Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!

I would not normally see a movie like this one but..... only to see Stephen Boyd. This was rather avant garde for it's time: gritty, ugly and a bit confusing at first but the story progresses nicely and we learn what drives our ant-hero. Stephen Boyd is at his very best. If made today, a film like this would probably get very good reviews. Ahead of its time, for sure with a blockbuster performance by Stephen.

An absolutely dire thriller about an ex-Interpol agent turned assassin who tries to wipe out porn merchants and drug dealers in Pakistan. This is confusing, nasty and atrociously directed, with an extremely high death rate but little else. Stephen Boyd must have wondered what he had done wrong to go from the giddy heights of Ben Hur to this shambolic mess. As for James Mason, it's almost enough to make a grown man cry to see such a fine actor in such garbage.

This movie is not for everyone, but I think it is a 70's classic. Directed by Romain Gary, and starring his wife Jean Seberg (just after her nervous breakdown), this is a strange, dreamlike, bizarre film. There are some great moments in this film- sort of a cross between a spaghetti western, ClockWork Orange and Performance. Jean Seberg herself is perfectly cast in this as the bored housewife Emily looking for a thrill--and off to Pakistan (well, OK it was filmed in Spain) she goes! The renegade she meets, Brad Killian (name obviously in reference to his dedicated profession of killing every drug runner he can find), is played by the wonderful Stephen Boyd. In his leather-clad outfit and wild hair, he makes for a great anti-hero as he seduces Emily, and turns the cards on her husband, played by the excellent James Mason. The music is amazing, and there are a host of classic Italian character actors in this flick as the bad guys. Oh, and Curd Jergens shows up too! It's a great 70's trip - I highly recommend this if you can track it down on IOFFER.

Twice winner of the prix Goncourt ,Romain Gary was a very famous writer whose books were often transferred to the screen :"la promesse de l'aube" (two versions including one by Jules Dassin) , "les racines du ciel" ("the roots of Heaven " by John Huston),"la vie devant soi" (probably the best of Simone Signoret's latter days performances). He was less lucky in the cinema ;his first effort " les oiseaux vont mourir au Pérou"( featuring. Jean Seberg ,his then wife till 1970)got unanimous thumbs down ;his second work passed unnoticed in his native country although it did feature the strangest face of the French cinema (Daniel Emilfork ,unfortunately wasted ) along with a cosmopolitan cast . The intentions were good: drug-traffickers , helped by corrupt politicians , and mainly junkie kids ,a subject often passed over in silence (the movie begins with a strong indictment of drug addiction among children and of the political system of certain countries) . The treatment is heavy -handed : a lot of female nudity in a night club where the black owner sings the blues (totally irrevelant in that context) ,a risqué scene between Seberg and Boyd -outrageously made up in his first sequence as though he was featured in a horror movie ;the scene when Seberg removes the blanket to kiss her lover good morning and discovers a corpse with a banana in his mouth is guaranteed to net nothing but horselaughs;ditto for the final massacre , filmed in slow motion ,as it was often used in the early seventies .Editing is absurd ,and I dare you to catch up with this cock and bull screenplay. There must be a dead body a minute in this thriller, so if you can get an eyeful with the nude slaves in the club,do not expect any suspense : Seberg searching for her hotel in the night and living the perils of Pauline takes the biscuit .This clever feminist actress should have known better. Both Jurgens and Mason seem to wonder why they got involved in that business.

I stumbled across this film while browsing Netflix. Worth the rent! Anyone who loved Jean Seberg will love this film. She's terrific. This role shows her at her tragic best.

Those of you who are used to the American style of crime movie might not get this film. Romain Gary's approach is one of minimalist absurdity. This is much more French ala Goddard than French Connection. But give it a chance. View with no expectations and perhaps you'll see the film for what it is.

Stephen Boyd is no slouch either. His scenes with Seberg are very disturbing.