A SPECIAL MAGNUM FOR TONY SAITTA
- AKA: .44 Special, o Batsos me to magnum, Blazing Magnum, Blazing Magnums, Feuerstoß, Una Magnum Special per Tony Saitta, Shadows in an Empty Room, Special magnum, Strange Shadows in an Empty Room, Sylkevä Magnum, Sylkevä Magnus, The 44 Specialist, Tod im College, Tough Tony Saitta
- Year: 1976
- Director: Alberto De Martino
- Writer: Vincenzo Mannino, Gianfranco Clerici
- Genre: Crime
“I didn't mean to interfere with your… penetrating experience.”
imdb synopsis: An Ottawa police captain searches for the person who poisoned his sister, who was attending the university in Montreal. So desperate is he for revenge that he begin to use his own brutal methods to find the killer. Soon he discovers that not everything is what he thought it was.
OK, I was ready to write this review after seeing it and talk about how underwhelming this film was and how one would think that a film with car chases, machine guns, transvestite fist fights, a fuckin cigar-smoking midget named Dutch, a baby held at knife point, and more would be more fun than it was.
But then I went and told a friend and a coworker about the ridiculous car chase, and the fist fight, and the midget, and the baby, and dammit I was laughing and smiling and already fondly recollecting about our pal Tony Saitta.
So I'll say it. This movie is pretty good. It takes awhile to get going, and I got pretty tired of Stuart Whitman's
“DON'T GIMME THAT CRAP” delivery as Captain Saitta pretty early on. The story isn't mindblowing, but I guess it's not that bad. But after it was over and I thought about what I just saw, i realized it was pretty damn fun.
Maybe it's not good how it was intended to be, but there are some things that are just over the top enough to bring a smile to your face.
Some plot elements were totally absurd, but the way they are resolved is equally absurd so you end up just laughing and moving along. For example, the biggest car chase of the film involves Saitta trying to question a fence about a necklace. Without reason, the fence flees, a huge chase scene ensues (this car chase is more like a pro wrestling demolition derby car ballet), and when Saitta ultimately gets his man, there is only a little information exchanged, and everyone is fine.
THE DUDE DOESN'T EVEN SEEM PISSED THAT SAITTA JUST FLIPPED HIS CAR AND ISN'T EVEN ARRESTING HIM! WHAT??? It's completely ridiculous, but just adds to the entertainment really when you finally realize you need to suspend belief with this film.
It seems they had trouble marketing this film or even putting a finger on how to categorize it. The version that I watched was titled “Shadows in an Empty Room,” despite being called “Blazing Magnum” on the DVD case. This is why I included the huge list of names this movie was released under. Looking at the poster I included, you'd never even know this movie was largely a cop action flick!
Maybe this is evidence that not only I felt like the story was somewhat scattered. This had elements of crime and action as well as murder mystery… maybe even slasher. It takes forever to establish the story given the run time is only 1:37, and the exposition felt like it went on forever. Explain, explain, explain.
Can we get back to the cars crashing, please?
This could have been better with a tighter story and less hammy lead actor I think. But I enjoyed it for what it was (over the top scenes sandwiched between some dull storytelling)
I would recommend seeing it if you're into the cop action films. Not worth checking out if you're hoping for a riveting whodunit.
5.5 out of 10
