Verdict
Summary
A political thriller cross-pollinated with a spaghetti western with its sparse plot, wide-open vistas and stylish direction by Jose Giovanni that feels right in tune with some of the best spaghetti westerns of its time, and star Ventura seemed to be completely comfortable in this cozy tough guy role. With a satisfying ending and all the thrills and dramatic arcs it needs, this was a solid little gem.
Plot:
A French assassin waits in a house to execute his target, a Central American dictator.
Review:
Called in from France, a hitman (credited as Le Repace, or Bird of Prey, played by Lino Ventura) quite easily sneaks into Central America, circa 1938, via Mexico, hopping on and off trains covertly, all the while carrying his rifle and some ammunition and nothing else. He finds his way to the man who hired him for a very specific job for 20K, and the job is simple enough: To wait two days for the newest president of the country to show up at the hacienda across the street … and assassinate him. What the hitman doesn’t know is that as soon as he kills his target, he is supposed to be assassinated himself to erase any loose ends. His employer sequesters him in a small house where a young revolutionary who believes in “the cause” of what the hitman has been paid to do, and over the course of a couple of days the two clash at first, but then grow to understand one another … which will prove to be invaluable when the hitman pulls off his task and needs the other man to help him survive escaping the country when his employer turns against them and hunts them down along with the president’s entire army!
A political thriller cross-pollinated with a spaghetti western with its sparse plot, wide-open vistas and stylish direction by Jose Giovanni that feels right in tune with some of the best spaghetti westerns of its time, and star Ventura seemed to be completely comfortable in this cozy tough guy role. With a satisfying ending and all the thrills and dramatic arcs it needs, this was a solid little gem.
Kino Lorber brings Birds of Prey to Blu-ray, and it comes in a nice 4K transfer looking sharp and clear. The disc comes with a new audio commentary by a film historian and the trailer.
