Cry of a Prostitute (1974)

Please don't spend money on this.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Cry of a Prostitute (1974) ** (out of 4)Ultra-sleazy and incredibly violent Euro Crime picture starts off with a couple adults and a child being killed in a car crash. It turns out that the child had been dead for some time and his body was sewn-up with drugs hidden in it. Pretty soon two Mafia families are battling with each other when a hit man (Henry Silva) gets in the middle of things.Andrea Bianchi will always be remembered for the insane BURIAL GROUND as well as the sleazy STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER and if you're a fan of those films then you'll certainly want to check this one out even if the end result isn't nearly as good or as entertaining as those two pictures. What CRY OF A PROSTITUTE lacks in regards to any sort of story it more than makes up with its violence, which at times is rather shocking.Not only do we get countless shootings and stabbings but there's also a bizarre mix of sex and violence, which I'm sure would have outraged more people had the film been better known back in the day. There's some bizarre sexuality at play here including one woman being beaten before sexually pleased and another sequence involving a dead pig! The violence in the film is very much over-the-top and especially with the various shoot outs, which often lead people pouring blood all over the place.As I said, the sleaze and violence are top-notch and it's bound to please fans of the genre. Henry Silva also turns in good, strong performance like only he can and the supporting players are fun as well. The biggest problem I had with the film was the screenplay, which wasn't all that interesting and it certainly didn't add anything new to the genre. The characters weren't the most interesting either and the Mafia folks just seem like the ones we've seen countless times before.

The "respectable society" in Sicily isn't amused: drug-dealers have begun to use children's corpses, stuffing the bodies with heroin which they smuggle across the French-Italian border; this practice being in non-compliance with the mafia's code of honour, they suspect two rivalling Mafia clans – one being the family of local mafia boss Don Cascemi, the other by exiled Italian-American Mafiosi Ricuzzo. Not wanting to get their 'good' names involved, the mafia hires Tony Aniante, a hired hit man who has learned his trade in the US. Tony infiltrates the fighting families and, using both physical violence and psychological warfare, he get's both families to wipe each other out while at the same time settling an old score of his own.Don't make the mistake to confuse American mafia films like "The Godfather", "Goodfellas" or even "The Sopranos" to the ultra-violent subgenre of Poliziottesco; apart from the topic of organized crime, both really have very little in common. In the Americanized versions, the Mafiosi are invariable shows as corrupted yet often charismatic, honourable even amiable at times; you won't find an amiable character throughout the entire film. There's no Tony Soprano, no Sonny or Vincent Corleone, there's only Tony Aniante – and if you find any redeeming elements in this 'protagonist', well, you might consider seeking out medical advice.Henry Silva as Aniante is impressive: eyes like burning coal, features reminding us of some carrion animal, that could only be replicated with the use of special-effect (if they wouldn't happen to be Silvas features already). At first Aniante comes across like a tough guy who might harbour some decency within him (for example, in the scene where he saves the handicapped grandson of one of the clan-heads from assassination). About halfway through the film, we realize that he's nothing more than a ruthless, ice-cold psychopath, left traumatized by a violent childhood and a pathological hate for women. He rapes, beats and kills with such glee and passion, one doesn't know whether to be scared or repulsed by Aniante, who's not above crushing the bodies of two opponents whom he's just killed, with a steamroller. His form of romance consists of slamming a lonely woman unto a slaughtered cow, sodomizing her and beating her to a bloody pulp. Need I mention who becomes the new godfather of Sicily at the end of the movie? The topic 'trauma' runs through the entire film, not just through the disturbed characters but by showing us a deeply traumatized society, were everybody has their share of scares, caused by generational violence and bloodshed. "Queli che contano" doesn't show us that beautiful, jolly south of Italy, where the people do nothing else but sing, dance and drink Chianti; it shows us a barren land, scorched by the sun, where sweat-drenched shirts are a way of life and even the buildings speak of decay and degeneration.If "Queli che contano" has a message, it is that there is no "respectable society" within the mafia – just corrupted souls, ruthless criminals and even the most honourable Mafioso is still a thug, a murderer and a thief. It may well be the last movie that a Mafioso may want to see – and in case this should be my last review, please tell my wife that I love her and keep searching that bay for a guy standing inside a concrete block.Despite all the sleaze and exploitation, it's very powerful, even an authentic film that's certainly not easy to enjoy (unless you're a complete sadist), but it might well be a cure for people who tend to idolize the mafia, cossa nostra, camorra or any other organized crime organisations. I'd give it seven from ten.

Andrea Bianchi the director of the gory zombie film Burial Ground and the sleazy giallo Strip Nude for Your Killer turns his subtle (ha ha) hand to the Italian crime film with Cry of the Prostitute. It's Yojimbo time! The feuding between two warring families in rural Italy has become so fierce that the heat is coming down on the big families in Rome. Henry Silva is a gun for hire sent in to stop the fighting. He does this by playing the two gangsters against each other, offering his services to first one and then the other. Bianchi provides more gore than expected for the genre but none of it is overly convincing: a fake severed head, a band-saw mishap, and a dead child that looks, well, like a mannequin (and the camera lingers over it!). The adorable Barbara Bouchet appears playing a washed up former prostitute who has turned to drink. She wears heavy make-up and looks less than flattering. Nonetheless, I was glad to have her. Silva was fine as well. There isn't much here to praise and technically the film is less assured than many others in the genre. Fans might like it more than I did though.

Personally, I didn't think that this film was too bad. I have seen tons of Italian crime / mafia films of similar ilk and there is definitely a hell of a lot worse out there!. I would advise those reared on Hollywood blockbusters and popcorn to steer well clear, but for those of us who enjoy these cheap and cheerful Italian productions with their inane dialogue and gratuitous violence and nudity then 'Cry Of A Prostitute' may well appeal. The mighty Henry Silva plays Tony Aniante who yo-yo's back and forth between two rival families in Sicily, playing both hands until he sees the moment to take the initiative. Yes, we've seen it all before but for me , the film is all about Henry Silva. His fans will be pleased to know that he gets maximum screen time in this one and has at least one classic scene, where he is being taunted by a couple of hoods in a café. One of them pours hot coffee over his expensive leather shoes and all hell breaks loose ("Clean my shoes motherf*****!"). Barbara Bouchet is as memorable as ever as the slutty, bored 'wife' of one of the mafia dons. Best scene has to be where she is flirting with Henry Silva by simulating fellatio on a banana at the dinner table... The action scenes are clumsy in places but fairly bloody (lots of slo-mo bursting blood squibs!) and the score is pretty good too. Right, now I'm off to watch Bianchi's mutli-million dollar epic 'Nights Of Terror'....