Review by Roger Carpenter
After cutting his teeth on a couple of spaghetti westerns (Django Defies Sartana; Death’s Dealer), director Pasquale Squitieri moved into the popular gangster genre with Gang War in Naples and Blood Brothers, this last film including the all-star cast of Claudia Cardinale, Franco Nero, and Fabio Testi. He then directed The Climber (1975) , a story about a young, cocky hood who climbs his way up the mafia ladder.
Cult actor Joe Dallesandro stars as the cocky hoodlum, Aldo. Dallesandro had just completed Warhol’s Dracula and Frankenstein films and had decided to stay in Europe. He was riding a crest of popularity and had no trouble finding work. Squitieri was happy to pick him up for this film, alongside co-star Stefania Casini (Warhol’s Dracula, Bertolucci’s 1900, as well as Suspiria).
The film opens with Aldo making off with a load of stolen cigarettes from the docks of Naples. He’s nothing but a low-level street thug, but he has a big personality and even bigger plans. Along with his comrade Ciriaco (Benito Artesi), he sells the cigarettes for more than he should and skims the extra for himself. But the local Don hears about it and Aldo is given a severe beating and run out of town. The boss also dumps his beloved motorbike into the drink so Aldo is forced to hitchhike. As fortune has it, he runs into Luciana (Casini), a beautiful, fiery redhead on her way to Rome. Aldo hitches a ride and the two soon hit it off. In Rome Aldo quickly becomes known for his violence as well as his attitude and it isn’t long before he’s ready to head back to Naples to take over his old mafia boss’s territory.
If this scenario sounds familiar that’s because, with only a few minor changes, this is the story of De Palma’s Scarface. Sure, changes have been made between the two films, but it’s essentially the same story. And The Climber is just as good as Scarface.
Dallesandro is superb as the streetwise tough guy. He’s cock-sure of himself and lets nothing stand in his way. He struts down the street, scowling, as if daring anyone to accost him. If he wants it, he takes it, and he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, either. In fact, Dallesandro’s character isn’t so much a “climber” as he is a bull in a china shop. He can be both conniving and brutal and doesn’t appear to care much about anyone. This is the only flaw in Dallesandro’s character. The viewer doesn’t feel any sympathy for him. As bloodthirsty as Pacino’s Tony Montana was, he turns his head when a drug mule is chain sawed to death. As hateful as he is towards his wife, Elvira, he still tries to love her, but she pushes him away. And as misguided as he is in his single-minded protection of his sister, it’s out of love and devotion. There is some humanity in Tony Montana behind all the carnage. But there’s no humanity in Aldo. Shortly after arriving in Rome, he meets his cousin, who is married and has two children. Aldo convinces him to get involved in street crime only to see the gory aftermath of his cousin’s death when he’s thrown out of his apartment window. Standing directly across the bloody corpse from his cousin’s wife and two small children, Aldo simply turns and walks away. To Aldo, his cousin’s death is just another casualty of gang warfare. Casini isn’t as good and seems relegated to the stereotypical mafia wife, but she’s certainly easy on the eyes. Not really a poliziotteschi—there’s no cops and robbers theme–the film is as violent as the poliziotteschi films were. There are shootings and stabbings galore, and plenty of blood, as well as a good deal of nudity to boot. The Climber is certainly a rough and gritty film, and plenty enjoyable.
Eventually, Don Enrico (Raymond Pellegrin), Aldo’s old Napolitano nemesis, is forced to make peace with Aldo and hand over most of his businesses to the younger, stronger gangster. Aldo becomes so rich he drives through the streets in a Rolls Royce handing out money to the public. But this success comes with a price. This isn’t the life Luciana bargained for and she tries to bail before being forced to stay by Aldo. Aldo owns everything, even his woman. But, as we all know, expanding empires eventually begin to crumble, and so does Aldo’s empire.
Squitieri labored for many years in Italian genre cinema and produced some excellent gangster films. Not as well-known as some of his counterparts, The Climber proves Squitieri knew what he was doing. Here’s hoping more of his films will see a release in the U.S.
Arrow Video has recently released The Climber in a superb 4K restoration from the original camera negative. The special edition contains both a Blu-ray as well as standard DVD presentation, with an option for the Italian or English language soundtracks. The special features are light, especially for Arrow, but the one interview contained in the package is fantastic. Entitled “Little Joe’s Adventures in Europe,” it’s a brand new interview with Joe Dallesandro, who speaks about his time with Warhol and Morrisey and also at length about his time making films in Europe as well as his love affair with co-star Casini. While the interview is worth the purchase price alone, in my opinion, if the package had only included the film, I would have been okay with that because The Climber is hugely entertaining—a terrific slice of Italian genre filmmaking. The first pressing also includes a booklet with writing by Roberto Curti, an Italian crime film authority and author of the Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-80.
Do yourself a favor and catch this one as soon as you can. You won’t be sorry. You can purchase the BD/DVD combo through Amazon or directly from Arrow at http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/category/usa/.
