Almost Human

Happy Belated 90th Birthday Tomas Milian

by John Charet

Friday, March 3, 2023, Tomas Milian would have turned 90-years-old. Click here to view a wikipedia entry on him. In honor of this Cuban-born actor with citizenship in both the United States and Italy, I would like to wish Tomas Milian a happy belated 90th birthday. Though primarily remembered as a star of Italy’s two most profitable genres/sub-genres (Spaghetti Westerns and Poliziotteschis), Milian’s interest in acting started when he was a student at New York’s prestigious Actor’s Studio before heading to Italy. As his career took off, Milian proved that he was every bit as comfortable playing charismatic anti-heroes (Django Kill… If You Live, Shoot!) as he was playing no-nonsense cops (The Tough Ones) and sleazy criminals (Almost Human). I still have to see the Nico Giraldi films, but Steve (a regular visitor on here) implies to me that they are unique within the Poliziotteschi sub-genre 🙂 I have loved everything Steve has recommended to me and these films (there are 11 in total) should be no exception 🙂 Milian has also worked with some of the most esteemed European filmmakers of all-time including Luchino Visconti, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Claude Chabrol, Bernardo Bertolucci and Michelangelo Antonioni. He has also collaborated with some of the most prominent American/English directors of our time, which include Carol Reed, Dennis Hopper, Abel Ferrara, Tony Scott, Sydney Pollack, Oliver Stone, John Frankenheimer, Steven Spielberg, James Gray and Stephen Soderbergh.

Click here to view a fan site dedicated to Tomas Milian (note: one might have to translate it to English since it is an Italian website)

Click here to view a youtube video link to a 2017 documentary interviewing Tomas Milian entitled The Journey of Tomas Milian

Click here to view a youtube video link to a 2013 Italian television interview with Tomas Milian (note: one might have to go to settings on the video to translate the subtitles to English)

Click here to view a youtube link to an interview with Tomas Milian and actor Fabio Testi on Lucio Fulci’s 1975 spaghetti western Four of the Apocalypse

Last, but not least, here is a list of my favorite Tomas Milian films 🙂 All of which I gave * * * * (out of * * * *) stars to

  1. Boccaccio ’70 (1962) (Segment: The Temptation of Dr. Antonio) (Dir: Luchino Visconti) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  2. Ro.Go.Pa.G. (1963) (Segment: La ricotta) (Dir: Pier Paolo Pasolini) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  3. The Big Gundown (1967) (Dir: Sergio Sollima) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  4. Face to Face (1967) (Dir: Sergio Sollima) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  5. Django Kill… If You Live, Shoot! (1967) (Dir: Giulio Questi) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  6. Run, Man, Run (1968) (Dir: Sergio Sollima) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  7. Companeros (1970) (Dir: Sergio Corbucci) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  8. Sonny and Jed (1972) (Dir: Sergio Corbucci) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  9. Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972) (Dir: Lucio Fulci) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  10. Almost Human (1974) (Dir: Umberto Lenzi) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  11. Four of the Apocalypse (1975) (Dir: Lucio Fulci) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  12. The Tough Ones (1976) (Dir: Umberto Lenzi) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  13. La Luna (1979) (Dir: Bernardo Bertolucci) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  14. Identification of a Woman (1982) (Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni) Click here to view what may be a revival trailer for the film
  15. Miami Vice – Season 2 (1985) (Episode: Bought and Paid For) (Dir: John Nicolella)

What is your favorite Tomas Milian films? If you have seen a good number of them?

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John Charet’s Take On: Almost Human (1974)

by John Charet

Please note that the following may contain some spoilers so If you have not seen the film, I recommend not to continue reading from here.

Although some have implied that Almost Human ranks as the number one best poliziotteschi film ever, I am not too sure. Nevertheless, I do agree that it ranks as one of the many greatest ones. Almost Human (like many poliziotteschi entries made before and after it) may have been shot on a shoestring, but what it lacked in it’s budget, more than compensated with their truly gritty flavor.

In Milan, homicidal small-time thief Giulio Sacchi (Tomas Milian) aspires to get rich, so he hatches up a plan to kidnap the daughter (Laura Belli) of a wealthy businessman (Giudo Alberti). Using his girlfriend’s (Anita Strindberg) car as transportation, Sacchi then buys a bunch of guns from an old acquaintance (Pippa Starnazza). Simultaneously, Sacchi hires some hoods to execute the kidnapping. At first, Sacchi’s plan looks like a success, but as Inspector Walter Grandi (Henry Silva) and his team of cops begin to slowly put the pieces together, Sacchi loses his sanity and in the process, jeopardizes the lives of everyone around him.

I will not go any further with the plot from here, just watch for yourselves. As for Tomas Milian himself, he was robbed of an Oscar nomination for his electrifying performance here as the psychotic Giulio Sacchi. One minute he is quick-witted and then the next, suddenly incompetent. Speaking of the latter, check out the scenes featuring his mob boss Ugo Maione (Luciano Catenacci) beating the crap out of Sacchi for screwing up – can you really blame him? Perverted? Aside from the kidnapped girl, Sacchi rapes two women during that notorious home invasion sequence. Sadistic? Once again, read that last sentence. Murderous? He does not seem to mind killing his girlfriend, an old colleague or his own goons. Along with Malcolm McDowell’s Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange, Milian’s Giulio Sacchi is truly bad to the bone. While not the scene-stealer that Milian is, veteran tough-guy actor Henry Silva offers excellent support as detective Walter Grandi, who credibly dishes out Dirty Harry Callahan-like justice.

* * * * (Out of * * * *) stars

Here is a youtube video link to what may be the film’s American trailer (released under the title The Death Dealer)

P.S. I also want to give a huge shout out to Steve (a fellow reader of this blog) for introducing me to this excellent film 🙂 If any of you readers are interested in watching his videos (and I am one of them), click here to view his youtube channel – great stuff indeed 🙂