| Action | |
| Story: | Tinto Brass |
| Music: | Riccardo Giovannini Blue Malbeix Band |
| Editing: | Tinto Brass |
| Producer: | Ars Cinematografica |
| Distributor: | Cidif |
| Runtime: | 121 mins |
| Country: | Italy |
| Language: | Italian |
| Budget: | $100,000 |
Action is a 1980 Italian black comedy directed by Tinto Brass. The film is reminiscent of the director's earlier avant-garde low-budget works such as The Howl and Nerosubianco.
Brass faced many difficulties in Italy due to lawsuits concerning the production of Caligula, so he filmed Action in London in 1979.[1]
In the film, an actor with hero syndrome has a nervous breakdown. He flees the town with an actress obsessed with the role of Ophelia, but they end up locked at a mental asylum. Following the suicide of "Ophelia", the actor flees the asylum with an anarchist patient.
Bruno Martel (Luc Merenda) is a "Z movie" actor with hero syndrome, often quarrelling with directors. He meets Doris (Susanna Javicoli) an actress who is obsessed with Ophelia but cannot get any Shakespearean bookings.
One day, during a nervous breakdown, Bruno "rescues" Doris from the set, leaving the town to encounter various absurd situations. They meet an old anarchist (Alberto Sorrentino) who thinks he is Giuseppe Garibaldi and the three are locked at a mental asylum where Doris commits suicide. Bruno and "Garibaldi" escape and take refuge at an awkward petrol station run by Florence (Adriana Asti) and her invalid husband Joe (Alberto Lupo).
Bruno Martel
Florence
Doris / Ofelia
Ann Shimpton
Garibaldi
Joe
the manager
the producer
the director (cameo)
the director
leader of the thugs
In Germany, the film was released as Sodom 2000.
According to Italian film critic Marco Giusti, Action is for many the cult film among Tinto Brass' films. Giusti praises the finale with the dream of Luc Merenda, who sees four knights who have sexes in place of their noses and four women who have sexes in place of their mouthes.