The Human Factor (1975)

Wonderful Movie

As Good As It Gets

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Edward Dmytryk ended his feature directorial career with this rather routine action film which is a little sluggish. The Human Factor was hardly the kind of film that a celebrated director should have gone out on. After all, Dmytryk has such classics as Murder My Sweet, Crossfire, and The Caine Mutiny to his credit.George Kennedy is our hero/protagonist who has his wife and three children executed by terrorists who made his the first targeted family of an extortion plan to kill an American family every three days if the USA does not pony up some large coin of the realm.As Kennedy is a computer programmer working and living in Rome he has access to some real intelligence gathering machinery. Colleagues like John Mills and Rita Tushingham help. Kennedy upsets Italian police inspector Raf Vallone with his pro-active approach and doing his own investigation.The Human Factor is a slow paced film, but it does have a nice action packed climax where Kennedy takes care of business the way Dirty Harry Callahn would. You'll enjoy if you can wait that long.

"The Human Factor" is a typical revenge movie in the wake of "Dirty Harry", "Death Wish" and "Straw Dogs" with an American special agent and computer specialist in Italy losing his family by a terrorist's assault at his home and taking bloody revenge.This British-Italian co-production from 1975 contains many typical subplots of the seventies - conspiracy movies, secret agent films, left-winged political terrorism, high-tech-computers and revenge dramas. George Kennedy plays the hero and does a good job as hard-edged, desperate family father turning to a merciless killer, although he is no Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson. Especially in a long hunting scene overweight Kennedy seems to be very out of breath...The scripts lacks a bit of logic sometimes, as the real motivation of the terrorist group is never really explained, but all in all the film keeps the action, thrills and suspense always going and adds some very scary moments and furious action sequences, especially the big showdown in a supermarket. Ennio Morricone's sound tracks puts even more thrills and atmosphere to this dark political thriller that can be seen as a "sleeper" for fans of seventies' hardcore action cinema. Recommended!

** ENDING SPOILERS (which might save you the bother of watching it!!) **NATO electronics expert Kennedy is out for blood after his family are done in by terrorists, with Mills on hand rather incongruously to give technical advice. The most worrying facet of this appallingly scripted and unprepossessingly staged bit of misanthropic reactionary violence is its marking of the passing of the surely senile Dmytryk; however its apogee of tastelessness is reached in the climactic supermarket shoot-out, replete with women and children cowering on the floor whilst blowsily unlikely 'Lone Wolf' Kennedy riddles his adversaries with very visceral holes amidst a maelstrom of baked beans and soap powder.

Having just finished reading Maltin's one line summary of this film, I have to assume that he didn't see it, or has forgotten it if he did. "A violent, bloody chronicle..." he opines. Any man who truly loved his family would become violent and would spill the blood of those who took away his most cherished things on earth, his wife and children. I saw this film during it's initial release in Europe in 1975 and it gave me an enhanced appreciation for my family. I highly recommend it and will purchase it on DVD if it's available. The only reason I don't already own this film is I'd forgotten the title over the years. Thanks to the staff of IMDb for the excellent filmographies that allow searches of this type.