The Master Touch (1974)

How sad is this?

Beautiful, moving film.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Master Touch (aka) Un Uomo Da Rispettare is what can be genuinely described as an unsung classic of poliziotto. Outside of 'Escape From Death Row' (1973) this appears to be, Michele Lupo's only foray into the grimy idiom of Italian crime cinema, and by Jove what a dashed shame, as this brisk, stylish actioner is up there with the very best. Premise is simple and stylishly handled: Steve Wallace (Kirk Douglas) is a seasoned heist expert who is encouraged to attempt a seemingly impossible blag of removing $1.000.000 from what initially appears to be an impenetrable fortress masquerading as a bank. What separates this from many other similar titles is the weathered, enigmatic presence of veteran actor, Kirk Douglas, whose roguish, insouciant exterior belies the heart of a truly exemplary, meticulous thief. As Kirk's better half the delightful, Florinda Balkan has little to do outside of sporadic brooding followed by a soupcon of crotch-expanding smolder, but her preternaturally sultry visage has improved many a euro cult offering, and 'Master Touch' benefits exponentially by her ravishing physiognomy; and the woefully underrated, Giulino Gemma excels as the nimble trapeze artist who is recruited to construct what appears to be a vacuum-tight alibi. The film's manifold delights include a destructive, hair raising, cacophonous car chase through the dank streets of Hamburg and the beautifully handled heist is a veritable Boy's own dream. It would be remiss not to mention the low key, atmospheric score by Ennio Morricone which adds a terse piquancy to all the sweaty-browed, Alpha Male theatrics.

Un Uomo Da Rispettare (or The Master Touch, as it is known in the English-speaking world) is a German-Italian crime caper which finds a big Hollywood star in the lead role. This was a common ploy with European films of the 60s and 70s, presumably with the aim of securing a wider market for their film… John Mills, Roger Moore, George Kennedy, Richard Burton, Oliver Reed and many other established talents all lent their names to one or more of these Euro-trash movies at some point or other. Here, the big name in question is Kirk Douglas, playing against type as a career criminal with his eyes fixed on one final score.Just released from a three year jail sentence, thief Steve Wallace (Kirk Douglas) heads back home to reunite with his wife Anna (Florinda Bolkan). Before he gets there, he is accosted by crimelord Muller (Wolfgang Preiss), who tries to persuade Steve to do a job for him – the near-impossible burglary of a million dollars worth of insurance money from a high-tech building in Hamburg. Steve refuses, pointing out that he always did well enough working for himself, and was only jailed in the first place after disastrously attempting to do a job for Muller. However, Steve is secretly intrigued at the prospect of going after this huge prize. He enlists a circus trapeze artist named Marco (Giuliano Gemma) and persuades him to carry out a small robbery at a local pawn shop, carried out at exactly the same moment that he plans to steal the fortune in insurance money. Steve's plan is to take the rap for the pawn shop job – a mere 18 months in jail – while in actual fact he has really carried out the much bigger insurance money robbery. Neither Muller, nor the cops, will realise he is responsible for the bigger crime and the money will be waiting for him when he is released from prison. But can he really trust his new partner in crime? And will his long-suffering wife wait another 18 months to be with her man?Although it contains an intriguing idea – deliberately getting caught for a small crime to disguise a large one – Un Uomo Da Rispettare is generally a lacklustre and disappointing affair. There's a good car chase halfway through and Douglas is in decent form as the villain, but apart from these scant pickings the film doesn't amount to much. The characters are thinly developed and hard to care for; Morricone's score is unexceptional (by Morricone standards, anyway); the robbery itself lacks any true sense of tension due to a confused and under-developed build-up. There are far better examples of these crime caper-style films out there… this one is for genre aficionados and Kirk Douglas completists only.

A not bad but also not so great heist film. Kirk Douglas is a recently released from prison safe-cracker who, after turning down an offer from the Mob, decides to pull the job himself. He recruits circus gymnast Giuliano Gemma. Mayhem ensues. Douglas and Gemma soon find themselves pursued by mafia goon Romano Puppo as well as entangled in a really goofy love triangle with Douglas's infinitely patient girlfriend (Florinda Bolkan). Director Michele Lupo keeps the pace moving quickly and there's at least one excellent and creative car chase sequence involving Puppo & Gemma. Though an Italian production, most of the filming appears to have been done in Germany. Douglas is fine, not just slumming it in an Giallo quickie. The striking Bolkan gives a terrific performance. The music is by Ennio Morricone and the cinematography is by the great Tonino Delli Colli, who managed to work with everyone in Italy (from Wertmuller and Fellini to Pasolini and Leone).

It surprises me that for my 1st review, I would be moved to write a piece on this movie. I bought it for $1.99 at the local DVD store just because of the cover featuring Kirk Douglas as the star. What moved him to do this movie at this stage of his career would be interesting to know. In any event, I really enjoyed this movie a great deal. It had a car chase that rivals two of my favorites of all time in Bullit and the French Connection. It had the most realistic fight scenes I can remember seeing. The heist was elaborately thought out befitting the USA title of The Master Touch. It had a great twist at the end. A very good musical score composed by one of my favorites of all time by Ennino Moricone. Finally, It even had what I felt was a moral message to pass on at the end. Unfortunately, it also had a couple of big negatives that would perhaps bother a number of viewers. The quality of the DVD transfer is poor. Also, except for Kirk, the performer's lines are dubbed in English.All in all however, I enjoyed this movie tremendously and feel like I uncovered an unknown gem which for movie lovers provides a great satisfaction in itself.