BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

verbumctf This little known film is available on a DVD brought out by 'Shameless', who add a note to explain that the film was subjected to so many cuts upon its release that we can appreciate it only now that they've restored the missing bits.These 'missing bits' make a difference; but the question remains is this the original, complete film we now see? There are, for example, a few moments from the deleted scenes (part of the DVD bonus) which 'flesh out' the count's character which I think the film needed.My guess is that too many 'cooks' (writers, producers, directors, editors) were involved and there never was a satisfactorily resolved 'original version'.It's interesting how the film veers away from Highsmith's novel and Hitchcock's film. Count Matteo (Pierre Clementi), like his counterparts in Highsmith and Hitchcock, comes from a privileged background, free from the demands of having to earn his living and a place in society. The unhappy husband Stefano was a two cent designer his wife lifted from total social insignificance--now that he's rich (thanks to her) he thinks like a businessman; his wife prefers him as he was and doesn't love him any more, she says.The counts confides that his brother harasses him to the point of making his life unlivable. We never encounter this 'brother' in the film, nor any one else from the count's family (not even a photo. of any family). He indicates to Stefano how by 'trading murders' they can eliminate each man's obstacle to fulfillment.The count tells Stefano that Stefano is his real brother now. He tracks Stefano's every move , seems to know him inside out, and plots with the inescapable logic of a mastermind the events that culminate in the two projected murders. (Here again he differs from the Highmith/Hitchcock character.) Another thing Stefano's wife can't bear about her husband now: he's so irresolute everything ends up some mishmash compromise (like his pretending(?) he was going to put a portion of the money he stole from his wife into her account). At one point the count takes Stefano by the scruff of the neck, makes him look at himself in the glass and says: 'What I'm proposing is what you really want to do.' As if the count is the ideal Stefanno the real one hasn't the courage to be. Guess who's the 'brother' Stefano kills? The film misses becoming truly haunting and profound because some of the filmmaking team didn't understand the potential of their material and treated it like a run of the mill Giallo. The acting and dialogue are above average (in Italian!, the English version sounds like a translation). Given a more sensitive restoration, this could be a minor masterpiece with themes of universal resonance (e.g. don't we all know a 'Stefano': the 'wanabe' who only exasperates us with his pathetic half measures?). All the same, this DVD version should interest those of us who like psychological thrillers.

The_Void The influence for this film is clear; it's basically an Italian twist on the Hitchcock classic Strangers on a Train. Being a big fan of that film, I was of course intrigued to see how this was going to turn out. I wont say I was too disappointed overall, but it's nowhere near as good as the original and certainly could have been a lot better. The main problem with it is that director Maurizio Lucidi has aimed too high; it's clear he wanted this to be a high quality thriller rather than a slice of Italian exploitation - and personally I'd rather it have been the latter. The basics of the plot will be familiar to most fans of thrillers, and in this film we focus on Stefano Argenti, an advertising executive who is at odds with his wife over the sale of a joint business. He wants rid of it so he can live a life of luxury with his mistress; but his wife wont agree the sale. Stefano meets Count Mateo Tiepolo, who it transpires, is at odds with his violent brother. Mateo suggests a plan in which each man murder the other's vice; though Stefano is reluctant. But then Mateo kills Stefano's wife, and demands that the favour is returned.The lead roles are taken by Tomas Milian and Pierre Clémenti, and both perform well and share an intriguing (almost homo-erotic) bond on screen together. The plot itself is rather slowly paced and it has to be said there's not a great deal of excitement; I was never on the edge of my seat waiting to see what's going to happen, and that's unfortunate since the film is supposed to be a thriller. It's all very well orchestrated, however, and the film has themes that go deeper than merely what we're seeing on screen. Director Maurizio Lucidi obviously wanted to keep the film clean, and therefore we don't see any murders actually happen, which is a bit of a disappointment. The locations are all very beautiful and well shot, and this brilliantly offsets the dark themes of the film. The soundtrack is rather interesting also and not merely the norm for Giallo. The film deviates from Hitchcock's original with the ending, which features a clever twist; though I have to say I prefer how the original turned out. Overall, I would definitely say that this film is worth a look; however, I'd have preferred some more of the classic Giallo style.

dddvvv User ratings sometimes (I'd dare to say 'often') don't reflect the real quality of a movie... This is the case, in my opinion. "La vittima designata" is a remake of Hitchcock's "Strangers on a train" (that has a user rating of 8.3) and, call me blasphemous if you want, it is almost better. Here we have a rich, baroque photography, great atmosphere, and wonderful acting performances: Milian and Clementi interact perfectly adding to the whole story a soft sense of ambiguity that enriches it and could have lead to paths unknown to Hitchcock's movie. Venice and the palace of the nobleman Matteo Tiepolo stand perfectly as a metaphor of moral decadence and if you have seen 'La morte a Venezia' by Luchino Visconti (filmed that same year, 1971) you know what I'm talking about. Great soundtrack, too: the Gothic lullaby "My Shadow In The Dark" with its fatalistic refrain "to die, to sleep, maybe to dream" is sung by Milian himself. I don't think this is an easy title to find these days, but if you can, start the quest. To me this is one of the best Italian movies of the seventies. 8/10

cengelm Not a tennis player this time but a business man who has a matrimonial conflict with his wife and also a mistress. Noble friend Mateo Tiepolo offers him the "perfect crime" - i.e. he will murder Milian's wife and Milian is supposed to kill his evil brother. After doing his job Mateo expects the compensation. This more stylish version with a good score can be recommended to Milian fans. Considering that I didn't even like the original very much I'll give this one5 / 10.