Il Boss: AKA Henry Silva vs the World.

"Il Boss" is the kinda movie where I can think of a dozen other apt titles (Though it's current title perfectly suits it). "Mafioso Massacre", "Lanzetta" or "Henry Silva: Badass" spring to mind. Despite possibly being the most simplistic film in the milieu trilogy, it's hands down the most vicious and brutal of the three films.

"Il Boss" follows the exploits of one Lanzetta, a gunman raised by Mafia Don Daniello to be a killing machine. Following a successful mass-assassination, Cocchi, brother to one of the victims, decides to take revenge. He abducts Daniello's daughter and asks that Daniello himself come to retrieve her, clearly intending to kill the man when he shows up.
Don Corrasco (The late great Richard Conte), Daniello's superior, tells him to sit still, that sacrifices must be made. He also asks Lanzetta to keep an eye on his adoptive father, telling him to take whatever measures he must to prevent him from giving in to Cocchi's demands.
As one may guess from this set-up, all fucking hell breaks loose.

Skull-faced Silva at his coolest and most callous.

Now, if you go into this simply for blood, you'll be damn well satisfied. This isn't to say the movie doesn't stand on it's own merits, it's a sodding mafia epic and must be seen to be believed. But really, the body count gets so absurdly high that any lust for blood you have will be sated for at least the week ensuing. It doesn't even feel glorified, if anything most of these characters, from the most powerful boss to the lowliest thug, die horribly and ingloriously.
Speaking of Inglorious, Tarantino fucking aped the shit out of this flick. I won't got into detail to avoid spoilers, but you can't watch the opening scene to this film and claim it doesn't make you think of a particular scene in "Inglourious Basterds"....Which is a TERRIBLE film by the way..just saying.

Silva gives what's possibly the performance of his career as the professional Lanzetta. He manages to come across as simultaneously professional and yet naive and prone to romantic notions. One moment he's a hardened killer, the next he's hesitant, unsure as to the acts he's committed or the death's he's caused. Which isn't to say he isn't a bit of a bastard, considering the sheer amount of men he guns down without batting an eyelash. Although, considering the men he's up against, one doesn't find it hard to sympathize.

The rest of the cast is great as well. Conte's Corrasco is the ultimate in patriarchal bastardry. Totally benign to the very men who's throats he's going to have cut. Though I can't seem to find the actors name, the police commissioner who feels condemned to sitting around, simply waiting for the mafia to do itself in is hysterical in his cynicism. Antonia Santilli also gives a great turn as the daughter of Don Daniello who, rather than feeling terror over her captivity, decides to enjoy herself as much as she possibly can. Pier Paolo Copponi as Cocchi portrays one of the more suave and utterly cruel characters I've ever bloody well seen!
Gads, as you can tell, I could go on about the performances in this bloody film. Like the prior bits of the Milieu Trilogy, this films got character to spare.

A fiery fate awaits about 80% of the film's cast.

More than anything, this film beggars the question, how did Silva not become a star back home? One almost gets the sense that he could have done dozens of films like this one and still made each and every one of them supremely entertaining. I'm guessing that he looked a little too intense for audiences that most likely desired ruggedly handsome types in their war epics and low-budget biker flicks...or likely not. One has to wonder if he himself either sabotaged his chance for a more American audience or chose not to go for that market. Either way, I'm incredibly ignorant and should prolly read up on him, considering I fucking adore him at this point.

At this point I've pretty much got the Di Leo formula down pat. Guy works for mob, does a decent job. Guy is betrayed by own mob family, kills every single one of them and then loses his humanity or his life. I even found myself accurately predicting what was going to happen in "Il Boss" as the story progressed, but it's execution is so visceral and dramatic that it doesn't matter that it's plot is tried and true. This is a organized crime movie par excellence, and a must-see for fans of the genre...or bloodthirsty folk who yearn for the days of red-paint.