Very rarely does a low budget film rip off a major studio film franchise and then finds itself being ripped off by the same franchise. But such is what happened to Top Line starring Franco Nero (Django). When the movie came out in 1988, critics pointed out how the movie was a bit of a Raiders of the Lost Ark rip off. A treasure hunter looking for an ancient artifact with the Nazis on his heels describes both. But Top Line had a major surprise twist which turned out to be the twist that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg used in 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Did Franco Nero or Harrison Ford pull off the twist better?
Ted Angelo (Franco Nero) has fallen apart while down in Cartagena working on a book about pre-Columbian civilizations. He’s passed out amongst dozens of empty beer bottles on his porch. What really lets us know that things are rough for Angelo is his perm that rivals Mr. Brady on the Brady Bunch. You look at Angelo’s perm and think, “This man has made some really bad life decisions.” You don’t even need to see all the empty beer cans. He’s woken from a drunken slumber by a local girl who has been giving him the girlfriend experience. She holds an antique knife in a way that first makes him think he’s getting rolled. But she wants to sell him the knife and a few more antiques that her boyfriend found while fishing. When Angelo calls to get a cash advance from his ex-wife Mauren De Havilland (Octopussy‘s Marry Stavin) who happens to be his publisher, he gets shutdown. He gets a refund on his return airplane ticket to pay for the antiquities. The boyfriend has quite a collection of golden items and a diary of Nicuesa, an early conquistador who’s shipped vanished. The diary shows that the ship went in an opposite direction than historians believed. Alonso Quintero (Sabata‘s William Berger) and his assistant June (Die Another Day‘s Deborah Moore) see it as a priceless relic. Angelo needs cash and Alonso set up a meeting with a local collector that has a rather touchy past. There’s a serious reason he moved from Germany to Columbia. Angelo must go to the man’s house alone since someone tortured Alonso to death. Heinrich Holzmann (Cool Hand Luke‘s George Kennedy) doesn’t seem interested in the book although maybe he’s trying to lower the price? When another person turns up dead; Angelo gets the boyfriend to take him to place where he found the treasures of Nicuesa. Turns out the guy wasn’t at sea when he located these prized antiquities. The truth involves the reason why this movie was also released as Alien Terminator.
Top Line is what you wanted out of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. We get the hunt for treasure that turns out to be part of an alien encounter. What makes Top Line more interesting is that there’s a massive conspiracy coming down. Angelo makes connections as he discovers more and more about Nicuesa’s lost ship and the people who are interested in it. There’s a deadly chase and eventually the terminator part of the title shows up. Top Line is top notch with the weirdness constantly flowing out of the screen.
Franco Nero really nails the self-abusing writer in a strange country. The perm adds a lot to his performance. You start seeing him take a bit more in control as he sweats out the curls while being pursued by everyone across this hot and humid countryside. Equally transformed is Deborah Moore as bookish academic to Nero’s sultry partner in flight. George Kennedy has fun in his villainous role. He looks sinister as uses his car to slow chase a barefooted Nero across a cactus patch. Berger does well with his rather short role. It must be pointed out that William Berger played Banjo in Sabata. His character had a banjo rigged with a rifle to kill people. This character was used on Bob’s Burgers as the Spaghetti Western hero Banjo that Bob loves the most. The special effects on Top Line are effective in both the Terminator-esque character and the alien contact. Although nothing tops the perm on Franco Nero as an out of this world visual. Top Line is a film that’s completely entertaining unlike the forgettable Indiana Jones sequel that tried to mix ancient artifacts with aliens.
The Video is 1.66:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer brings out all the action in Columbia. You will see all the details of Franco’s perm. The Audio has both the Italian and English dubs in DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono. Nero did his own audio for both tracks. The movie is also subtitled in English.
Black Top! (22:17) is a recent interview with Franco Nero about the film. He shows off the card that must have been handed out to interested distributors. He immediately calls Top Line “a very bizarre film” with its mix of action, espionage and science fiction. He had fun making this mix of Indiana Jones and The Terminator. He explains how he cast Deborah Moore after her father Roger Moore said she was coming to Rome and would he give her an audition. Turns out this is how the cyborg was cast too. He talks about his other co-stars. He has a great story about fishing in Columbia and dinners that involve Nobel Prize for Literature inner Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
The Strange Case of Ted Archer (33:04) has Eugenio Ercolani investigate director Nello Rossati. he went by Ted Archer when this film was exported. Rossati is not a name that usually pops up during a discussion of Italian filmmakers ever though he made over 14 films. Turns out Nello Rossati’s films rare left Italy since he made erotic comedy films that were hot in the international market. Ercolani goes through the plots of many of Rossati’s movies including his zombie spoof from 1979. He did helm Django Strikes Again with Franco Nero reviving his career making role in 1987. This was a time when people weren’t excited about reviving the Spaghetti Western. It didn’t do well at the box office. Luckily Nero liked working with him since the next year they’d make Top Line. Eroclaini does a fine job giving us a sense of Rossati’s cinematic career.
Alien Terminated (12:37) deals with The Alien Theories of Top Line by Parapolitics Researcher Robert Skvarla. He gets into the alien theories in the movie. He starts with Roswell, New Mexico and works forward.
Audio Commentary by film historian Eric Zaldivar gets deep into the cast and crew of the film. He has audio interviews with cast members Deborah Moore and Robert Redcross. Actors Brett Halsey and Richard Harrison talk about working on Italian cult films.
Cauldron Films present Top Line: Special Edition. Directed by Ted Archer (Nello Rossati). Screenplay by Roberto Gianviti and Nello Rossati. Starring Franco Nero, George Kennedy, Deborah Moore (Deborah Barrymore), Mary Stavin, William Berger and Shirley Hernandez. Running Time: 92 minutes. Rating: Not Rated. Release Date: August 13, 2024.
