Page 102 - Alternative Europe Eurotrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945

sanctioning the cop's practices. Berti's contempt for this official police policy is indicated in the film
by his statement that 'Cops like me are fine for combating violence with violence and brutality. But
the minute they get in the way, they become scapegoats for politicians.'
CITIZEN'S ARREST
In Sergio Sollima's complex film Revolver, enforcing the law is not left exclusively to law enforcement
officials and, though they will not directly admit it, they sanction brutality in much the same way the
police chief does in Napoli violenta. But in Revolver, raising a fist against corruption is left to one man
- a working stiff who is, in a sense, on the fringes of law enforcement. Vito Cipriani (Oliver Reed) is a
prison warden and is confronted with a moral dilemma - he must allow a prisoner to escape from jail
to be traded for his own kidnapped wife, Anna. The prisoner, Milo Ruiz (Fabio Testi), is being set up
by a tangled band of terrorists run by a capitalist named Armand Collas who wants Ruiz dead. If the
trade is not made, Collas will have Cipriani's wife killed.

FIGURES 17 & 18 Abandoned by the legal system. Oliver Reed takes his own revenge in Revolver (1973)

Cipriani and Ruiz run over the Italian border to France where the trade will occur. But Cipriani
starts to like Ruiz and is having a difficult time turning him over even though he has no doubt about
saving his wife. The only thing Cipriani can do is go to the police for help - which is a mistake. The
police tell Cipriani to consult a lawyer for advice. When he does so, the lawyer admits the futility of
exclusive law enforcement by the police pitted against organised crime or corruption. And, in a sense,
he is right. In Revolver the struggle against organised crime and corruption cannot be left exclusively

to law enforcement and regulatory systems and to the professional guardians of society.12
In effect, the lawyer strongly suggests that Cipriani should murder Collas because, after all, Collas
kidnapped his wife - not to mention that he is in need of some 'bureaucratic adjustment'. And the
only way for Cipriani to get to Collas is by murdering Ruiz. Only then will Cipriani's wife be free
and justice for taking down two criminals - Collas and Ruiz - will be served. As the lawyer explains
to Cipriani: 'Armand Collas was a great oil magnate. But he refused to respect the interests of his
industry. He was under the illusion that he could alter the balance of or break up the established
order.' But the 'law' cannot come to grips with murdering Collas, so finding an unwilling assassin
- even if he is a law abiding citizen - is key. A n d Cipriani is expendable enough to be used.
Of course, this attitude by the law toward one of Italy's law-abiding citizens is appalling but that
is director Sollima's intent. The film makes a joke out of how,

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