The Law (1960)

An all star cast fuels this story of a sleepy Italian fishing village where illicit passions, hypocrisy and abuse churn beneath the town's quiet surface. In this riveting drama, directed by Jules Dassin (Topkapi, Night and the City, Never on Sunday), Gina Lollobrigida smoulders as Marietta, the most attractive woman in town. Every man wants her, but she only has eyes for Enrico (Marcello Mastroianni), a young, handsome engineer whose desperate poverty prevents him from marrying her. Yves Montand is Matteo Brigante, an unscrupulous gangster who seduces his son's girlfriend, Donna Lucrezia (Melina Mercouri), to break them up. The tensions steadily build and threaten to explode in a town where "the law" is a cruel game played by men ruled by their desires. Originally released in the U.S. as "Where the Hot Wind Blows."

Lollobrigida in top form

THE LAW/WHERE THE HOT WIND BLOWS shows Gina Lollobrigida at 31, in top form both as a beautiful woman and as an actress. God, how gorgeous she was, and how hot, sensual, desirable is her Marietta! No wonder every man in town lusts after her! The whole cast is wonderful: Mastroianni, Mercouri, Montand, Stoppa and the great Pierre Brasseur. Jules Dassin's direction does justice to the Vailland novel, for the most part. It is urgent to restore this film and release it in DVD format with extras, including a competent critical commentary. January 17, 2007

Gina Lollobrigida Rules!!

Gina Lollobrigida rules in this movie about life and love in a small italian fishing village.It's a must see classic!! December 6, 2003

Strange fish of a movie

What a wonderful cast of actors (good grief: even the son of the director, Joe Dassin , later known as a very popular singer in France, has a small part..)and what strange going-ons in this plot involving the games of power in a (otherwise lovely and peaceful) Italian fisherman's village. It is corny at time , gripping at others,with beautiful camera shots and a never flagging smoldering action, as the heat builds on in the village as well as on the screen.But why did AMAZON list this movie as being Italian spoken, when the version I received is actually in French? August 18, 2000

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