The Vatican Affair (1968) User Reviews

How to steal treasure in Vatican City

[myriamlenys · 5/10 · 15 March 2024]

A blind scholar is a welcome guest in Vatican City, where his diligence and erudition are much appreciated. As a friend of cardinals he is deeply familiar with the place, museums and treasuries included. However, too much direct exposure to treasure seems to have warped his mind. Firmly resolved to pull off a daring heist, he assembles a team of specialists...

"A qualsiasi prezzo" is a member of the large heist family, notable mainly for the ravishing and historically significant locations. The heist plan itself is interesting, especially when viewed as a series of exercises in lateral thinking. However, the events depicted on the screen fail to generate much excitement. Viewers looking for something to make the heart pound and the pulse race, might want to look elsewhere. The same goes for viewers looking for psychological depth. Most of the characters consist only of one or two mental traits, meaning that they never blossom into fully credible individuals. As a result it's hard to worry about their ultimate fate.

The tone of "A qualsiasi prezzo" is not as constant as one might wish. This is especially true of the last part, when various approaches and even various genres clash and collide like cars in the mist. Are we talking about comedy, black comedy, gritty crime, thriller, pastiche, or all of them at once ? The result makes for an unconvincing denouement.

The movie contains at least one blooper, to wit a scene where a handsome young woman disguises herself as a Catholic nun. She's wearing fashionable make-up, which, in real life, would make her stand out like a sore thumb.

In conclusion : not entirely without charm, but notable mainly for the splendid surroundings.

Lame caper flick

[Piper12 · 15 October 2004]

Saw this one on television 30 years ago, so my memories of it are a bit hazy. As I recall, Walter Pigeon plays a blind academic who has spent decades studding the Vatican's art treasures - don't ask me how a blind man does this - and decides to reward himself with a retirement in the sun paid for by ripping off some of said treasures. He enlists Kinsky and Von Furstenburg to do the heavy lifting and there follows the usual split-second timing, hair-breadth escapes and double-crosses. I like this sort of picture, but I recall being oddly unengaged by this one. Nice Roman location shooting, but not enough for me to really recommend the film. A rainy afternoon time waster.

Klaus Kinski

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 4 July 2023]

Emilio Miraglia would be best known to readers as the director of The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave and The Red Queen Kills Seven Times.

Professor Herbert Cummings (Walter Pidgeon) seems like no threat to anyone. After all, he's blind. But he's also looking to rob gems from St. Peter's and has hired Clint Rogers (Klaus Kinski) to help get the job done. The crew is completed by Richard (Marino Masé) and Pamela Scott (Ira von Fürstenberg).

The plot is similar to Operazione San Gennaro, which was directed by Dino Risi, and Operazione San Pietro, the sequel that's directed by Lucio Fulci. It's also a lot like another movie with Kinski, Ad ogni costo (Grand Slam). The highlight of the entire movie is the astounding soundtrack which has more excitement than what's happening on screen. It was composed by Luis Bacalov, who also did the music for Django, The Great Silence, The Designated Victim, Il Postino and Hell of the Living Dead.

I like this film

[xml9635 · 8/10 · 17 May 2008]

Guess I was more fascinated with how a blind man led a group of thieves to scheme the Vatican out of valuable jewelry. The ending was definitely a surprise for me. At the time, I was a teenager with limited English skill and my understanding of the movie's conversation was rather limited. Absolutely would like to watch it again to fully grasp all the details. And I, too, saw this film for the first time in 1975, with a couple repeats, the last of which probably around the late 70s. Would love to find a copy to rent, but the local library did not carry this title, nor did any of the local video stores. Netflix did not help either. However, it's not worth the asking price on amazon or ebay.

Interesting old movie

[jolgeir · 8/10 · 16 March 2024]

It is not fair to compare this movie to much later or modern action movies. The Italian touch makes for a plot that is far from superficial. I enjoyed this movie from the late sixties. It is interesting to see how an European approach differs from the way Hollywood would have done it. There are details of plot and acting that could never have appeared in an American film from this time. There is a certain sophistication in the directors' approach. The roles are never overplayed, but underplaying adds to the undercurrent of excitement and realism. The setting in Rome does much to enhance the air and atmosphere of the 60's. The music scores are very good and in harmony with the whole plot. There is an element here of genuine artistry not often found in mainstream movies of our day.