not horrible nor great

Great Film overall

A different way of telling a story

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

"La Ragazza Con La Pistola" proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the old Jean-Luc Godard adage - "all you need to make a movie is a Girl and a Gun" - is not quite true; you also need a point to your movie, which this one sorely lacks; it's more like an exercise in how you can fill 98 minutes (!) with essentially nothing happening. There is some Italian-to-English, and vice versa, wordplay in the early sections of the movie, but then that's all abandoned and it seems as if every person in both Scotland and England can speak perfect Italian. Even Monica Vitti's undeniable charm cannot carry this one very far. * out of 4.

The first 15 minutes of this are just classic, with Vitti being 'kidnapped' - and a little too ready for seduction, even as she moans "I am cold as marble, you are kissing a dead woman!" The rest of the film has several fine comedic sequences, with Vitti ready to call out every 'putana'who does not meet her strict moral code as she searches for the man who betrayed her. I gave it 8 stars as I had such a good time watching it!As my review needs more lines, I can mention that La Vitti won a few awards for her performance, and that the film itself was nominated for Best Foreign Film. So while the costumes and concepts make this something of a period piece, don't think it is not make worthy of viewing. Very enjoyable!

Our main interest in watching this comedy was because Mario Monicelli directed it. Alas, the copy that turned up recently on a cable channel was not exactly the best. The film has a more British feeling than Italian, even though its main theme is based on perhaps an antiquated system in Italy where revenge is necessary to defend one's reputation and save the family's good name.The action takes place in a small Sicilian town. Vincenzo Macaluso sends his gang to kidnap a young woman he wants to bed and make his. Unfortunately, they take Asunta, and not her cousin. Vincenzo, who cannot resist a beautiful woman, has his way with Asunta, against her will. In the morning, she tells Vincenzo he must marry her to save her from the town's ridicule. Unfortunately, he has other plans, and flees to Scotland.Asunta goes after Vincenzo to get her revenge. She is always a step behind in getting to the scoundrel that deflowered her. Eventually, she lands in Bath, where she spots Vincenzo working at a local hospital. A kind doctor takes pity on her feeble attempts for dealing with the Sicilian man and ends up falling in love with her. When the opportunity to kill Vincenzo, Asunta takes a different approach in dealing with the low life she has been trailing all over England.Mario Monicelli, a genius in his own right, might have been a bit out of his league working in England. The screenplay is not exactly what one might have expected from Ronald Harwood, the adapter, who up to that point had only worked on television. The screenplay by Luigi Magni and Rodolfo Sonego has some good moments, especially the scenes in Sicily in the opening sequence and in the flashbacks to the sort of "Greek Chorus" composed of the townspeople haunting Asunta's resolve to kill Vincenzo.Monica Vitti, one of the leading actresses of the Italian cinema showed she had a knack for comedy. She is properly exaggerated as Asunta reacts to the English world around her. The great Carlo Giuffre appears as Vincenzo, a lady killer who finds his way into the hearts of English women. Stanley Baker shows toward the last part of the film.

After looking for a long time I was finally able to get a decent VHS copy of this movie which I had never seen.For me it completes my collection of all of Stanley Baker's theatrical movies.Sicilian Monica Vitti is "wronged" by her boyfriend who then decamps from her to London.Monica gets a pistol and pursues him with revenge on her mind.The movie is then a series of encounters with various characters who help her find then lose then find the debaucher.Stanley Baker, who turns up about halfway through the movie as a surgeon is her last connection. The denouement is a little twisty and provides a satisfactory ending.This is an odd film in which to find Baker. He was a major star but he probably just did it for the money if he wasn't being offered more substantial roles. As a point of interest, the first full length biography of Baker is up for preorder at Amazon UK.