Dec 26, 2024
The Human Factor (1975)
"How does this put Mr. Kinsdale in difficulty?"
"He's found his killers. And he doesn't want them in jail. And neither the machine nor I know just how successful he's going to be."
#the human factor#blood tw#edward dmytryk#1975#thriller film#peter powell#thomas hunter#ennio morricone#george kennedy#john mills#rita tushingham#raf vallone#barry sullivan#shane rimmer#haydée politoff#frank avianca#arthur franz#fiamma verges#danny huston#vaguely plodding revenge thriller‚ one of the earliest in the tidal wave of Death Wish clones that followed in the wake of Mike Winner's#pop culture behemoth. regardless of where you fall on Death Wish's merits or lack thereof‚ it was undeniably a brutal‚ shocking‚ punchy fil#this‚ with its respectable cast and slow steady development‚ long scenes of exposition and vaguely defined terrorist threat‚ feels like it#belongs in the 60s. crucially it also lacks a strong emotional hook for the audience: George Kennedy (ever dependable even in bleh like#this) loses his entire family in a bloody massacre‚ but it happens offscreen and we've spent so little time with them that it can barely#register before he's headed on his crusade of vengeance. director Dmytryk does manage some over the top ultra violence for the blood soaked#finále‚ but it's 15 minutes of mayhem that feels out of step with the more ponderous‚ slow moving body of the film. not without some fun#and some memorable imagery (Kennedy with the doll‚ as seen in pics above and featured heavily in marketing for the film‚ was surely an#inspiration on 80s mini series triumph Edge of Darkness‚ no?) but generally this is a bit of a slog and not as rewarding as the set up#could have been.#Morricone's score‚ on the other hand‚ is as effortlessly effective as the maestro ever was
