Man of Violence (aka Moon)

Gangster Thriller

BFI Flipside

Blu Ray

Region B

This film was also released as Moon in 1968. The new title Man of Violence seems to have been added later. The style of the film owes a bit to James Bond films but director Pete Walker turned it into a gangster film rather than a spy one. Walker was an independent producer for many years, getting his start in the early soft-core porn genre. He also dabbled in horror films, once again with a healthy amount of seminudity. Man of Violence is typical of his work. The film was not particularly well known in its day but now BFI has re-released it we can once again enjoy what was for its day a well-made drama. It holds up against the modern product remarkably well.

The plot involves a playboy criminal, Moon. He is hired by a London gangster, Bryant, to find out what a rival gangster, Grayson, is up to. On the surface it seems to be a war between two property-developer criminals. Moon finishes up working for both. Moon is tough enough to handle the job but he still manages to get beaten up a number of times.

Enter the absolutely lovely Luan Peters as Angel. She is representing a foreign government who wants 30 million pounds worth of stolen gold recovered. It is being smuggled to England to buy guns from the gangster Grayson to stage a revolution in a Middle East country. Moon learns that the two gangsters are not just rival property developers, they are both after the gold. Moon has been double-crossed, triple-crossed, beaten up and is in mortal danger. Should he trust Angel? If so, how can he recover the money for her?

The film is beautifully made with the scenes in Tunis particularly capturing the squalid and overpopulated cities. One weak point is the music. It is that squawking, brassy type of music that worked in Bond films but is overused in Man of Violence. Do we, for instance, need such music for a car pulling up at a hotel?

Otherwise the film is a great example of an early British gangster film. It is well acted, well filmed, and the plot has enough twists and turns to satisfy Guy Ritchie. The transfer from the original masters is almost flawless, The film is well worth watching again, if only for Luan Peters.

A nice touch in the extras is Pete Walker’s The Big Switch. This is another good gangster film and its inclusion makes the DVD particularly good value with two top gangster films for the price..

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