Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1983
Dagger Eyes
Buy Dagger Eyes now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Dagger Eyes' (released in Italy and France as 'Mystre'; also known as 'Murder Near Perfect') is a 1983 Italian thriller film directed by Carlo Vanzina, starring Carole Bouquet as Mystre. The plot deals with prostitution.
Plot
Mystre is a high-class French prostitute who works in Rome. Her friend and colleague Pamela steals a gold lighter from a German customer and hides it in her purse. The German and Pamela are mysteriously killed in rapid succession and Mystre is saved from an aggression only by the prompt intervention of Inspector Colt. Mystre and Colt come to a subtle understanding that will allow the pair to come to the fore of the international intrigue in which they find themselves involved.
The German was in fact a photographer who had taken very compromising shots of an attack by the Soviet secret services on an American office in Piazza di Spagna where a politician was assassinated. The microfilm from the camera was hidden in the lighter that ended up in Mystre's possession. Mystre discovers that her friend's killer, the photographer, is the head of Criminalpol, and manages to save Colt from them. Colt then kills his boss and decides to deal directly with the secret services to be able to obtain a large sum for the film and escape to make a new life with Mystre.
An adventurous succession of events allows the inspector obtain a million dollars, but the initial plan changes and Mystre is left behind. Mystre finds Colt in his golden exile in Hong Kong and instead of taking revenge, the couple fall in love. Not even the return of a secret agent, after the money from the film, spoils the new life they have made.
Cast
* Carole Bouquet as Mystre
* Philip Coccioletti as Inspector Colt
* Duilio Del Prete as Captain Levi
* John Steiner as Ivanov
* Gabriele Tinti as Mink
* Peter Berling as Reinhardt
* Janet gren as Pamela
* Samuele Goldzader
* Marcia Briscoe
* Livio Galassi as Pamela's brother
* Lionello Pio Di Savoia
* Gregory Snegoff
* Stefano Davanzati
* Roberto Renna
* Sergio Tardioli
Production
The Vanzina brothers were inspired to make the film after seeing the 1981 French film 'Diva'.
The film is divided into chapters, starting with a prologue (the attack on the Piazza di Spagna filmed by the German photographer). The next four chapters represent the four days that followed in Rome where the events related to the microfilm in the lighter develop, and an epilogue (Mystre finds Colt). The latter was imposed on the authors by the producer Goffredo Lombardo. Carlo and Enrico Vanzina wanted a dry and cynical ending, but the producer opted for a happy ending.
Location
The film was shot in Rome including at the Hotel Sheraton, which opened that year, and the Villa Borghese underground car park. The externals of the epilogue were shot in Hong Kong.
References
Buy Dagger Eyes now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1983