see a
movie because of Martin Balsom being in it other than
a weirdo like me? The box office peel of Ernest
borgnine in nineteen seventy eight or something. It's like, okay,
(44:43):
I mean, he was a fantastic part of that super
Cop movie with Hill and superfull.
Speaker 4 (44:49):
Going back to the Eurocrime documentary, Christopher Mitchum is being
interviewed at one point. I have no reason to think
he's mistaken, but you know, I did not do my
own research on this, but he says, you know that
in like Asia, it was like between him and Clint
Eastwood and I forget who the other actor is, maybe
(45:12):
if Steve McQueen or something like that. It was like,
depending on which one of us had the most recent
movie out, we were the three biggest movie stars in Asia.
He was saying, who we think is a big movie
star here, you know, is not the same thing as
it doesn't translate the same way around the world. And
(45:32):
no one would ever put Chris Mitchum and Clint Eastwood
the same ranking, you know, categories here, but apparently in
Asia that was the case, and so you know, who knows.
Maybe Martin Balsoman had an appeal. I mean, he certainly
brings value to everything, and he's great in Confessions of
a Police Captain, which I think was his first Italian
(45:53):
crime movie that he made in like seventy one. So yeah,
it makes sense that he keeps coming back back to
the East because I think that was an important, important
film for the genre, and you know, he was right
out front leading that one with the Franco Nero.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
In Italy, the big draw was Charlie Bronson. He was
kind of relegated to just like the revenge seeker roles
in America, but over in Italy he was he would
be top building like The Great Escape.
Speaker 5 (46:23):
You know what, I would probably top Billum in The
Great Escape as well.
Speaker 4 (46:26):
He's digging tunnels like that in House of Wax like that.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
We're going to sell. We're going to sell this on
a mute performance. It's like, okay, well it worked.
Speaker 5 (46:35):
I have to check something because I was watching that
Delayo documentary and there's a shot and they say, oh,
this is from Las Duxione from nineteen seventy three, and
it's a shot of this guy wearing a very loud
jacket with this blonde of brunette following him down these stairs.
And I was like, no, that's not from l Seduxione
(46:56):
unless they reused that shot and blood and Diamonds because
that's the guy who's supposed to be cutting or grinding
the diamonds. So I'm like, no, that's that's from that.
So I don't know unless if Delayo was because it's
the same actor, the same guy with the big glasses.
I'm like, why would you cheat a shot like that?
Why would you just steal a shot from your own movies?
(47:19):
That doesn't make any sense. So now I have a
thing because I know that part of this soundtrack was
used for another movie as well, but I have to
say I really like the score for this. I thought
there's a couple of really groovy musical cues, not including
Shack Me, of course, which is just the best.
Speaker 1 (47:37):
It's a Louis Bakolov. And I only recognize that name
because earlier that same day that I watched Blood and Diamonds,
I watched the first Kill Bill and there's at least
two Louis Bakolov tracks on that soundtrack, and I'm pretty
sure Tarantino I had to pull it from one of
these Delayo movies because he's a huge Delaya fan.
Speaker 5 (47:59):
I remember getting to a verbal argument with some film
nerd who is insisting that all of the music was
written for Kill Bill.
Speaker 1 (48:09):
I'm like, what, like, no, like three tracks out of
forty five.
Speaker 5 (48:15):
Are you fucking insane? Like most of these composers are
already dead, Like Marcone was still alive, but most of
them had passed on well before. Like, you're fucking crazy, man,
do your research.
Speaker 1 (48:27):
Yeah, nobody knows that Quentin Tarantino created The Green Hornet.
Speaker 5 (48:30):
And Ironsides too.
Speaker 1 (48:32):
That's right. He also wrote and directed Twisted Nerve, all
these great films. They're all part of the Tarantino legacy.
Speaker 5 (48:40):
Out of curiosity, Jedda Daia, how many movies did you
watch for this episode?
Speaker 4 (48:44):
Like about seventy Jesus Christ, Martin Balsam movies. And I
tried to watch some more Castanelli films, And yeah, I
watched as many Fernando de Laos as.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
I could get.
Speaker 4 (48:58):
Man, I watched several of the movies he wrote and
didn't direct. Yeah, there's a lot of just kind of
not a lot of distinction to my memory here, that's dedication.
Speaker 5 (49:12):
I mentioned that commentary earlier. Did you listen to that one?
Speaker 6 (49:14):
Ryan?
Speaker 1 (49:15):
I didn't get a chance to, but since if it's
still up on the drive, I'm definitely definitely taking a
look because it sounds like the speaking of Tarantino, the
Edgar Wright and Tarantino commentary for Hot Fuzz, where all
they do is just back and forth recommend movies to
each other and don't even talk about the movie. I'm
actually doing an episode on that tomorrow, and I just
(49:37):
rewatched it today and it's like it's one of those
things where it's like, oh my god, they talk about
the movie for maybe forty five seconds, and it's terrific.
Speaker 5 (49:45):
That's pretty much. Yet they just go back and forth
and basically are banding about titles. It almost feels like
a dick measuring contest as far as who knows the
more obscure Italian film and then sometimes not even Italian films,
but just going back and forth, back and forth, and
then yeah, and then it's that typical IMDb like, oh,
and this is Martin Balsom, who the year before was
(50:07):
in this one. I'm like, you're just looking at the IMDb.
You know, why are you doing this? I could go
to the IMDb just as easily as you can. You
don't have to tell me their entire filmography when they died,
how they died. And then that the whole thing that
I was talking about with the kidnapping of the Prime Minister.
I was like, they make a little mention of that,
(50:27):
like oh yeah, some bad stuff happened when this movie
came out, and they barely talk about it. I'm like,
come on, this is a major crime that happens and
overshadows the film, like I would like to know more
about that, But thank goodness for Wikipedia.
Speaker 4 (50:40):
I guess I thought the commentary was okay. I mean,
I definitely, you know, I didn't know all these actors.
There's all the names, you know, terribly racist of me,
but they all send the same to me. I'm having
a hard time keeping track of But you know, they
knew everybody who was in you know, thirty of these
(51:01):
movies in ten years. And wow, no, I wouldn't have
known that, wouldn't have known that.
Speaker 1 (51:07):
It's been fun having.
Speaker 4 (51:08):
The stats feature on letterbox now because I can see, oh, yeah,
I have no idea who this person is, but apparently
I've watched you know, seven of their movies.
Speaker 5 (51:18):
Well, I didn't realize that I had seen a lot
of Victorio Capriole Caprioi films, that he's the guy that
played the inspector, and when I pull up his his IMDb,
there's a picture of him and another dude. And then
Pierre Richard, who was in a ton of Francis Ferber films,
(51:40):
and I actually watched one of those called La Magnafique,
which is Verber. I think had a very little part
in the writing of that, but that was the one
with Jean Paul Belmondo where he's writing a book and
then also fantasizing about being in the book, and in
the book everything is wonderful and everything, and girlfriend Jacqueline
(52:01):
Bessad is all about like giving him all this sex.
But then when he's actually in real life and trying
to write it, it's like everything's distracting him. And it
was a It was cute. I mean, we've seen that
that play out, that whole book versus reality thing so
many times, but I thought they handled it very well
in that film, so I recommend Le Magnafique.
Speaker 1 (52:23):
Well, unfortunately they never made a Blood and Diamonds animated
series with a purple beaver.
Speaker 5 (52:30):
All right, we're going to take a break and play
a preview for next week's show right after these brief messages.
Speaker 6 (52:35):
Oh and enjoys and all the towns in all the
world in mine.
Speaker 9 (52:42):
It's time nothing the fiftieth anniversary Collector's Edition video of
Casa Blanca.
Speaker 6 (52:53):
He's looking at you, kid, Casa Blanca.
Speaker 9 (52:56):
Nineteen ninety eight or less after five dollars mail in
rebate with purchase of taster's choice.
Speaker 2 (53:01):
I think this is the beginning of a beautiful French.
Speaker 5 (53:05):
That's right, we're back next week. But they talk about
a very obscure film from nineteen forty two. It's called
Casa Blanca. Until then, I want to thank my co
host Ryan and Jedediah. So, Ryan, what is the latest
with you, sir?
Speaker 1 (53:19):
I am still working on a one Track Mind, which
is an audio commentary's focused podcast, very much into physical
media and trying to keep it alive, where every other
week myself and a guest will review a movie based
on its audio commentary and you can find that on
Facebook and Podchaser. I'm on blue Sky at one track
(53:42):
mind dot, bsky dot social and still on Instagram spelled
differently with a the number one instead of spelled out
o any track Mind podcast, and i also do Reels
of Justice, a fake movie court where we have a prosecutor, defender, judge,
and jury try to conclude whether or not a movie
is guilty of being a bad movie. That's every week
(54:03):
instead of every other week, and you can find that
on all the social media's except for Blue Sky. Unfortunately
they're still on the dreaded Bird app and it's at
Reels of Justice.
Speaker 5 (54:15):
And jet dyah anything to share deleted all my social
Oh nice social media.
Speaker 4 (54:21):
So I'm on a letterbox if you want to keep
track of, you know, the hundreds of movie I'm watching
this year, but yeah, dabbling and a little fiction writing, but.
Speaker 5 (54:34):
Not a lot going on. Well, thank you so much
guys for being on the show. Thanks to everybody for listening.
If you want to hear more of me shooting off
my mouth, check out some of the other shows that
I work on. They're all available at whirredomamedia dot com.
Thanks especially to our Patreon community. If you want to
join the community, visit patreon dot com. Slash Projection Booth.
Every donation we get helps the Projection Booth take over
(54:55):
the world.
Speaker 6 (54:58):
I do.
Speaker 2 (55:01):
Shut up so nice, shut shut.
Speaker 11 (55:28):
Shut, shut, shut.
Speaker 7 (55:33):
Shut shut, dodger shock, mister, h shocking, dracular, shockly, freaking, stun.
Speaker 11 (55:52):
Stool shot shot shot shut.
Speaker 4 (56:01):
Shut shut.
Speaker 11 (56:04):
Shut, shove it, shove.
Speaker 2 (56:15):
It, shove it, shove me you know me, don't shun me, you.
Speaker 11 (56:36):
Shun have you not to come shuty shuck shot shot
(57:11):
shun shot me, shot me shout shun you the nomad, come.
Speaker 2 (57:25):
On, come on shut.
Speaker 11 (57:31):
If you want to shun?
Speaker 2 (57:36):
What's clue? Shockle good look.
Speaker 3 (57:41):
Shockly not said, shocking, vital sho shot me, shot me,
shut shun.
Speaker 11 (57:56):
Shot me, shot me, shut shut shut it to shut
it shot me, shot me
Oh he is, folks, it should die.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
People say good money to see this movie.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
When they go out to a theater, they want cold sodas,
hot popcorn and no monsters.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
In the protection booth, everyone pretend podcasting isn't boring.
Speaker 5 (00:20):
Let it off?
Speaker 6 (00:52):
Can I go, mam.
Speaker 7 (01:03):
We know.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
I call it do say content, But sino choi.
Speaker 8 (01:17):
So sulak Richard with all their day man that gentle
gerd Melopo confirm ariga melo com ferman to day.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
The man on army say on quando site.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Many start domanicolosi.
Speaker 6 (01:41):
A party called let me shut shut.
Speaker 9 (01:48):
Sh sh sh.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Sh Is that metable the amount?
Speaker 10 (01:59):
Tran's a not human geno?
Speaker 9 (02:03):
Yes, last you don't know.
Speaker 10 (02:15):
Loscase So to say the daughter journey the temple stem
A case.
Speaker 11 (02:28):
Came rigost degree.
Speaker 6 (02:31):
Crepy satis dominic at non prie said do meta.
Speaker 10 (03:10):
Branches cut.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
At telaphe.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Cal calder.
Speaker 6 (03:22):
Rizo and Mario ara Qui primo coz.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
Welcome to the Projection Booth. I'm your host, Mike White,
join me once again as mister Jenedi airs inform. Also
back in the book this mister Ryan Luis Rodriguez, we
continue a month of Patreon request with one from Pat Radkey.
Blood and Diamonds written and directed by Fernando de Leo,
the film stars Claudio Cassanielli as Guido Mari, who, after
(04:16):
being arrested and sent to prison for five years, gets
out and swears vengeance against those he thinks wronged him,
carving a bloody path through those he once considered to
be his friends and allies. We will be spoiling this
film as we go along, so if you don't want
anything ruined, please turn off the podcast and come back
after you've seen that. We will still be here. So, Jenediah,
(04:37):
when was the first time you saw Blood and Diamonds
and what did you think?
Speaker 4 (04:42):
I saw it twenty eighteen. According to my Letterbucks at Cow.
It was a couple of years after I first saw
any Police Stachy movies, and specifically Fernando de Leo films,
and I think it was the the great old streaming
(05:02):
service film Struck had, I think a Fernando de Lio selection,
and I really loved those, and this was not part
of that collection, apparently because it wasn't until a couple
of years later.
Speaker 6 (05:13):
I saw this.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
But by the time I saw it, it was not
my favorite.
Speaker 6 (05:18):
De Leo.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
I think the impact of the first ones I saw,
especially Milan Caliber nine, really really blew me away. And
I liked Blood and Diamonds right away, but it wasn't
particularly special to me. But I gotta say revisiting it
for this podcast, it's become one of my favorites. I
really enjoy it for probably a lot of the same
(05:41):
reasons you guys do that I'll wait to get into.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
And Ryan, how about yourself.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Similar to Jedediah, I've been aware of de Leo for years.
A Criterion Channel in twenty twenty three had a big
selection of his just like I mean, the former owners
of Film Strung. They had Caliber nine, The Italian Connection,
The Boss, and Shoot First, Die Later, and I had
heard of Blood and Diamonds, but it was not part
(06:09):
of that collection. So the first time I actually watched
it was two days ago, and I only picked it
because when you were soliciting guests for this season, it
was one of the ones that had an empty box
next to it, so I was like, oh, yeah, I'll
just put my money in there, and then I realized,
after maybe an hour later, like, oh, that's a Delayo
film that'll fill a hole in my knowledge, and now
(06:32):
I have it, so thank you for doing that.
Speaker 7 (06:35):
Well.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
I appreciate that you are willing to take a shot
on a movie that you don't even know what it is,
so not everybody's like that.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
It couldn't be worse than Red Lights.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
This was also a pretty new film for me. I
have a massive blind spot when it comes to a
lot of Italian films, especially these Pelicio Tetsi films. I
remember speaking with Mike Molloy, euro crime documentary director Mike
Malloy back long time ago. We talked about The Italian Connection,
(07:06):
which I think is also a Delo film, And yeah,
I just haven't seen that many of these movies. I
have seen a lot more Spaghetti Westerns than I've seen
these kinds of movies. And I think I've seen more
French Policiers or French noirs than I have any of
these things. So it's a very brave new world for me.
(07:26):
And then when I was trying to listen to the commentary,
and I think we'll talk about the commentary a little
bit later, I mean, pretty much the whole commentary is
just these two yahoos just dropping names of other films
the entire time, so it's like, oh, and then this
is like this, and this is like this, and this
is like this. I'm like, could you maybe talk about
the movie that you're actually supposed to be talking about.
(07:48):
But anyway, made a big list of all these other
movies and I tried watching some of those. I didn't
have the most successful time. But it sounds like this
movie is in conversation with earlier delio, which is Milan
Caliber nine or Caliber nine. And they almost call this
Rome caliber nine, so almost like a follow up movie.
(08:11):
But it sounds like this movie starts almost the exact
same way that the other one ends. So I did
watch a little bit of Caliber nine, but I cannot say, oh, yeah,
this is a natural bookend for the other film.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Yeah, I didn't make that connection whatsoever. But I also
want to add that Eurocrime is an outstanding documentary if
you want to know more about this sub genre. It's
always streaming somewhere. I don't know where it is at
the moment, but I've seen it at least twice on
completely different streaming services. So if you're listening to this
and you're interested, first of all, go to two B
(08:47):
and watch Blood and Diamonds, where it is streaming for free,
then look up Eurocrime on Real Good and you will
have a good double feature there.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I'd like to echo that sentiment. I love that documentary.
I've seen it a few times, and in fact, I
just watched it yesterday or the day before, and I
think it was on two B that it's streaming. I
hadn't made the Milan Caliber nine connection until listening to
the commentary track and they mentioned it, and then suddenly
(09:19):
things really clicked for me, and I said, oh, yeah,
this is really kind of the same situation. You know,
a guy gets out of prison after and when he
gets out of prison, everybody thinks he's got, you know,
a score to settle with his former boss, and he's
(09:42):
pressured by the gangsters who were his former friends and
by the police to you know, come clean and get
protection because he's vulnerable, because everybody's just waiting for this
guy to get rubbed out. The difference, though, is that
the situations end up being kind of like mirror opposites
(10:03):
as far as what the truth of the situation is.
And it is fun to have Barbara Bouchet in both
movies playing pretty similar, ultimately pretty similar roles. I do
think they make a nice a nice conversation. They start
the same. It's not Caliber nine ends where Blood and
(10:25):
Diamonds begins, But Blood and Diamonds just has the little precursor,
the little setup of you see him before he goes
to prison, and then the opening credits happen and he's
getting out of prison, whereas Caliber nine just starts with
him getting out of prison. So good double feature. Caliber
nine is my favorite, both the Leo film and of
(10:47):
the policiateeschies I've seen. I know a lot of folks
like the Italian Connection more I do like the Italian Connection,
and it's perhaps more in the spirit and.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
Of a lot of the the Police Attachi movies.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
It's it's bigger action and broader lead performances and things
like that. But I really do like the kind of
more somber noir ish overtones of Caliber nine and Blood
and Diamonds.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
And when he gets out of prison, it's literally it's
a five year time cut that happens over the course
of like a minute. The narrative of this movie is
not fucking around, like it immediately sets off and like
he gets he gets nabbed. In the first two minutes.
You see the prison, this gothic brutalist compound, you see
(11:39):
him come out, and then immediately that's when the revenge starts.
It's literally there's no wasted time getting to the plot.
Speaker 5 (11:49):
Yeah, I thought maybe Caliber nine ended with that shot
of the phone and the JNB, but it ends with
that shot of the cigarette still burning instead. That's why
I was kind of hoping like it was literally like
the two shots matched up or something. But no, it's
it's definitely not that case.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
I see, I am misunderstood.
Speaker 5 (12:09):
I see where you're coming from, and I see why
my words would say that. But I was really hoping
that there would be more of a connection there and
it'd be like the same shot opening or something. But
the main character, Guido, he thinks that he's been set up,
and he was set up, but he thinks he was
set up by basically his boss, by Rizzo, who's played
(12:31):
by Martin Balsom, But he was not set up by Rizzo.
So like, this whole movie is him trying to get
revenge on Rizzo, and it's completely wrong headed. As soon
as he gets out of prison, he takes a bus
with his wife slash girlfriend. I can't I'm not sure
what their relationship is. But Olga kar lotas playing Maria
(12:54):
and gets out of prison and these two bandits show
up and they try to rob the b that he
and all these other people are on, and he says
to himself out loud, Rizo must have sent these two
goons to kill me, And that's his whole thing after
he thinks that he has been set up to be
killed coming out of prison. I don't know why they
(13:15):
wouldn't have killed him in prison, but coming out of prison,
that becomes his whole thing, and he's wrong. He's wrong
through the whole movie, so you're just like, okay, But
it's an interesting thing as far as when we find
out that he's wrong versus when he finds out and
then just how that changes everything when he finds out
(13:36):
that he is wrong and who the actual person that
set him up was. And I kept thinking the whole time,
through so much of this that it was actually I
think his friend's name is Marco. I kept thinking that
it was Marco maybe that set him up, because Marco.
It feels like Marco is kind of a It feels
like that this movie really influenced A Better Tomorrow. This
(13:59):
whole thing Marco who escaped from this stuff, but he
was lame, so he's going around, you know, with a
limp and everything, and he works at this autobody shop,
and so I just kept thinking of like the t
lung character who runs that taxi stand for ex criminals
and then you know Mark who got the bullet and
his knee, and that he's just kind of limping around afterwards.
(14:21):
But yeah, I thought that maybe Wu had seen this
and had picked up on some of those things for
Better Tomorrow, because there are some elements of these gangster
films that play really well with the Hong Kong films
later on.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
And it's important to add that the guys who try
to rob the bus kill his lady love, which I
think only intensifies that desire for revenge. And Martin Balsom
amazing to say, it's in really well with the rest
of the Italian cast. A lot of times when they
cast American actors in these roles, they look like Americans
(14:58):
hanging out with Italian people, but this guy really blends in,
and probably because Balstam was such a good actor, but
even with the dubbed voice, he fits in perfectly, absolutely well.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
It's him dubbing himself though right it is, well, I
didn't know. I think it is, at least in the
version I saw, because.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
It sounds a little different watching these films that most
of them, or at least several of them, and several
of the first ones I saw, are available either dubbed
in English or in Italian, and I do think it
makes a difference how you first see them. I think
the first time I saw Caliber nine it was in
(15:42):
Italian with subtitles, and watching it later dubbed in English,
it does give it a different a different feel. I
love both versions, but yeah, the whole dubbing and versus
subtitle I mean that would be dubbed two because it
didn't shoot with live sound, but reading subtitles and and
(16:06):
hearing a dubbed actor, it really does make for a
different experience. I think with the films and Blood and
Diamonds and Milan, Caliber nine, specifically with their sort of
more sober tone than you know a lot of the
really gonzo action ones in the genre. The gonzo action ones,
(16:26):
I think that that dubbed quality kind of adds to
the frenetic energy of the things. But these these more
somber ones, I think if you watch them dubbed, I
think you come away with a different feeling thing you
do if if you watch them subtitled soap.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Yeah, this one's definitely more contemplative than the rest of
the of the bunch. I don't. I tried to clock
if there was a if anything could count as a
car chase, and I don't think there is one, which
there is in all the other ones. Yet somber is
the right word. I think it's It's definitely it's a
more morose prime picture as opposed to the excess is
(17:11):
the fun excesses of the other ones.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
I made the mistake of watching this English dubbed with
English subtitles on it, So the English subtitles were for
the Italian version, so it pointed out all of the
times that the subtitler was deciding. And I'm taking it
(17:34):
that the subtitler was only subtitling things that we hear
on screen, So sometimes there are lines that were put
in in the English version that we didn't hear in
the Italian version. It was very strange, especially if there's
somebody on screen and their mouth is hidden, the subtitles
(17:54):
might have an extra line in there. As opposed to
the English version, where you weren't hearing them say something,
so like, you know, a phrase or something would pop
up on screen. I'm like, nobody's talking right now, but
apparently in the Italian version they were, so Yeah. It
was a very strange experience for me trying to make
my way through that. And like, I can't imagine watching
(18:16):
Caliber nine without Lionel Stander's voice because that is such
a part of him as a as a person and
as an actor. That kind of like Martin Balsom, I
was just like, yeah, I can't imagine watching this without
his voice.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Watching it dubbed and subtitled at the same time is
like that episode of News Radio where Jimmy James had
his autobiography translated into Japanese and then back into English.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
Soon No One, super Karate Monkey Death Car where.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Park in MySpace and then you have super Monkey Death
Car and just stuff that makes absolutely no sense.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
Caliber nine was has a slight advantage too, because it's
got Mario Ador there, who is fucking amazing. But this
movie has Pierre Paolo Caponi. I believe it's how you
pronounced the gentleman's name as Tony who basically is that
same role from Caliber nine. But oh my god, and
(19:16):
I wish people could see what you look like right now,
Jedediah with the major fat tie that's tied around your
neck and not around the collar, because.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
Not around the collar collars opened yet.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
Because Tony has this weird fashion sense where he's wearing
it looks like multiple ties hanging around his neck or
maybe an incredibly long cravat. I don't know what's going on.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
It's so delightfully garish.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
He's great, he's great, and every time he shows up,
he's just like a mad dog and he just keeps
yelling conform, conform, And I'm like, okay, you gotta.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Stop that moment when Tony's talking to you, go for
mah conf Now, as I was saying that line is
is great, And I wonder if it was the Italian
you know what the Italian word was that they were,
you know, because on that Eurocrime doc they spent some
time talking with voice actors who did who did the
(20:17):
the dubbing, and you know, they talked about how well
first the actors talked about how there was a lot
of improvising going on, you know, just like get the
essence of that scene from Dirty Harry or you know,
from Bullets say it kind of kind of the same,
you know, make it your own. And then and then
the dubbers are watching the lip movement and trying to
(20:39):
find words that fit the lip.
Speaker 6 (20:40):
Movement, and so.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
That he's saying conform is is kind of funny and
kind of you know, you think it means one thing.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
But then at the end, and you know.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
After he's killed Marco and he's confronting Guido about how,
you know, he's widow's got all his friends killed basically,
and but he's confessing that he didn't like killing Marco
because Marco, you know, was a stand up guy and
really went out like a man.
Speaker 6 (21:13):
He said he.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
Conformed, he could, you know, he conformed all the way.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Just been quite.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
I thought that meant one thing, and you're saying, yeah,
the the usage, I'm not really sure what the intent
was and what the actual word they're transcribing is, but
it's it's a it's a hell of a hell of
a character catchphrase.
Speaker 6 (21:36):
Come firm.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
Aha.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
And to piggyback on the euro crime thing, the one
thing missing in all Delayo movies is pissed torture.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
I haven't seen all the Delayo movies, but i've seen
all the all the policiatteschi ones and and adjacent you know,
crime and action ones. There's a few of the erotic,
dry and sex comedies I don't think I've been able
to find. But I will say he's my favorite of
(22:08):
the Bletiatshi directors that that I'm aware of. I've probably
seen twenty or thirty Gleitziatshi films total, you know, out
of hundreds and hundreds, so not a great sampling, but
I think it's I think he's considered one of the
more important contributors. And even with him, there's a fairly
(22:31):
whyde gap between his best examples in the genre and
his lesser examples. So you know, i'd say there's four
or five of his that I like quite a bit,
and I've seen a few that I really don't care for.
I don't feel like I know him as a person
(22:52):
having watched what I've watched, I feel like, you know,
there's some directors that I feel I understand something about
their personality, and I don't know that I've got that connection.
I wish I knew more about him I've read just
a couple of fairly brief things, biographical things, and Mike,
(23:12):
you sent that documentary about him that seemed to be
people reading his poetry for.
Speaker 5 (23:18):
Wherever eventually it changes. That opening was brutal, though, especially
because they make you read it on screen, and then
they go to the guy and then he reads it again.
You're just like, oh my god. So about five minutes
in it actually becomes like a real documentary.
Speaker 4 (23:35):
Well, yeah, I mean I watched the whole thing, but
I maybe I was a little lulled by all the poetry.
If you guys know about him, I would love to
hear your thoughts on who he was and what does
film say about him, but of the policiatashi stuff specifically,
Even in that small number of films he made, there's
(23:58):
a pretty wide app between his best and his lesser efforts.
Speaker 5 (24:04):
Yeah. I don't seem to get a real beat on
him through his films, at least the ones that I've seen.
I know that he was supposed to be very leftist,
you know, one of those wokesters I think is So
that's probably why we don't know that much, because you know,
you go woke, you go broke and That's why probably
even shouldn't even be talking about this movie.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
He went out of style when woke was not cool yet,
So you know, he was ahead of everybody dying in
two thousand and three. He was whoa he knew woke
before we ever had a definition.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
If that's true his You know, I know that there
are some leftist ideas debated, you know, especially in Caliber
nine The Police Chiefs. You know, there's one leftist and
one fascist, and they spend a fair amount of the
film debating policing philosophies and things like that. But you know,
(24:53):
the genre itself is you know, often fairly really fascist. Frankly,
you know, it was a lot of really over the
top police heroes and vigilati heroes who just you know,
slaughter their way and torture their way through through suspects
and underworlds, and that we're rooting for them most of
(25:15):
the time too. You know, I make no bones about
really enjoying those films, But it's funny that a subgenre
with so many pretty fascist examples would have leftist crews
and directors behind them.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
Well yeah, I mean it was Italy. It didn't all
change after Mussolini was hung upside down. There were still
a lot of fascist sympathizers and a ton of communist
sympathizers at the same time. This was like the prime
time of the Red Brigade, the Brigado Russo. And then
to find out that this movie came out what was
at the day after the Prime Minister was kidnapped by
(25:53):
the Red Brigade and killed box office because nobody was
in the mood to have fun go see a movie.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
It's like when Hardball came out in the wake of
nine to eleven and people were like, I can't watch
a movie about Keanu Reeves teaching a bunch of kids
how to play baseball. It's not what I'm feeling right now.
I'd rather go see Jay and Silent Bob strike Back
for the third time, which is actually an autobiographical moment
that I've just illustrated.
Speaker 5 (26:18):
Didn't Poody Tang come out right around that time as well,
and I think that ruined.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Earlier that summer, But yeah, that's yeah, that definitely happened.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
Nobody wanted to see Poody Tang.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
For the five people who are aware of Poody Tang.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
Yeah, the police Inspector is fantastic I really like this
guy and again feels very woo to me as far
as and also very Jean Pierre Melville as far as
the police inspector who actually cares for the criminal and
wants the criminal to go straight, kind of really empathizes
with this guy. It really feels like the police inspector
is more of a father figure too Guido than anybody
(26:55):
else and really wants him to look at what's going
on and really defends him quite a bit throughout this
entire thing. And it's good that he's there because Guido
as a character, he's just kind of a cipher. And
I hear that DeLeo liked working with this guy because
he didn't give a lot of emotion, and I can
really see that he's kind of an automaton through this
(27:15):
whole movie.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Yeah, I have in my notes here protagonist of inaction.
He doesn't really do much. He kind of stands there
kind of observing everything that goes on. And I noticed
that he looks like if you had an article on
a newspaper with Christopher Lambert and Jason Clark in the
same frame, and he took silly putty and you put
it on it, and then you pull it off and
(27:38):
whatever mangled face you would have that resembles both men,
like some kind of transporter accident in the fly, that's
what you would have. You would have this guy's face.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
That's pretty accurate. That's that's pretty good.
Speaker 6 (27:50):
I like that.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
I was thinking this last time watching it, how he
was physically the opposite of a guest On Moshen, who
played Ugo Piazza, the protagonist of a Caliber nine. And
gust On is is kind of a he looks like
a motherfucker, looks like to think. You know, he's he's
kept the fireplum head, bald head, and you know, he's
(28:16):
he's just kind of yeah, he's not heavy, but he's
he's he's really thick and a slab of stone, you know.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
And and he acts that way too.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
He's completely blank and expressionless through you know, the first
ninety of the film, and then at the very end
there's a big change, whereas Casanelli is you know, kind
of more. He's not I wouldn't say gaunt, but he's
you know, he's got that narrow face and that that
kind of floppy hair and and but he's he also
(28:48):
is is just totally blank and just I mean, he's
there's just rage boiling underneath him for for the whole movie,
but he's not you know, it's only in his eyes,
and he's not never is yelling, he's never showing emotion
except through his eyes until the end of the film too.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
It's either rage or gas.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
Of course, at the end of the film that turns
into two deep sadness. And you know, as he realizes
he's you know, his own mistakes have have you know,
cost the lives of everyone he loved and he was
a fool. And I find that final scene between Martin
Balsom and him.
Speaker 6 (29:30):
To be very moving.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Frankly, I like it a lot. I think every time
I watch it it gets more powerful. And yeah, Martin
balsam Is is terrific through the whole picture, especially when
you know the truth about his character.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Really good shit.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
And I like that speech he gives at the end,
you know that you know, I've got to do this
to make an example of you, not because I can't
get over what you did to me or you know whatever,
but you know, for them, and he's pointing out he's
called an audience of all is underworld contacts and you know,
henchmen and things like that, like they have to learn
(30:08):
what it means to be in this life. And yeah,
and of course I don't. I guess we're spoiling everything else,
but I don't want to spoil the decision. He makes
it at the very end there, so I know you
guys can if you want, but I won't leave that
on my comments here. It's it's just a it's a
it's a great, great scene.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Well.
Speaker 5 (30:29):
I love all those guys in that scene, all standing
by their white cars, and the way that the white
cars are all lined up. It's kind of like the
opposite of a funeral, but yet they're meaning in this
kind of dingy it looks like a parking garage or something.
Am I Oh, okay, this works, And I think he
calls it a funeral, but it looks like the opposite
of a funeral with the what those no hearse or anything.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
And I'm glad you brought up Melville because that that's
definitely a key point in a lot of these polite
is it polye shtty? I don't want to mispronounce it.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
I think everybody who says it mispronounces it.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
So okay, well then polly shatty whatever these poll see movies.
There's definitely the code of conduct that is very much
a Mailville construct, and the kind of idea of the
process of criminality and what it takes to kind of
live that life is very much a Melville thing. Like
(31:27):
you won't confuse it with Leicircle Rouge anytime soon, but
it's definitely like the feet on the ground level of Melville.
Speaker 5 (31:36):
Definitely they all have that code and the whole thing
it's like, who violated the code? Who's the one that
tipped off the cops that I was going to be
doing this thing and set me up the river and
trying to figure that out? And you know, he's got
so many different people that he can basically choose from.
He goes right for the boss obviously, but this whole
thing of like it was, isn't it Maria's s Is
(32:00):
that how that works? And so yeah, who is kind
of like the younger thief that Bob La Flambert takes
under his wings And luckily I don't I know, he
kind of screws up here and there, but he doesn't
actually betray Bob like knowingly, whereas this guy is just like,
oh yeah, And it's funny because you see, like you
were talking about, the second time you watch it, you
(32:22):
get more, and especially you get more of the Balsome character.
And it's like, well, the second time I watched it,
I saw Enzo, you know, opening up the door and
looking at Guido before he goes on that job, and
I'm like, oh, okay, things just kind of really started
to click more for me. And then yeah, when you
see Balsam knowing that he didn't call for this and
(32:45):
just is kind of confused, like why is Guido doing
this stuff? Why does he think I'm the one that
set him up? I really appreciate this even more, and
I can see liking this movie a second, third, fourth
time more than I did even the first time.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
And Enzo has the saddest eyes just of any so expressive,
so very mournful, and very like it's clear that something,
some part of his life has been taken away without
his consent, and he's just kind of he's getting through
the motions basically.
Speaker 5 (33:18):
The sadist size and the hottest girl friend me. Oh yeah,
Barbara Bouschette with her dance numberless she's doing to that
amazing song what shocked me? And I could think of
Ace freely.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
In a nightclub where they have the name of the
nightclub indoors on the wall, just in case you came
in and forgot where you were, or unless I've never
been to a nightclub, so maybe that's what it's like
in it. Maybe Studio fifty four. Every single wall said
fifty four on it. I don't know. I can't say,
but usually if you walk into a nightclub, you're pretty
sure where you are.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Yeah, techdir and the terminator did that.
Speaker 5 (33:59):
Too, Yes, in case you're on your cell phone here,
just like I'm at the tech Noir.
Speaker 11 (34:07):
I'n't just play.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
I pick up a bar called techt Noir.
Speaker 11 (34:11):
I'm really scared, you know.
Speaker 4 (34:12):
Another connection, of course, between Bun Diamonds and Calber nine
is Barbara Bouchet as a go go dancer doing There's
a great sequence in Calber nine where it's you know,
shot at the low angles of her bikini go go dancing.
And I will never complain about those scenes being as
long as they are, but they are long scenes.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
She must have had a non nudity clause because there
are topless dancers right behind her.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
Well, she does get nude a couple of times in
the film, but you're right in that number she doesn't
and the ladies behind her scene to be having a
very good time.
Speaker 5 (34:48):
Yeah, of course, I was thinking of We recently watched
a Just Franco movie and there was a whole thing
at a nightclub, and I was like, oh boy, I
hope this doesn't go that way, because it was basically
simulated sex in the nightclub, and so of like, no, no,
I don't really need to see that again. But luckily
they avoided that. And yeah, and I think there's a
(35:09):
there's a couple of sex scenes, or at least one
I remember from Caliber nine where, but it's more nudity
from the back of memory serves. I'm not sure. It's
amazing that as you get older, you don't watch movies
just for the nudity anymore.
Speaker 4 (35:22):
It's funny when I grew up very sheltered, without cable
and without being allowed to watch much.
Speaker 7 (35:31):
You know.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
I started when I was able to rent movies. I
was still living at my parents' house. It was still
I couldn't, you know, go see R rated films, but
I could. I could rent them, you know, unless that
one lady at the grocery store was working. She wouldn't
rent me. She wouldn't rend me blood Sport or Point
Break or any of those. But well, I found, Yes,
(35:52):
I was absolutely you remember those books, the a Precursor,
the Mister Skin was the Bearer, the Bearess Bears video Guide,
and you know, I would I would find a lot
of interesting things to watch that way.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
And it was it was funny.
Speaker 4 (36:10):
I was renting a lot of like kind of highbrow
art films, European and Asian stuff and and you know
a lot of really trashy exploitation and you know, straight
to video action movies. So I grew up with you know,
I didn't have anybody who was a movie watcher telling me.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
What I should watch.
Speaker 4 (36:30):
I was pretty much looking for nudity all the time.
And and that led me into you know, simultaneous, very
different paths, the art film and the exploitation cheap old
schlocky stuff, as they both tracked in nudity that you
didn't get in those you know, cobious amounts in a
(36:51):
lot of a lot of the fair that I was
at the movie theaters.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
When I was growing up and actually cared about nudity
and movies. There was an issue Maxim magazine with Tara
Reid on the cover, because I will never forget it.
It's the only time I bought a Maxim magazine at
a supermarket and nobody looked at me and said, aren't
you a little young to be purchasing this. They're like, yeah, whatever,
FU could take it. And it had inside the fifty
(37:16):
best sex scenes in all of movies, and I managed
to track down I think maybe forty seven of them,
and I felt so accomplished. And then I grew another
two years, and then ultimately didn't care anymore, and then
I actually started watching movies for the plot, for the esthetics,
for all the stuff that doesn't involve boobies.
Speaker 4 (37:35):
I'll get there someday.
Speaker 5 (37:37):
There's not a lot to talk about when it comes
to this movie, because it just seems to follow pretty
well worn paths. I wasn't surprised by much. There wasn't
in a really tense robbery scene. There wasn't There weren't
like a lot of showcase scenes, you know, it's not
like the robbery is just a thing. And even when
(38:01):
it comes to they've got all these uncut diamonds, and
eventually Guido and Marco go and decide to rip them
off because you know how dear Wittso set me up
all this kind of stuff. It's an okay scene, you know,
but it's not like some sort of like balls to
the wall action type of thing like you were talking
about before.
Speaker 6 (38:19):
Ryan.
Speaker 5 (38:19):
There's not a lot of chasing in here. There's a
chase through a junk yard at one point, but it's
all on foot. It's not a motorcycle race. I mean,
as part of my research for this, I watched a
little bit of what was it Lived Like a Cop
Died Like a Man, which de Leo jered deared Addo.
DeLeo had written that one, so I was like, oh,
(38:39):
let me check that out. And I mean that motorcycle
chase or dirt bike right up front, that right up front,
and it is amazing. Oh it's so well done. And yeah,
just really kicks things in the high gear.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
The thing that really surprised me watching this is that
one of the bad guys drops a reference to Diabolic.
Speaker 5 (38:58):
Yes, I thought that was great.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
I was struck by it because I was like, oh, yeah,
every country has its own self referential pop culture. Quentin
Tarantino didn't invent that. It's not an inherently American thing.
Everybody has their culture, and you know, like stuff might
cross over to America, like Godzilla is now the suffix
Zilla can now be applied to anything. But really it's
(39:22):
a Japanese pop culture artifact.
Speaker 5 (39:25):
And I want to say that it's Diabolic in the
captions and the subtitles, but it's Superman in the dub.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
That's interesting because when he's beating up Guido, he calls
him the steel Man, but never calls him the man
of steel, which is very very interesting.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
You ain't good iron inside? Yeah, he's just like all thems.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
No iron Man, no way.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Henriets is always saying that you're a man.
Speaker 1 (39:54):
E Nah, he's right, you're made of iron, all right.
Speaker 4 (40:01):
Only a man of mine could have did what you done. Yeah,
he's touching Guido earlier in the film, after the robbery
where he kills he gets his girlfriend killed and then
he kills the two robbers and the you know, he's
all over the news and Tony comes in. He's touching
him like his abs and things like that, saying is
(40:21):
there iron in?
Speaker 1 (40:23):
There? Is there steel?
Speaker 4 (40:24):
So yeah, I think that you know, when he comes
back and tells him that he's killed Marco. At the end,
He's like, well, he was full of steel. He was
the iron man. You're soft, but he was iron.
Speaker 5 (40:35):
And really it's Guido's freaking fault that Marco got killed.
It's like, what are you doing?
Speaker 7 (40:41):
It is?
Speaker 4 (40:42):
You know, I thought the first time I saw this,
and probably the second time I saw it too, I
Guido goes to Marco's body shop after he's out of prison.
You know, we get Marco at the beginning of the
film when he's doing the heist, but then five years
later he's a mechanic and he's got a limp and
(41:02):
you know that he got during the robbery. But when
they see each other for the first time after Guido's
getting out of prison, Marco is wearing this like really
inch shirt and he's got this feathery hairdoo that that
looks kind of partially combed over. It may even be
(41:24):
a hair piece, I don't know. It looked it's very
feathery and and and he looks like he's wearing makeup,
like he looks very lamb Rock frankly, and I thought
perhaps there was a gay subtext to their relationship, that
you know, Marco was really in love with him because
of how soft and effeminate he looked in that Cem's
(41:49):
He's got the muscles and you know, he's he's a
tough guy to the end there. But but I I
was struck the first few times I watched it at
that shot of him and the pink shirt and the
you know, looking very made up, and is is you know,
we talked about Enzo's soulful eyes, but Marco's eyes were
(42:09):
pretty soulful there too, And I don't think that that
is actually plays out. I don't think that that was
the intent, but that Marco is an interesting character, like
and we're supposed to like him, and we're supposed to
feel terrible that he gets killed, and we're supposed to
feel as bad as Weirdo does at the end when
you realize, you know, all these people that he loved
(42:31):
died for nothing because.
Speaker 1 (42:34):
He you know, made a mistake.
Speaker 5 (42:36):
Maria would have gotten killed anyway, but everybody.
Speaker 4 (42:40):
Else I don't think so, no, because she only gets
killed because he assumes the robbers are there for him,
and he runs into it, and it's when she starts
running because he's running that the you know, she gets
shot in the back. I think those. I believe Martin
Balsamley says he has no idea who those you know
guys were, and they didn't have anything to do with it,
(43:02):
and so I think the robbery probably would have gone
off without a hitch if Guido hadn't leapt into action
assuming that they were there to kill him. So it's
not unreasonable for Guido to have that kind of instinct,
but it is a wrong instinct, and it does it
causes his attitude to calcify, because once Maria is dead,
(43:23):
he's never going to listen to reason, you know, talking
to him. Martin Balsom, He's never gonna He's too wounded
already to ever think he was wrong.
Speaker 5 (43:32):
And I do have to agree with you, Ryan, I
think that Balsam does fit in very well with these
Italian actors and these gangsters that he's hanging around with.
I think the big side burns help quite a bit.
But I mean, he's just so good and it's just
always so nice to see Balsam show up in anything,
and yeah, I really enjoyed his character, and yeah, especially
(43:55):
that speeches at the end that he gives I thought
was just really really well done.
Speaker 1 (44:00):
The only cast member missing was Henry Silva. That's how
you know you're watching an Italian exploitation film is when
Henry Silva pops up. He goes, of course, now I
know exactly what kind of movie I'm watching, and he's
actually in. I believe The Italian Connection and The Box.
Speaker 4 (44:16):
Those are two of the best of I think the
whole genre, but definitely of the Leo's films.
Speaker 5 (44:23):
It was I was nice to see those American actors
show up in these things, and I know that was
always like the box office draw, which is just so
weird to me, because like, who's going to see a
movie because of Martin Balsom being in it other than
a weirdo like me? The box office peel of Ernest
borgnine in nineteen seventy eight or something. It's like, okay,
(44:43):
I mean, he was a fantastic part of that super
Cop movie with Hill and superfull.
Speaker 4 (44:49):
Going back to the Eurocrime documentary, Christopher Mitchum is being
interviewed at one point. I have no reason to think
he's mistaken, but you know, I did not do my
own research on this, but he says, you know that
in like Asia, it was like between him and Clint
Eastwood and I forget who the other actor is, maybe
(45:12):
if Steve McQueen or something like that. It was like,
depending on which one of us had the most recent
movie out, we were the three biggest movie stars in Asia.
He was saying, who we think is a big movie
star here, you know, is not the same thing as
it doesn't translate the same way around the world. And
(45:32):
no one would ever put Chris Mitchum and Clint Eastwood
the same ranking, you know, categories here, but apparently in
Asia that was the case, and so you know, who knows.
Maybe Martin Balsoman had an appeal. I mean, he certainly
brings value to everything, and he's great in Confessions of
a Police Captain, which I think was his first Italian
(45:53):
crime movie that he made in like seventy one. So yeah,
it makes sense that he keeps coming back back to
the East because I think that was an important, important
film for the genre, and you know, he was right
out front leading that one with the Franco Nero.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
In Italy, the big draw was Charlie Bronson. He was
kind of relegated to just like the revenge seeker roles
in America, but over in Italy he was he would
be top building like The Great Escape.
Speaker 5 (46:23):
You know what, I would probably top Billum in The
Great Escape as well.
Speaker 4 (46:26):
He's digging tunnels like that in House of Wax like that.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
We're going to sell. We're going to sell this on
a mute performance. It's like, okay, well it worked.
Speaker 5 (46:35):
I have to check something because I was watching that
Delayo documentary and there's a shot and they say, oh,
this is from Las Duxione from nineteen seventy three, and
it's a shot of this guy wearing a very loud
jacket with this blonde of brunette following him down these stairs.
And I was like, no, that's not from l Seduxione
(46:56):
unless they reused that shot and blood and Diamonds because
that's the guy who's supposed to be cutting or grinding
the diamonds. So I'm like, no, that's that's from that.
So I don't know unless if Delayo was because it's
the same actor, the same guy with the big glasses.
I'm like, why would you cheat a shot like that?
Why would you just steal a shot from your own movies?
(47:19):
That doesn't make any sense. So now I have a
thing because I know that part of this soundtrack was
used for another movie as well, but I have to
say I really like the score for this. I thought
there's a couple of really groovy musical cues, not including
Shack Me, of course, which is just the best.
Speaker 1 (47:37):
It's a Louis Bakolov. And I only recognize that name
because earlier that same day that I watched Blood and Diamonds,
I watched the first Kill Bill and there's at least
two Louis Bakolov tracks on that soundtrack, and I'm pretty
sure Tarantino I had to pull it from one of
these Delayo movies because he's a huge Delaya fan.
Speaker 5 (47:59):
I remember getting to a verbal argument with some film
nerd who is insisting that all of the music was
written for Kill Bill.
Speaker 1 (48:09):
I'm like, what, like, no, like three tracks out of
forty five.
Speaker 5 (48:15):
Are you fucking insane? Like most of these composers are
already dead, Like Marcone was still alive, but most of
them had passed on well before. Like, you're fucking crazy, man,
do your research.
Speaker 1 (48:27):
Yeah, nobody knows that Quentin Tarantino created The Green Hornet.
Speaker 5 (48:30):
And Ironsides too.
Speaker 1 (48:32):
That's right. He also wrote and directed Twisted Nerve, all
these great films. They're all part of the Tarantino legacy.
Speaker 5 (48:40):
Out of curiosity, Jedda Daia, how many movies did you
watch for this episode?
Speaker 4 (48:44):
Like about seventy Jesus Christ, Martin Balsam movies. And I
tried to watch some more Castanelli films, And yeah, I
watched as many Fernando de Laos as.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
I could get.
Speaker 4 (48:58):
Man, I watched several of the movies he wrote and
didn't direct. Yeah, there's a lot of just kind of
not a lot of distinction to my memory here, that's dedication.
Speaker 5 (49:12):
I mentioned that commentary earlier. Did you listen to that one?
Speaker 6 (49:14):
Ryan?
Speaker 1 (49:15):
I didn't get a chance to, but since if it's
still up on the drive, I'm definitely definitely taking a
look because it sounds like the speaking of Tarantino, the
Edgar Wright and Tarantino commentary for Hot Fuzz, where all
they do is just back and forth recommend movies to
each other and don't even talk about the movie. I'm
actually doing an episode on that tomorrow, and I just
(49:37):
rewatched it today and it's like it's one of those
things where it's like, oh my god, they talk about
the movie for maybe forty five seconds, and it's terrific.
Speaker 5 (49:45):
That's pretty much. Yet they just go back and forth
and basically are banding about titles. It almost feels like
a dick measuring contest as far as who knows the
more obscure Italian film and then sometimes not even Italian films,
but just going back and forth, back and forth, and
then yeah, and then it's that typical IMDb like, oh,
and this is Martin Balsom, who the year before was
(50:07):
in this one. I'm like, you're just looking at the IMDb.
You know, why are you doing this? I could go
to the IMDb just as easily as you can. You
don't have to tell me their entire filmography when they died,
how they died. And then that the whole thing that
I was talking about with the kidnapping of the Prime Minister.
I was like, they make a little mention of that,
(50:27):
like oh yeah, some bad stuff happened when this movie
came out, and they barely talk about it. I'm like,
come on, this is a major crime that happens and
overshadows the film, like I would like to know more
about that, But thank goodness for Wikipedia.
Speaker 4 (50:40):
I guess I thought the commentary was okay. I mean,
I definitely, you know, I didn't know all these actors.
There's all the names, you know, terribly racist of me,
but they all send the same to me. I'm having
a hard time keeping track of But you know, they
knew everybody who was in you know, thirty of these
(51:01):
movies in ten years. And wow, no, I wouldn't have
known that, wouldn't have known that.
Speaker 1 (51:07):
It's been fun having.
Speaker 4 (51:08):
The stats feature on letterbox now because I can see, oh, yeah,
I have no idea who this person is, but apparently
I've watched you know, seven of their movies.
Speaker 5 (51:18):
Well, I didn't realize that I had seen a lot
of Victorio Capriole Caprioi films, that he's the guy that
played the inspector, and when I pull up his his IMDb,
there's a picture of him and another dude. And then
Pierre Richard, who was in a ton of Francis Ferber films,
(51:40):
and I actually watched one of those called La Magnafique,
which is Verber. I think had a very little part
in the writing of that, but that was the one
with Jean Paul Belmondo where he's writing a book and
then also fantasizing about being in the book, and in
the book everything is wonderful and everything, and girlfriend Jacqueline
(52:01):
Bessad is all about like giving him all this sex.
But then when he's actually in real life and trying
to write it, it's like everything's distracting him. And it
was a It was cute. I mean, we've seen that
that play out, that whole book versus reality thing so
many times, but I thought they handled it very well
in that film, so I recommend Le Magnafique.
Speaker 1 (52:23):
Well, unfortunately they never made a Blood and Diamonds animated
series with a purple beaver.
Speaker 5 (52:30):
All right, we're going to take a break and play
a preview for next week's show right after these brief messages.
Speaker 6 (52:35):
Oh and enjoys and all the towns in all the
world in mine.
Speaker 9 (52:42):
It's time nothing the fiftieth anniversary Collector's Edition video of
Casa Blanca.
Speaker 6 (52:53):
He's looking at you, kid, Casa Blanca.
Speaker 9 (52:56):
Nineteen ninety eight or less after five dollars mail in
rebate with purchase of taster's choice.
Speaker 2 (53:01):
I think this is the beginning of a beautiful French.
Speaker 5 (53:05):
That's right, we're back next week. But they talk about
a very obscure film from nineteen forty two. It's called
Casa Blanca. Until then, I want to thank my co
host Ryan and Jedediah. So, Ryan, what is the latest
with you, sir?
Speaker 1 (53:19):
I am still working on a one Track Mind, which
is an audio commentary's focused podcast, very much into physical
media and trying to keep it alive, where every other
week myself and a guest will review a movie based
on its audio commentary and you can find that on
Facebook and Podchaser. I'm on blue Sky at one track
(53:42):
mind dot, bsky dot social and still on Instagram spelled
differently with a the number one instead of spelled out
o any track Mind podcast, and i also do Reels
of Justice, a fake movie court where we have a prosecutor, defender, judge,
and jury try to conclude whether or not a movie
is guilty of being a bad movie. That's every week
(54:03):
instead of every other week, and you can find that
on all the social media's except for Blue Sky. Unfortunately
they're still on the dreaded Bird app and it's at
Reels of Justice.
Speaker 5 (54:15):
And jet dyah anything to share deleted all my social
Oh nice social media.
Speaker 4 (54:21):
So I'm on a letterbox if you want to keep
track of, you know, the hundreds of movie I'm watching
this year, but yeah, dabbling and a little fiction writing, but.
Speaker 5 (54:34):
Not a lot going on. Well, thank you so much
guys for being on the show. Thanks to everybody for listening.
If you want to hear more of me shooting off
my mouth, check out some of the other shows that
I work on. They're all available at whirredomamedia dot com.
Thanks especially to our Patreon community. If you want to
join the community, visit patreon dot com. Slash Projection Booth.
Every donation we get helps the Projection Booth take over
(54:55):
the world.
Speaker 6 (54:58):
I do.
Speaker 2 (55:01):
Shut up so nice, shut shut.
Speaker 11 (55:28):
Shut, shut, shut.
Speaker 7 (55:33):
Shut shut, dodger shock, mister, h shocking, dracular, shockly, freaking, stun.
Speaker 11 (55:52):
Stool shot shot shot shut.
Speaker 4 (56:01):
Shut shut.
Speaker 11 (56:04):
Shut, shove it, shove.
Speaker 2 (56:15):
It, shove it, shove me you know me, don't shun me, you.
Speaker 11 (56:36):
Shun have you not to come shuty shuck shot shot
(57:11):
shun shot me, shot me shout shun you the nomad, come.
Speaker 2 (57:25):
On, come on shut.
Speaker 11 (57:31):
If you want to shun?
Speaker 2 (57:36):
What's clue? Shockle good look.
Speaker 3 (57:41):
Shockly not said, shocking, vital sho shot me, shot me,
shut shun.
Speaker 11 (57:56):
Shot me, shot me, shut shut shut it to shut
it shot me, shot me
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