Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

PimpinAinttEasy ALMOST HUMAN is a really clever kidnap thriller. I found myself rooting for the cunning, wretched, murderous and lecherous Giulio Sacchi (played by Tomas Milan who is unrecognizable after I saw him play an earnest journalist in DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING a couple of days ago). He is a character straight out of a Jim Thompson novel.After he botches up a bank heist, Guilio hatches a plan to kidnap a rich heiress and demand 0.5 billion as ransom. He commits a string of murders during the kidnapping and hostage taking.One of the main features of Italian police thrillers is that they pushed the boundaries with regard to what could be put on film. Some of the stuff that the Guilo character pulls off in this film would be frowned upon today.The film has some great writing filled with witty one liners and jokes. Hope it gets a blu ray release.Anita Strindberg as Milan's hapless but devoted girlfriend invoked sympathy. I find it hard to take Henry Silva seriously. He is unintentionally hilarious like in Cry of a Prostitute. (8/10)

Scarecrow-88 Sensational Poliziotteschi from Umberto Lenzi, set in Milan(Italy) stars Tomas Milian, in a terrific(..and terrifying) performance as a sadistic homicidal thug who is the mastermind behind the kidnapping of a politician's daughter for a major ransom. His scheme seems to be going without a hitch, but his psychopathic tendencies can only continue for so long before he eventually hangs himself at some point. Henry Silva, intense and smooth as ever, is the detective out to catch him. Ray Lovelock and Gino Santercole are Milian's accomplices. The delectable Anita Strinberg has a small role as Milian's doomed lover, whose vehicle and sexual favors are used on a regular basis. The beautiful Laura Belli is the innocent kidnapped by Milian whose fate doesn't have a very promising outlook. Luciano Catenacci makes the most of a secondary role as a dangerous Milan mobster for whom Milian has worked for..Milian's dealings with Catenacci have been worrisome affairs due to his violent and unpredictable nature(..not to mention Milian's screw-up during a planned heist when he murders a street cop in cold blood). Guido Alberti is the politician Milian wishes to milk for half a billion. Strinberg was an employee of Alberti, and Milian's idea just came about out of sheer desperation for some cash. Milian creates quite a frightening persona in his unhinged hood, always tearing into his bubble gum, twitchy and unstable..the kind of character that is spontaneous and destructive.The opening car chase through Milan is riveting as the police chase after Catenacci's hoods with Milian in tow, when a bank robbery goes awry. Those that consider Lenzi an unaccomplished director should take a gander at ALMOST HUMAN, because the pacing is incredible as is the emphasis on moving the story along without unnecessary set-backs. Ernesto Gastaldi's unpretentious screenplay focuses on the plot while also providing the cast(..particularly Milian, Silva, and Lovelock)with chances to further expand their characterizations. The film is ultimately a showcase for Milian because the story itself derives from his impulsive and criminal activity..he is the source for all the horror that takes place throughout, the lightning rod if you will. The aftermath, once the money drop takes place, is certainly shocking, perhaps leaving a bad taste in your mouth, but it shows that Milian's scumbag is devoid of humanity, with no moral compass other than his own goal of attaining wealth through any means necessary without being caught. Following the DIRTY HARRY model, Silva soon realizes that he must take the law into his own hands since going by the book hasn't helped keep a murderer off the streets..appropriately downbeat ending even after revenge was served because so many were left dead by Milian's deeds. The most unsettling sequence would have to be the result of a massacre at the hands of Milian who attacks a bourgeoisie gathering, with even a little girl being shot and killed(..the "roulette by chandelier" with two women hanging, with their breasts exposed, as Milian opens fire is rather horrifying).

Coventry Even if you're only just slightly interested in cult-cinema of the golden 60's-70's period, you know that whatever trend the Italian directors took on; they did it better. Whether it was horror, westerns or – as in this case – crime thriller, the Italians always surpassed the standards of any other major film-producing country and delivered politically incorrect but hugely entertaining & genre defining movies. One of the few (brilliant) directors active in all different fields was Umberto Lenzi, whose marvelously restored "Almost Human" is a truly terrific and ultra-violent classic. Tomas Milian gives a formidable one man show as a small time crook who desperately wants to climb up Milan's crime-ladder and therefore commits the vilest and most atrocious crimes, like relentlessly shooting people for the spare change in their pockets and buy cigarettes. Hell truly breaks loose when Giullio, along with two companions, kidnaps the daughter of a prominent businessman and demands a gigantic ransom. Many people, all innocent, get killed in order to still Giullio's sadistic hunger for violence. Particularly one sequence is excruciatingly intense, namely when the kidnapped girl Mary Lou briefly escapes and hopes to hide herself in a secluded country mansion. Giullio & C° also invade the mansion and extendedly torture, humiliate and terrorize all the inhabitants. Umberto Lenzi totally went berserk here and blends sick violence with ultra-sleazy footage, as Giullio even forces a MALE hostage to give oral sex. The kidnappers are hunted down by obsessive copper Henry Silva, who totally lives up to the stereotype of 70's cops. Inspector Grandi is rough, tough and actually prefers to personally execute the bad guys rather than to put them behind bars. "Almost Human" is incredibly fast-paced, with super-exciting car chases and outrageous gunfights throughout the entire playtime. The script offers a lot of unexpected twists to keep you on the edge of your seat and Tomas Millian's performance alone is enough to consider this a masterpiece of 70's exploitation cinema. The camera-work is masterfully restored in the new DVD-release, but Ennio Morricone's score is as mesmerizing as it ever was. A true must!

The_Void Umberto Lenzi's Almost Human is a film that takes in all the best elements of seventies Italian cinema and blends it all into one deliriously entertaining thriller! Umberto Lenzi is, of course, more famous for his cannibal and zombie films; but I have it on good authority that his real talent lies in police thrillers, and even though this is my first Poliziotteschi from Lenzi; it appears that would indeed be the case. The film takes obvious influence from successful American films such as Dirty Harry, but it's also obvious that Lenzi has added his own spin on the sub-genre, as the sadistic director implants a lot of scenes that wouldn't be out of place in an exploitation film. Almost Human is graphically violent throughout, and that is certainly no bad thing! The film follows a career criminal known as Giulio Sacci who realises that he's not making a lot of money out of small time crime and so hatches a plot to kidnap a wealthy man's daughter and hold her for ransom. It's not long before Milan's toughest cop; Inspector Walter Grandi gets on the case and sets into motion a bloodthirsty chain of events! The cast and crew is like a who's who of Italian cinema. Lenzi himself has directed a number of the best Italian films, while nobody will disagree that films such as The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh and The Case of the Bloody Iris make Ernesto Gastaldi one of Italy's finest scriptwriters. The cast is superb, and benefits from two strong lead male performances. Thomas Milan, perhaps best known for performances as Django and a starring role in Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling, gives a sadistic and charismatic lead performance, while Henry Silva is his opposite number. There are support roles for the likes of Anita Strindberg and Ray Lovelock, and just to top things off; Almost Human is scored by the great Ennio Morricone! The plot is superb and continually delivers the unexpected as the lead character descends further into bloodthirsty insanity. Lenzi does a good job of presenting a dirty and gritty atmosphere for the film, and ensures that the film feels like a police thriller with several car chases and shootouts. Italian films are known for being cheap and nasty; but that isn't the case here, as the production values are good and the film always feels professionally made. Highly recommended for the fan of Italian cinema!