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Vallanzasca - Angels of Evil

Vallanzasca - Angels of Evil (Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del male)

Movie · 2010 · 3 people

Directed by Michele Placido, Vallanzasca - Angels of Evil (Italian: Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del male) arrived in 2010 as an Italian crime film that sits where crime, drama and thriller meet. It follows Renato Vallanzasca, the Milan bank robber who made his name with audacious heists in the 1970s and came to be seen as a charismatic playboy gangster. Shot in Italian, it is an Italian-French-Romanian co-production running 125 minutes. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 6 September 2010, reached German cinemas on 24 February 2011, and had its international gala screening on 25 June 2011 during the 33rd Moscow International Film Festival.

The story traces Vallanzasca's climb out of Milan's underworld and the criminal career that turned him into a legendary figure in Italy, without giving away how it ends. Kim Rossi Stuart plays the lead, with Moritz Bleibtreu, Filippo Timi, Paz Vega, Francesco Scianna, Valeria Solarino and Lino Guanciale in the supporting ensemble.

The screenplay adapts journalist Carlo Bonini's biography Il fiore del male. Bandito a Milano (The Flower of Evil. Bandit in Milan) and is credited to Gerardo Amato, Angelo Pasquini and Andrea Purgatori. Elide Melli is named as producer and Davide Cavuti composed the score. The production companies include 20th Century Fox and the City of Milan (Comune di Milano).

DirectorMichele Placido
Production company20th Century Fox

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Cast

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Kim Rossi Stuart Kim Rossi Stuart Film actor · 57 years old Moritz Bleibtreu Moritz Bleibtreu Film actor · 55 years old Alessandro Genovesi Alessandro Genovesi Actor · 53 years old

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Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Michele Placido tells the story of Renato Vallanzasca, Milan's notorious bank robber, along a line where crime, drama and thriller meet. Kim Rossi Stuart in the lead is the film's centre of gravity; making a charismatic gangster both attractive and unsettling is no easy task. A supporting ensemble including Moritz Bleibtreu, Filippo Timi and Paz Vega backs that centre up. The real risk lies elsewhere: any film that presents a real criminal as a legend has to resist romanticising him, and a 125-minute running time raises the chance of falling for the glamour of the rise. Having premiered in Venice, it remains a notable stop for followers of Italian crime cinema.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film centres on Renato Vallanzasca, who made his name in 1970s Milan with audacious robberies. What is socially most interesting is how a criminal, with the image of a charismatic playboy gangster, could become a popular figure. A society turning its own outlaws into legends says a lot about the urban culture of the time and its hunger for heroes. Basing the script on journalist Carlo Bonini's biography gives the story solid ground, though this is a drama, not a history lesson. The City of Milan appearing among the production companies is a striking detail, too.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

A crime film about the life of a real bank robber. It deals with heists, the underworld and gangster life, so it is not one to watch with children. The film presents a criminal as a charismatic figure; if teenagers are watching, it is worth talking that through. At 125 minutes it is on the long side. For adults who enjoy crime films.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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