"Whatever they can do in Italy, we can do better" they must have thought in Germany. Extremely violent crime thrillers were very popular in Italy during the early 70's and at least a dozen of awesome ones got released every year. "Bloody Friday" is more or less Germany's response to this successful trend and a damn perplexing one, I may add! When the heavy criminal Heinz Klett escapes police custody during his transport to court, he promptly executes his plans to commit the biggest bank robbery ever in the history of the country. He, his regular partner and his girlfriend's brother storm into the bank heavily armed and take 10 people hostage. While the police attempts to gather the $1.000.000 ransom, and entire media circus unfolds outside on the streets. You usually know pretty much exactly how this kind of movie develops. Things don't go according to plan, there's the Stockholm Syndrome and a couple of unplanned deaths along the way. Apparently the film is inspired by similar real-life events as they occurred in Germany. I don't know which parts of the film were fictionalized, but I seriously wonder if the real events ended in such a nauseating and shocking bloodbath as well. I hope not. Probably the greatest accomplishment here is the biting social satire. While the hostage is going on inside, the public outside shouts for the re-implementation of the death penalty and there are even are some sly businessmen that unscrupulously want to make money out of the gathered crowd. It's certainly also not a film for people with an easily upset stomach or tangled nerves. Heinz' escape is bloody already and there's massively shocking sequence involving a hand grenade at the beginning of the hold-up. "Bloody Friday" is well-directed (by the guy who did "Shocking Asia"), the acting performances are pretty great and everything else (music, editing, photography, atmosphere) is simply in-your-face brutal and confronting.
17 Reviews
Frankurter Day Afternoon
Bezenby31 July 2018
Heinz is a bit of a nutter. While heading to court, he manages to escape with the help of his mates and gives two policemen a severe beating for their troubles. Hunted nationwide, Heinz plans to rob a bank and start a new life in another country, with the help of his Italian mate and his girlfriend Helen, plus Helen's brother Christian, an AWOL soldier who is a last minute replacement for a guy who was captured during Heinz's escape.
Christian is reluctant to help and does so only to protect his sister, but he becomes more worried about the whole situation when Heinz starts displaying not-so-sane tendencies, including nearly murdering to American soldiers they were robbing for explosives. He goes ahead with the plan however, which turns out to be more complicated and dangerous than he thought, and things go wrong almost right away when a small child picks up a hand grenade that Heinz dropped on the way into the bank...
Okay, there's not much plot to be honest, but it's a good film nonetheless, mostly due to gigantic actor Raimund Harmstorf as the psychotic Heinz and his interactions with his hostages, plus his confidence that his plan is going to work, despite the self-evident truths. This is also a film that doesn't skimp on the violence, especially when a cop jumps on a hand grenade to protect the public. It's the goriest part of the film and something that was sure to shock audiences back in the day. Ah, the seventies.
Grim from beginning to end. What else can I say?
Christian is reluctant to help and does so only to protect his sister, but he becomes more worried about the whole situation when Heinz starts displaying not-so-sane tendencies, including nearly murdering to American soldiers they were robbing for explosives. He goes ahead with the plan however, which turns out to be more complicated and dangerous than he thought, and things go wrong almost right away when a small child picks up a hand grenade that Heinz dropped on the way into the bank...
Okay, there's not much plot to be honest, but it's a good film nonetheless, mostly due to gigantic actor Raimund Harmstorf as the psychotic Heinz and his interactions with his hostages, plus his confidence that his plan is going to work, despite the self-evident truths. This is also a film that doesn't skimp on the violence, especially when a cop jumps on a hand grenade to protect the public. It's the goriest part of the film and something that was sure to shock audiences back in the day. Ah, the seventies.
Grim from beginning to end. What else can I say?
"Thats the man I saw by the waste basket!."
morrison-dylan-fan24 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
With a friend of the family having recently gotten online at last,I was shown a few days ago some DVDs that he has brought online.
Very kindly,that I could borrow some of the films from him to watch,So I decided to pick the most recent one of his DVD's that had turned up. Whilst the film does look pretty batted, (dirt and lines appear on the only print of the film that has come out on DVD)it is still a very watchable bank- robbery/hostage thriller.
The plot:
After having gotten their friend (Heinz Klett) out of court,three friends decided that they are going to rob a bank for half a million,so that they can leave the country with a huge amount of cash,which they can use part of to start up there own supermarket.
With one of the robbers using his girlfriend to make a fake phone call to the police,to tell them that the robbers are holding lots of kids hostage,it appears that although it will be a bit tough getting out,the bank robbery should go successfully enough.Sadly,the robbers don't know is that since he has been held up in prison Hans has become a lot more merciless then they have ever been...
View on the film:
Looking at the cast,I feel that whilst most of them did very well at showing there increase in tension as the situation worsens,the clear stand out was Raimund Harnstorf as the lead homicidal-manic bank robber Heinz klett.
Along with having a fantastic red beard-and-strong-chin combo that Chuck Norris would give two thumbs up to,Harnstorf (who sadly committed suicide in May 1999 at age 57)also is excellent at showing Heinz ego over shadowing the group,as he becomes the dominant force in the bank robbery,with his violent actions,being performed with a real relish by Raimund.
Although the first half an hour of the film,is surprisingly a little slow paced,the very moment that the robbers enter the bank, writer/directer Rolf Olsen accelerates the film at a fantastic pace.
Whilst the robbery is entertainingly ruthless,especially when the gang start to fear that Heinz is not going to let anything,or anyone get in the way of him and the cash,the unexpectedly most gripping moments in the film,are the scenes which has one of the robbers and a cop trying to stop a small boy from pulling a grenade,thanks to Olsen doing an excellent job at showing the robber losing his focus,as he starts to suspect that things might not be going according to plan.
Final view on the film:
A neat hostage thriller,with a terrific performance from Raimund Harnstorf.
Very kindly,that I could borrow some of the films from him to watch,So I decided to pick the most recent one of his DVD's that had turned up. Whilst the film does look pretty batted, (dirt and lines appear on the only print of the film that has come out on DVD)it is still a very watchable bank- robbery/hostage thriller.
The plot:
After having gotten their friend (Heinz Klett) out of court,three friends decided that they are going to rob a bank for half a million,so that they can leave the country with a huge amount of cash,which they can use part of to start up there own supermarket.
With one of the robbers using his girlfriend to make a fake phone call to the police,to tell them that the robbers are holding lots of kids hostage,it appears that although it will be a bit tough getting out,the bank robbery should go successfully enough.Sadly,the robbers don't know is that since he has been held up in prison Hans has become a lot more merciless then they have ever been...
View on the film:
Looking at the cast,I feel that whilst most of them did very well at showing there increase in tension as the situation worsens,the clear stand out was Raimund Harnstorf as the lead homicidal-manic bank robber Heinz klett.
Along with having a fantastic red beard-and-strong-chin combo that Chuck Norris would give two thumbs up to,Harnstorf (who sadly committed suicide in May 1999 at age 57)also is excellent at showing Heinz ego over shadowing the group,as he becomes the dominant force in the bank robbery,with his violent actions,being performed with a real relish by Raimund.
Although the first half an hour of the film,is surprisingly a little slow paced,the very moment that the robbers enter the bank, writer/directer Rolf Olsen accelerates the film at a fantastic pace.
Whilst the robbery is entertainingly ruthless,especially when the gang start to fear that Heinz is not going to let anything,or anyone get in the way of him and the cash,the unexpectedly most gripping moments in the film,are the scenes which has one of the robbers and a cop trying to stop a small boy from pulling a grenade,thanks to Olsen doing an excellent job at showing the robber losing his focus,as he starts to suspect that things might not be going according to plan.
Final view on the film:
A neat hostage thriller,with a terrific performance from Raimund Harnstorf.
Extremely violent Italo-German police thriller
Camera-Obscura23 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
BLOODY Friday (Rolf Olsen - West Germany/Italy 1972).
A brutal police and hostage thriller by prolific German director Rolf Olsen, mostly active in the field of second-rate comedies, typically German "report" films about prostitution in Hamburg and Frankfurt, sleazy exploitation and even Mondo-style films like ON THE REEPERBAHN AT HALF PAST MIDNIGHT (1969) and SHOCKING ASIA (1974). Unsurprisingly, since this is a German-Italian co-production, the film is not unlike the numerous Italian crime films made at the time, although the film is set entirely in Germany. I don't wanna sound dismissive of Italian film-making with their often wildly overwrought, convoluted plots, entertaining in its own right, but in this case Germans get involved, and somehow logic seeps into the plot, a rarity in most Italian films of its type.
Supposedly, the film is based on a brutal bank robbery on August 4th 1971 of a branch office of the "Deutsche Bank" in the Prinzregenten Street in Munich, or is at least a reference to the explosive increase in violent bank robberies and rampant left-wing political violence in Federal Republic at the time. Either way, this is clear-cut piece of exploitation, but a pretty good one with Raimund Harnstorf dominating the screen as Heinz Klett, a fierce-looking red-bearded giant, well over six feet tall, clad in leather, and resorting to violence at the slightest incentive. He makes a plan to hold up the "Finanzbank" with his accomplice Luigi (Gianni Macchia), his pregnant girlfriend Heidi (Christine Böhm) and her reluctant brother (Amadeus August) and flee to Australia with the proceeds. The hold-up quickly deteriorates into a hostage situation, resulting in some horrendous bloodshed. An extremely unnerving scene takes place during the robbery, when a child gets hold of a dropped grenade outside the bank. An officer tries to grab it, but the pin is pulled just before he can throw himself onto the grenade, resulting in another blood-soaked scene with the man screaming in agony as he desperately tries to hold his erupted intestines.
For its low budget, it's a pretty good effort, with a good cast, a reasonably tense and entertaining storyline and some truly kick-in-the-face violence. The plot might be a bit too predictable, but the pace is brisk, with constantly changing scenarios like a the opening criminal breakout, weapons siege, bank robbery, hostages, some exciting pursuits with the cops and the final shoot-out. Leading man Raimund Harmstorf, who committed suicide at the age of 57 in May 1999, after hearing he had Parkinson's disease, will go down in my book as one of the most memorable bad guys in European cinema. Pretty frightening.
Camera Obscura --- 7/10
A brutal police and hostage thriller by prolific German director Rolf Olsen, mostly active in the field of second-rate comedies, typically German "report" films about prostitution in Hamburg and Frankfurt, sleazy exploitation and even Mondo-style films like ON THE REEPERBAHN AT HALF PAST MIDNIGHT (1969) and SHOCKING ASIA (1974). Unsurprisingly, since this is a German-Italian co-production, the film is not unlike the numerous Italian crime films made at the time, although the film is set entirely in Germany. I don't wanna sound dismissive of Italian film-making with their often wildly overwrought, convoluted plots, entertaining in its own right, but in this case Germans get involved, and somehow logic seeps into the plot, a rarity in most Italian films of its type.
Supposedly, the film is based on a brutal bank robbery on August 4th 1971 of a branch office of the "Deutsche Bank" in the Prinzregenten Street in Munich, or is at least a reference to the explosive increase in violent bank robberies and rampant left-wing political violence in Federal Republic at the time. Either way, this is clear-cut piece of exploitation, but a pretty good one with Raimund Harnstorf dominating the screen as Heinz Klett, a fierce-looking red-bearded giant, well over six feet tall, clad in leather, and resorting to violence at the slightest incentive. He makes a plan to hold up the "Finanzbank" with his accomplice Luigi (Gianni Macchia), his pregnant girlfriend Heidi (Christine Böhm) and her reluctant brother (Amadeus August) and flee to Australia with the proceeds. The hold-up quickly deteriorates into a hostage situation, resulting in some horrendous bloodshed. An extremely unnerving scene takes place during the robbery, when a child gets hold of a dropped grenade outside the bank. An officer tries to grab it, but the pin is pulled just before he can throw himself onto the grenade, resulting in another blood-soaked scene with the man screaming in agony as he desperately tries to hold his erupted intestines.
For its low budget, it's a pretty good effort, with a good cast, a reasonably tense and entertaining storyline and some truly kick-in-the-face violence. The plot might be a bit too predictable, but the pace is brisk, with constantly changing scenarios like a the opening criminal breakout, weapons siege, bank robbery, hostages, some exciting pursuits with the cops and the final shoot-out. Leading man Raimund Harmstorf, who committed suicide at the age of 57 in May 1999, after hearing he had Parkinson's disease, will go down in my book as one of the most memorable bad guys in European cinema. Pretty frightening.
Camera Obscura --- 7/10
"You're all crazy, and criminals to boot".
classicsoncall14 February 2010
Warning: Spoilers
There are a couple of good reviews on this board within the context of German and Italian crime films of the Seventies. I have no expertise in the matter, so can only offer a gut level response to my viewing of "Bloody Friday" a little while ago. Almost equal parts brutal and surreal, the best comparison I can make is to the American film "Dog Day Afternoon", but without the takeout pizza. About forty five minutes into the picture it started to resemble a car wreck that's just too fascinating not to see through to conclusion. Yet there were so many credibility defying scenes that I just had to shake my head. Like the bicycle rider that went through the windshield, and the bright red hoods worn by the bank robbers. When was the last thriller you saw where the gangsters put each of their hostages on the phone to identify themselves? And how poor a marksman would you have to be to fire a gun pointed at your own chest the way Luigi did at the finale? And how did the doctor get away after he treated Luigi in the first place?
All of this was going through my mind when the police inspector, about to lead his men on the chase, turned and exclaimed to one of them - "They're dangerous and they know what they're doing". He was half right.
All of this was going through my mind when the police inspector, about to lead his men on the chase, turned and exclaimed to one of them - "They're dangerous and they know what they're doing". He was half right.
Ultra Violent Hard-Boiled Crime Thriller
jfrentzen-942-2042119 February 2024
In this hard-boiled German-Italian production, Heinz Klett (Raimund Harmstorf), an anarchistic, mad-dog criminal, orchestrates a tricky escape from a Munich courthouse, right out from under the noses of police guards. With his gang -- Luigi (Gianni Macchia), Army deserter Christian (Amadeus August), and Christian's pregnant sister, Helen (Christine Böhm) -- Heinz next plans to rob the Deutsche Finanzbank so he can escape Germany and retire.
The heist is a bungled affair, as there isn't much money in the vault. But the robbers take ten hostages, including the heiress to a supermarket empire, and capitalize on the situation by demanding a million dollars in ransom and various modes of transportation out of the country. The police must contend with both the robbers and citizens who try to take over the investigation at every turn. In a marked contrast to how an American action film might depict a similar crisis, the cautious German constabulary readily accedes to all of Heinz's demands.
When Heinz and company receive the ransom money, they hijack a few of the hostages, including the heiress and a lesbian businesswoman who isn't impressed by Heinz's macho posturing. They get sidetracked to a country cabin, where the robbers' loyalties deteriorate. When a sympathetic Christian helps the heiress escape, she tips off the cops. Heinz rapes and murders the lesbian, while Luigi dies from an accidental gunshot wound. The cops surround the cabin and gun down Heinz, Christian, and Helen.
BLOODY FRIDAY is remarkable for not glamorizing its criminal protagonists, which was not the norm for crime movies of the late 60s and early 70s. It is only when the robbers are finally ambushed that director Rolf Olsen's staging makes a play for sympathy -- be they misguided youth or misunderstood human trash, did they deserve to die? Well, yes.
Olsen, who was more comfortable dabbling in lightweight sex films and mondo's, crams enough incident into the plot to keep our interest. The robbers' heist and subsequent flight from justice recalls every cliche in the book, but some scenes are remarkable -- the suspenseful escape from the courthouse; a toddler carrying a hand grenade outside the bank as if it were a toy; the massacre of the protagonists (equipped with extra large blood squibs); and a remarkably unpleasant rape scene, which is superimposed over slaughterhouse and, if you watch closely, hardcore sex footage.
Most of the cast underplays, which makes Harmstorf's intense performance as Heinz seem better than it is. However, his "Sea Wolf" is amusingly trashy, that of a cigar-chomping, machine gun wielding psychotic.
For those with a background in the social climate of 1972 Germany, one can discern the film's political subtext, with pointed references to Baader-Meinhof and the climate of social malaise that motivates the desperate thieves, as well as the ease with which they nab guns and start terrorizing the upper-class establishment.
The heist is a bungled affair, as there isn't much money in the vault. But the robbers take ten hostages, including the heiress to a supermarket empire, and capitalize on the situation by demanding a million dollars in ransom and various modes of transportation out of the country. The police must contend with both the robbers and citizens who try to take over the investigation at every turn. In a marked contrast to how an American action film might depict a similar crisis, the cautious German constabulary readily accedes to all of Heinz's demands.
When Heinz and company receive the ransom money, they hijack a few of the hostages, including the heiress and a lesbian businesswoman who isn't impressed by Heinz's macho posturing. They get sidetracked to a country cabin, where the robbers' loyalties deteriorate. When a sympathetic Christian helps the heiress escape, she tips off the cops. Heinz rapes and murders the lesbian, while Luigi dies from an accidental gunshot wound. The cops surround the cabin and gun down Heinz, Christian, and Helen.
BLOODY FRIDAY is remarkable for not glamorizing its criminal protagonists, which was not the norm for crime movies of the late 60s and early 70s. It is only when the robbers are finally ambushed that director Rolf Olsen's staging makes a play for sympathy -- be they misguided youth or misunderstood human trash, did they deserve to die? Well, yes.
Olsen, who was more comfortable dabbling in lightweight sex films and mondo's, crams enough incident into the plot to keep our interest. The robbers' heist and subsequent flight from justice recalls every cliche in the book, but some scenes are remarkable -- the suspenseful escape from the courthouse; a toddler carrying a hand grenade outside the bank as if it were a toy; the massacre of the protagonists (equipped with extra large blood squibs); and a remarkably unpleasant rape scene, which is superimposed over slaughterhouse and, if you watch closely, hardcore sex footage.
Most of the cast underplays, which makes Harmstorf's intense performance as Heinz seem better than it is. However, his "Sea Wolf" is amusingly trashy, that of a cigar-chomping, machine gun wielding psychotic.
For those with a background in the social climate of 1972 Germany, one can discern the film's political subtext, with pointed references to Baader-Meinhof and the climate of social malaise that motivates the desperate thieves, as well as the ease with which they nab guns and start terrorizing the upper-class establishment.
interesting
franco-2826 December 1999
This is a film about a bank robbery, with little concern for other's well being. The lead is a self centered egotistic homicidal maniac. He surrounds himself with people he can control. He has no respect for women. Lots of violence, some shooting & deaths, really low budget. There is a rather interesting sex scene where the lead & a consenting hostage have different views about sex, I thought it had a realistic ring to it. I rented this under the title Violent Offender. I thought that it was enjoyable if you can get past the low budget.
A bona fide, bloody-knuckled German icon of cult Grindhouse cinema!
Weirdling_Wolf24 January 2014
Excitingly shot against the undeniably picturesque backdrop of Bavaria, Germany, Rolf Olsen's schnapps-sharp 70s shoot 'em up, 'Blutiger Freitag (1972) (aka) 'Bloody Friday' is a bullet-shredded, blazingly brutal, Euro-crime classic! This bona fide, bloody-knuckled German icon of cult Grindhouse cinema benefits greatly from red-headed rapscallion, Raimund Harmstorf's super-masculine charisma, its appealing Munich exteriors, and suitably energized score. Olsen's grimy, full-throttle exploitation epic,'Blutiger Freitag' is certainly no less skull-rattling an experience than equally flint-edged poliziotteschi classics, 'Bloody Payroll', 'Violent Naples', 'Almost Human', and Michael Apted's vastly underappreciated Brit-crime masterpiece, 'The Squeeze'.
With its unleavened thuggery, exhilaratingly cavalier vehicular carnage, close quarters douchbaggery, and an unfiltered, genuinely terrifying performance from the muscular, enigmatic actor, Raimund Harmstorf; a force of corrupted nature, his bellicose, hugely misogynist misfit, Klett frequently indulges in bloody bouts of splenetic, bone-breaking violence; all the while cutting a darkly erotic dash in bespoke grungy, 1970s turtleneck sweater'd, leather-jacketed chic! 'Blutiger Freitag' is one of those rare 70s actioners that more than lives up to the fanboy hype, all its destructive Alpha energies resolutely undimmed! Throw in a sinuous crime-funk score from the estimable composer, Francesco 'New York Ripper' De Masi, and you have an all-time, Top Ten-list making, gun-happy Goliath of German grindhouse madness that deliriously delivers bravura, hard-boiled 70s skulduggery unlike any other German film from then, or now. Prost!!!!
With its unleavened thuggery, exhilaratingly cavalier vehicular carnage, close quarters douchbaggery, and an unfiltered, genuinely terrifying performance from the muscular, enigmatic actor, Raimund Harmstorf; a force of corrupted nature, his bellicose, hugely misogynist misfit, Klett frequently indulges in bloody bouts of splenetic, bone-breaking violence; all the while cutting a darkly erotic dash in bespoke grungy, 1970s turtleneck sweater'd, leather-jacketed chic! 'Blutiger Freitag' is one of those rare 70s actioners that more than lives up to the fanboy hype, all its destructive Alpha energies resolutely undimmed! Throw in a sinuous crime-funk score from the estimable composer, Francesco 'New York Ripper' De Masi, and you have an all-time, Top Ten-list making, gun-happy Goliath of German grindhouse madness that deliriously delivers bravura, hard-boiled 70s skulduggery unlike any other German film from then, or now. Prost!!!!
Red dog and friends
Chase_Witherspoon24 February 2012
Womansing thug (Harmstorf) is sprung from the courthouse by two accomplices, then sets about planning the big heist of a local bank, equipped with a cache of high-powered weapons he's acquired from an American army outpost. Together with his faithful protégé (Macchia), who reluctantly on-boards his young girlfriend (Bohm) and her AWOL brother (August), the quartet bumble their way through the supposedly full-proof plan that aims to deliver them a cool million in cash and a new life in Australia. Predictably, things deteriorate quickly at every turn.
Harmstorf struts around in tight leather trousers, dropping C-bombs and picking fights he never wins with confidence and virility, an utterly repugnant and degenerate character. His internal adversary, the more even-tempered August character proves to be impotent to both the affections of one of the hostages, and to Harmstorf's increasing lunacy, remaining compliant in the hope of protecting his sister (Bohm) from harm. Generally the acting seemed pretty committed, although at times the atrocious dubbing makes it a mockery.
Paints a fairly miserable picture of working class Munich, often vulgar and violent, yet strangely engaging. The pitiful attempts by the gang to execute their plan, the constant set-backs, and Harmstorf's unbending belief that they'll all be free and filthy rich in spite of the escalating odds is worthy of the deepest sympathy. The climax was a bit disappointing but remained consistent with the overall tone, and while the jazz-pop soundtrack and dubbing will annoy some viewers, if you're not too picky, you might enjoy this quirky Bavarian bank robber flick.
Harmstorf struts around in tight leather trousers, dropping C-bombs and picking fights he never wins with confidence and virility, an utterly repugnant and degenerate character. His internal adversary, the more even-tempered August character proves to be impotent to both the affections of one of the hostages, and to Harmstorf's increasing lunacy, remaining compliant in the hope of protecting his sister (Bohm) from harm. Generally the acting seemed pretty committed, although at times the atrocious dubbing makes it a mockery.
Paints a fairly miserable picture of working class Munich, often vulgar and violent, yet strangely engaging. The pitiful attempts by the gang to execute their plan, the constant set-backs, and Harmstorf's unbending belief that they'll all be free and filthy rich in spite of the escalating odds is worthy of the deepest sympathy. The climax was a bit disappointing but remained consistent with the overall tone, and while the jazz-pop soundtrack and dubbing will annoy some viewers, if you're not too picky, you might enjoy this quirky Bavarian bank robber flick.
Tougher than leather ... pants
Karl Self4 December 2018
This is just a great, over the top story of a bank heist gone wrong with the greatest bad boy of movie history, Raimund Harmstorf. Chock full with (visual) violence, cheap FX and really the greatest trash talk of all times. And Gila von Weitershausen as the naive bit on the side isn't too bad either.
No idea why some see this as cult
Horst_In_Translation17 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Blutiger Freitag" or "Bloody Friday" is a West German/Italian co-production and this film exists as a German and English language version. It runs for approximately 90 minutes and was written and directed by Rolf Olsen. The main genre here is crime with some dramatic moments. I personally found it a very underwhelming watch. This film does not really deserve to be known. The story is poor for the most part and most of the actors also can't elevate the material, but then again you cannot really blame them as the material they work with here is so weak. Not even Raimund Harmstorf's usually strong physical performing managed to cut the cake here. I can really not think of a single reason to watch this movie. Not even crime movie fans should watch this one, or maybe I should say, especially those should not watch it as they will be heavily disappointed. There were no great or edge-of-seat moments and it was slowly dripping forward until the very end. I guess this movie is a good example of a film where the writing is ambitious, but the talent is simply not there to make such a story work as I would attest this film zero love to detail. Watch something else instead. I give this almost 45-year-old film a thumbs-down. They tried to make something along the lines of some of the impressive 1970s crime thrillers from the United States and they failed gloriously.
German poliziotto that is not as bad as it looks
tony_le_stephanois1 June 2015
If you consider the fact that the Italians, back in the seventies, were champions in the eurocrime exploitation genre (poliziotto), than it's no wonder they would have a go at it in other countries as well. Cineproduzione Daunia 70 (from Caliber 9) tried it in Germany with actor/director Rolf Olsen. He made the crime film Wenn es nacht wird auf der Reeperbahn in 1967, and the prostitution drama Der Pfarrer von St. Pauli in 1970, which are both quite good, so you understand why he wrote and directed it.
Bloody Friday is a more German version of the stylistic Italian poliziotto. It is tougher, more direct and also more over the top, I mean, it is sometimes TOO SILLY. The escape of Heinz Klett (great acting by Raimund Harmstorf by the way) on itself might be believable, but why would Heidi incriminate herself suddenly for her boyfriend Luigi, or would her brother do just the same for her? Just robbing a bank with a maniac, what can go wrong?
The heart of the film is this violent character Heinz. He is the cause of everything. How he bluntly accepts these amateurs for nothing less than a bank robbery, that's typical Heinz. He is like a caricature of a man, aggressive, sexist, opportunist and over confident. People who die just deserve it because they are weak, in his opinion.
Bloody Friday might look terrible at some point, but this film isn't as bad as it looks. It actually brings some surprising social undertones to the genre, which are usually lacking in poliziotteschi. The desperation from the other robbers give the film an humanistic context. Heidi and Luigi want to escape from their shitty jobs, while the brother is a deserter. It is also (very loosely) based on a real story, as Germany had to endure a lot of violence in this period – terrorism from extreme left wing organizations and violent bank robberies, not only by professionals, but also by amateurs, like in this film. I rate it 7/10.
Bloody Friday is a more German version of the stylistic Italian poliziotto. It is tougher, more direct and also more over the top, I mean, it is sometimes TOO SILLY. The escape of Heinz Klett (great acting by Raimund Harmstorf by the way) on itself might be believable, but why would Heidi incriminate herself suddenly for her boyfriend Luigi, or would her brother do just the same for her? Just robbing a bank with a maniac, what can go wrong?
The heart of the film is this violent character Heinz. He is the cause of everything. How he bluntly accepts these amateurs for nothing less than a bank robbery, that's typical Heinz. He is like a caricature of a man, aggressive, sexist, opportunist and over confident. People who die just deserve it because they are weak, in his opinion.
Bloody Friday might look terrible at some point, but this film isn't as bad as it looks. It actually brings some surprising social undertones to the genre, which are usually lacking in poliziotteschi. The desperation from the other robbers give the film an humanistic context. Heidi and Luigi want to escape from their shitty jobs, while the brother is a deserter. It is also (very loosely) based on a real story, as Germany had to endure a lot of violence in this period – terrorism from extreme left wing organizations and violent bank robberies, not only by professionals, but also by amateurs, like in this film. I rate it 7/10.
The first one who gets out alive is dead!
JohnSeal21 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Four criminals, including head cases Luigi (Gianni Macchia) and Heinz (Raimund Harmstorf), angelic but confused female accomplice Heidi (Christine Bohm), and her army deserter brother Christian (Amadeus August), seize a city bank and take staff and customers hostage in this violent German film. Luigi and Heinz seem to be complete nihilists, whilst Heidi and Christian just seem to be going along to get along. The plan starts to go awry almost from the start, leading to a bloody finale. Though not particularly good, Violent Offender is never boring, and features a pretty good score by the great Francesco de Masi. I'd like to see this film in its original language; though the English language dubbing isn't terrible, it isn't particularly good, either--hence my somewhat oxymoronic summary!
Blood and Guts
wes-connors13 April 2008
Indigestive red-head Raimund Harmstorf (as Heinz) persuades blue-eyed hunk Amadeus August (as Christian) to join himself and studly pal Gianni Macchia (as Luigi) in order to rob a Munich bank. Things don't go exactly as planned (wouldn't you know it); and, the heist turns into a hostage situation. "Bloody Friday" offers plenty of gratuitous violence, which must have been considerably more shocking in its day. A couple of the hostages contrast interestingly with foul-mouthed Harmstorf: Ernst Hilbich (as Ernst) clearly wants to be one of the boys, and Daniela Giordano (as Dagmar) wants nothing to do with men (she's a Lesbian). Some of the performances are all right; but, the actors are wasted in this bizarre, exploitive, and dated production.
** Blutiger Freitag (4/28/72) Rolf Olsen ~ Raimund Harmstorf, Amadeus August, Gianni Macchia
** Blutiger Freitag (4/28/72) Rolf Olsen ~ Raimund Harmstorf, Amadeus August, Gianni Macchia
Sleazy Actioner
Billiam-415 August 2021
Relentlessly tough and mean-spirited bank robbery drama is straightforwardly made as a sleazy actioner, populated throughout with disagreeable characters, but actually is not any much more than that (despite having gained a certain cult status).
A mixture of politics and romance
blumdeluxe28 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
"Blutiger Freitag" tells the story of a very heterogeneous band of criminals who decide to rob a bank, kidnap some people and have to see their own plans fall to dust in front of their hands.
The film is supposed to have a realistic setting, involving some bank robberies, that had been carried out in the days of German left-wing terrorism groups like RAF. Nonetheless, most of the time it looks like a cheap German romance of the era, delivering very one-dimensional characters and a lot of exaggerated emotions that tend to become hysterical at times. The plot itself is solid, even though I highly doubt the extent of realism involved. There is a certain level of tension and you do emphasize with the characters partly. However, some strange conservative undertones and the overwhelming emotionality prevent it from being more.
All in all this is surely an interesting piece of work, especially for cultural researchers, but it is more interesting as film history than it is as a film.
The film is supposed to have a realistic setting, involving some bank robberies, that had been carried out in the days of German left-wing terrorism groups like RAF. Nonetheless, most of the time it looks like a cheap German romance of the era, delivering very one-dimensional characters and a lot of exaggerated emotions that tend to become hysterical at times. The plot itself is solid, even though I highly doubt the extent of realism involved. There is a certain level of tension and you do emphasize with the characters partly. However, some strange conservative undertones and the overwhelming emotionality prevent it from being more.
All in all this is surely an interesting piece of work, especially for cultural researchers, but it is more interesting as film history than it is as a film.
"We're Movin' Into The Big Time, Now!"...
azathothpwiggins25 August 2021
Violent criminal mastermind, Heinz Klett (Raimund Harmstorf) escapes police custody in order to pull off his latest caper. Rejoining his cronies and acquiring heavy military weaponry, the gang sets out to rob a bank.
Unfortunately, everything goes pear-shaped. Surrounded by the police, Klett and company grow more desperate by the second. Then, a kid gets a hold of a grenade and... BOOM!
The true strength of BLOODY FRIDAY is the Klett character. Harmstorf is an imposing figure like a Kodiak bear, only hairier! His enormousness is accentuated by his giant Elvis sunglasses, leather pants, and bomber jacket. Harmstorf gobbles up his role with gusto and sadistic glee.
This is a classic of German / Italian crime cinema...
Unfortunately, everything goes pear-shaped. Surrounded by the police, Klett and company grow more desperate by the second. Then, a kid gets a hold of a grenade and... BOOM!
The true strength of BLOODY FRIDAY is the Klett character. Harmstorf is an imposing figure like a Kodiak bear, only hairier! His enormousness is accentuated by his giant Elvis sunglasses, leather pants, and bomber jacket. Harmstorf gobbles up his role with gusto and sadistic glee.
This is a classic of German / Italian crime cinema...
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