For more years than I care to think about, I have strongly felt that anything shot/written by the venerable, hugely versatile Italian film-maker, Damiano Damiani is well worth any film fans attention; and as far as I'm concerned, his exemplary, compellingly acted, immaculately crafted crime thriller, 'Day of The Owl' is most certainly no exception to that rule. The uniquely refined entertainment quotient of, 'Il giorno della civetta' elevated by its dazzlingly stellar cast, featuring that implausibly charismatic icon, Franco Nero, the uncommonly beauteous, Claudia Cardinale, a barnstorming, Lee J. Cobb, and another fine performance by the singularly underappreciated character actor, Nehemiah Persoff.
It could be argued that, 'Il giorno della civetta' (1968) aka 'Day of The 'Owl' might also be regarded as one of the earliest examples of the gritty, soon to be ubiquitous, hyperbolically violent Italian police procedural, that would luridly devolve into the more overtly reactionary, action-orientated, Fiat-fragging, blood-spattered poliziotteschi genre which we fans know and love so dearly! As with many other thrilling, Damiani titles, his richly layered, elegantly nuanced Mise-en-scène focuses far more on dense, relatable character development, seamy political machinations, and spell-binding plotting, than tumultuous car chases, and skull-wreckingly vicious haymakers! (Aye!! That would be you, Maurizio Merli!) Even if one were not all that familiar with the more boisterous end of 70s Italian exploitation cinema, maestro Damiani's ceaselessly fascinating dissection of Mafia corruption should still prove to be a most edifying viewing experience!
