地下之王

This violent crime film from Jürgen Roland is the definitive German mafia thriller - and together with Rolf Olsen's breathtaking and even more thrilling BLUTIGER FREITAG the best German crime movie of the Seventies (note that both films are in fact German-Italian co-productions, which I think explains a lot). 　　Herbert Fleischmann leads the cast as Hamburg business man Otto Westermann, who is also the boss of the organized crime in the city. His reign as godfather is in danger, though, as ambitious Sicilian mafioso Luca Messina enters the North German metropolis, coming directly from New York. Messina's goal is clear and simple: He wants to take over Hamburg. But Westermann isn't as easy to defeat as the Sicilian expects. And soon Hamburg is on the verge of a bloody mob war. 　　The ace of this movie is without a doubt Henry Silva in the role of Messina, who once more gives a frenetic performance as in most genre films of that time (two of many other examples are IL BOSS and QUELLI CHE CONTANO). But Herbert Fleischmann is also perfect in his role, and the two actors fight a great battle throughout the movie. 　　There are also some great action scenes, mainly the climactic speed boat chase sequence, preceding the similar chase in the fine Dutch thriller AMSTERDAMNED for 15 years. The final twist is magnificent, even though slightly predictable. The only negative point to make about the film is the unnecessary love story between Westermann's son and Messina's daughter, which diminishes the flow of the story considerably. Otherwise, ZINKS?RGE FüR DIE GOLDJUNGEN is an exciting crime movie and definitely not to be missed by aficionados of the genre.