Review: The Boss (1973)

Directed by: Fernando Di Leo
Starring: Henry Silva, Richard Conte, Gianni Garko
Written by: Fernando Di Leo
Music by: Luis Enriquez Bacalov
Country: Italy
Available on: Blu-ray (Raro Video)
IMDb

Poliziotteschi films don’t have the stylish cinematography or striking visuals you’ll find in gialli or spaghetti westerns. They make up for it with hard-hitting, nasty violence and insane chases. Writer/director Fernando Di Leo is best known for working in the genre, and Quentin Tarantino has championed several of his films. Di Leo’s The Boss opens with a screening room massacre that may have been an inspiration for the climax of Inglourious Basterds. Henry Silva plays Nick Lanzetta, a cold-blooded hitman with the skills of a superhero who works for a powerful mobster. He’s almost invincible, but Di Leo manages to make an interesting character by revealing some weaknesses and flaws that make him more human. Silva is fantastic in this. Somehow you cheer for him even though he’s a pretty unlikable character. The main female character, Rina, is the young daughter of Lanzetta’s mentor. An opposing mob boss has her kidnapped and held hostage. Rina is a sex-crazed drug and alcohol addict, and the mob men take advantage of her. Silva successfully rescues her, but she’s still not in good hands. At first, he tries to resist being seduced by her. After giving in to the seduction, she becomes a sex object for him. He shows some warmth, but he also slaps her around when she irritates him. Female characters have it pretty rough throughout Di Leo’s filmography, but there are worse examples of mistreated women in the genre (see Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man). Silva carries this movie, but the other main attractions are the action and the prog-rock score. The music works beautifully during a violent montage where Silva and his colleagues take out the opposing mob in a brutal fashion. The action serves a purpose, as well. The deaths in these action sequences lead to several twists that elevate Silva’s rank, which creates even more enemies for him to kill. The Boss is an exciting entry into a genre that I can’t wait to explore further.

Overall rating: 7.5 out of 10