'The Climber'
(1975) – Pasquale Squitieri.
Made during the
then popular poliziotteschi cycle, talented writer/director Pasquale
Squitieri's boisterously action-packed crime thriller about the
violently vengeful ascent and blood-spattered fall of surly, quick-witted,
hot-blooded thug Aldo (Joe Dallesandro), a street smart smuggler whose seemingly limitless capacity
for cruelty and delusions of grandeur bloodily orchestrates his
gutsy, single-minded attempt to forcibly wrest power from incumbent
gangland heavy Don Enrico (Raymond Pellegrin), Aldo's ambitious crime
spree swiftly overextends the increasingly desperate reach of
grievously gun-happy Aldo and his ever decreasing misfit mob's
minor-league talents! While Pasquale's exhilaratingly pacey 'The
Climber' is arguably one of the more consistently gripping,
explosively eventful examples of 70s Italian crime cinema, this exceptional actioner has
only just recently been given the cinematic
credibility it so demonstratively deserves.
All the volatile
ingredients that deliriously drew so many exploitation fans to Euro-crime's
hyper-violent milieu are excitingly displayed in 'The Climber', with
its attention-grabbing generosity of ferociously femur-fracturing
fights, brutal bullet-fests, gratuitous Gangland goring's,
bloodthirsty brawls, murderous displays of mobster mendacity,
unrestrained vehicular carnage, and the coldly reptilian menace of
Dallesandro effectively endows his hubristic, diabolically handsome,
dead-eyed killer Aldo a malign Delon-like detachment that isn't
exactly loveable, but his hyperbolic Alpha personality is weirdly magnetic!
Much like vintage crime classics 'Scarface' and 'Public Enemy' long
before it, Pasquale's doomy, frequently sadistic Euro-crime actioner
exudes a similarly dark fascination with Aldo's rampant lust for
money and power leading him inexorably to his own ignominious
destruction! The exceptionally punchy score by composer Franco
Campanino and equally strident film-making from maestro Squitieri has
guaranteed that avid poliziotteschi fans, old and new, will readily
appreciate the bellicose charms of this beautifully restored HD
edition of Pasquale Squitieri's 'The Climber'.
'The Climber' is
arguably one of the more consistently entertaining, pistol-whippingly
wicked, explosively eventful examples of Gangland grisly 70s Italian crime cinema!
- Weirdlingwolf @ Dirty Kunst Video.
'Femur-fracturing
fights, brutal bullet-fests, gratuitous Gangland goring's,
bloodthirsty brawls, unrestrained vehicular carnage and Franco
Campanino's punchy score are just some of The Climber's more
immediately intoxicating ingredients!' - Tor
Bronson @ The Heroic Blood Shed.