brainzilch

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As per usual: the zilch that was appearing in the longterm project pages prior to working on a deadlined something else for a couple of days was amplified to be, instead of a hodgepodge of rhythmic drivel in my brain, a zilch in said brain, a – if not the – signal that the time has come to accept that I've invested enough time in longterm project for now and that it's time to move on to something else; I've no interest in another seven-year paragraph – it all feels so long ago (nine years, to be exact, since its start) – so, ok, next steps: shift files around, move some things to backburner/purgatory, and move on into whatever the next thing will be via a reconceptualization of previous concepts.

CALIBER 9 (Di Leo, 1972)

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(watched: sat/20230107 via Criterion Channel; written and directed by Fernando Di Leo and starring Gastone Moschin, Barbara Buchet, Mario Adorf, Frank Wolff, Luigi Pistilli, and Lionel Stander. Released 15 February 1972)

Spaghetti western nut but this was my first experience with 1970s Italian poliziotteschi films (thanks to Criterion Channel's Fernando Di Leo (who, I learned, did uncredited work on Leone's FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (still my favorite of the DOLLARS trilogy)) collection) and it won't be my last: a propulsive crime narrative of stolen money unafraid to slam on the brakes for weird little asides (while the crossword scene is a favorite, the political confrontations between old favorites Frank Wolff (in a posthumous release, Wolff having committed suicide a year earlier) and Luigi Pistilli as the Chief and his Deputy are (more than) a bit clunky but hey). Fantastic lead performances from Gastone Moschin and Mario Adorf as Ugo and Rocco, respectively. Major crime: you get Lionel Stander and you don't use his voice? Either way, a small gripe: will definitely partake in all of the films in the Di Leo collection.