A convoluted but watchable polizia movie from Massimo Dallamano, the man most famous for the sleazy giallo gem WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE?. This is a plot-heavy film which seems to have been made before frequent fist-fights and car chases became a genre staple (c.f. the extraordinary films made by Umberto Lenzi in the genre), as the action is quite sparse here. Thankfully the sometimes-confusing plot is always twisting and turning to keep you watching and you don't really have time to notice the lack of excitement in the proceedings.
There are a few good scenes like when Rassimov has his men take out the bad guys by gunning them down and burying them in a concrete grave, a well-filmed stunt car crash down a desert hill, or the finale in which the two gangs and the police have a massive shoot-out in a warehouse which perhaps inspired some of Tony Scott's movies, which have similar endings. Gotta love the shot of the gangster getting gassed in the oven in a matter-of-fact way too. Strip away the layers of crime and the contemporary setting and what you basically have is another remake of the YOJIMBO plot.
Dallamano was always a director who made above-average films for the genres he worked in and this is no exception, with lots of stylish camera angles and crisp cinematography. The film has a nicely international scope which comes across as pretty convincing thanks to location filming in London and Lebanon. The cast are pretty good in their respective roles, good enough to keep you engaged at least. The only minor flaws in my mind are that the dialogue is occasionally clunky and unbelievable (as a result of the dubbing, no doubt) and the surprise twist ending isn't really that surprising after all, given the title. More of a "ah, I knew that was coming" type moment.
Cast-wise, exploitation stalwart Ivan Rassimov takes the complicated leading role of Cliff, who underneath it all is a drug enforcement agent. On top he's a charming playboy who has a way with the ladies, but he's also a double-crossing and callous villain out to make himself a profit from all the chaos he creates. Another fine performance from Rassmov, whom I always think is something of an under-valued actor. Italian film veterans Ettore Manni and Giacomo Rossi-Stuart are on hand to lend gravitas to the proceedings and there's even a small role for Camille Keaton. Heaven knows what British comedy stalwart Patricia Hayes is doing in the movie but she's actually quite convincing as chief gangster "Momma Turk"!
However, most of the film's attention is rightly focused on the quite captivating appearance of Stephanie Beacham, who has a fairly major role in the movie and spends half of her screen time getting kidnapped and the other half naked in the bedroom! Dallamano obviously had an eye for beauty so gets her to shed her clothing at every available opportunity. SUPER BITCH is a pretty enjoyable time-waster, nothing unique or new here but it does its job well. Once you've got over the initially confusing first half, where it's not really revealed who is who (at least to this viewer), you're able to settle back and enjoy what the film has to offer, which is basically lots of characters deceiving and betraying and battling each other over drug money. Stephanie Beacham (who isn't a bad actress at all) tops it all off and makes everything worthwhile.
There are a few good scenes like when Rassimov has his men take out the bad guys by gunning them down and burying them in a concrete grave, a well-filmed stunt car crash down a desert hill, or the finale in which the two gangs and the police have a massive shoot-out in a warehouse which perhaps inspired some of Tony Scott's movies, which have similar endings. Gotta love the shot of the gangster getting gassed in the oven in a matter-of-fact way too. Strip away the layers of crime and the contemporary setting and what you basically have is another remake of the YOJIMBO plot.
Dallamano was always a director who made above-average films for the genres he worked in and this is no exception, with lots of stylish camera angles and crisp cinematography. The film has a nicely international scope which comes across as pretty convincing thanks to location filming in London and Lebanon. The cast are pretty good in their respective roles, good enough to keep you engaged at least. The only minor flaws in my mind are that the dialogue is occasionally clunky and unbelievable (as a result of the dubbing, no doubt) and the surprise twist ending isn't really that surprising after all, given the title. More of a "ah, I knew that was coming" type moment.
Cast-wise, exploitation stalwart Ivan Rassimov takes the complicated leading role of Cliff, who underneath it all is a drug enforcement agent. On top he's a charming playboy who has a way with the ladies, but he's also a double-crossing and callous villain out to make himself a profit from all the chaos he creates. Another fine performance from Rassmov, whom I always think is something of an under-valued actor. Italian film veterans Ettore Manni and Giacomo Rossi-Stuart are on hand to lend gravitas to the proceedings and there's even a small role for Camille Keaton. Heaven knows what British comedy stalwart Patricia Hayes is doing in the movie but she's actually quite convincing as chief gangster "Momma Turk"!
However, most of the film's attention is rightly focused on the quite captivating appearance of Stephanie Beacham, who has a fairly major role in the movie and spends half of her screen time getting kidnapped and the other half naked in the bedroom! Dallamano obviously had an eye for beauty so gets her to shed her clothing at every available opportunity. SUPER BITCH is a pretty enjoyable time-waster, nothing unique or new here but it does its job well. Once you've got over the initially confusing first half, where it's not really revealed who is who (at least to this viewer), you're able to settle back and enjoy what the film has to offer, which is basically lots of characters deceiving and betraying and battling each other over drug money. Stephanie Beacham (who isn't a bad actress at all) tops it all off and makes everything worthwhile.
