Italy Armed To the Teeth: European Crime Cinema

[venoms5]

Here is an abridged article I wrote back in '06 (which, again needed corrections) when I had gotten more heavily into this genre of film after being put off with these films after seeing ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON back in the late 80's. That film was a truncated version of the otherwise superb slice in Euro crime sleaze known as ROMA A MANO ARMATA aka ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH...

VIOLENCE IN ITALY: ITALIAN CRIME FILMS

In 1973 a film entitled HIGH CRIME was released to Italian movie theaters which officially began the Poliziotteschi movies that would be popular there for a good 6-7 years. The film starred Franco Nero and was directed by Italian action specialist Enzo Castellari whose career is bubbling with various bandwagon movies like the JAWS clone THE LAST SHARK (1980), THE WARRIORS rip off 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS (1982) and the MAD MAX take THE NEW BARBARIANS (1983). Castellari would return the following year with Nero in tow to direct the DEATH WISH styled STREET LAW (1974) also starring Barbara Bach.

Although Castellari has stated in interviews that he started the genre, HIGH CRIME (1973) and the films that followed, were all Italian variants of the American films THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971), THE GODFATHER (1972) and the two most influential, DEATH WISH (1973) and DIRTY HARRY (1971). The one major difference between the Italian and US crime movies was the violence. What the Italians lacked in budget and shooting schedules, they made up for with numerous scenes of brutal and bloody violence. This made Italian cop flicks mainstays in grindhouse cinemas throughout the big cities in the US especially New York.

However, there had been a number of polizio's before HIGH CRIME (1973). These were more crime-noir movies that had a classy flair about them and somewhat convoluted storylines that required your attention. These were, however, no less violent. These would include such greats as Giallo specialist Emilio Miraglia's ASSASSINATION (1967) and Sergio Sollima's REVOLVER (1969) and VIOLENT CITY (1970) starring Henry Silva, Oliver Reed and Charles Bronson respectively. There were also similar cop films that would follow in the wake of HIGH CRIME's popularity. Some of this similarly themed movies are BANDITS OF MILAN (1968), THE BASTARD (1968) and LA POLIZIA RANGRAZIA (1972) a film which has also been said by some fans to have been the first Italian Cop-Crime picture.

I have not seen RANGRAZIA, but from what information I've obtained about it, it involves a special squad of police officers that work outside of the law to catch the criminals. There have been other polizio's that did in fact use this plot device. Films such as COLT .38 SPECIAL SQUAD (1976), ROMA VIOLENTA (1975) a film that is notable for being Maurizio Merli's first crime film and Deodato's interesting LIVE LIKE A COP, DIE LIKE A MAN (1975) are just a few examples. But which ever film was indeed responsible for the polizio explosion, the films similar in style, tone and plot to HIGH CRIME (1973) outweigh those that are similar to LA POLIZIA RANGRAZIA (1972). I only wish now I had picked this curious film up when I had the opportunity.

The most famous of these earlier crime films would have to be Fernando Di Leo's 'mileau' trilogy which began with the seminal MILAN CALIBRE 9 (1971) then continued with MANHUNT (1972) and concluded with THE BOSS (1973). This fascinating series of films was very different from those that followed in that these were solely, and almost exclusively, about the Mafia. Di Leo's modern day DOLLARS trilogy featured such actors as Mario Adorf (AND FOR A ROOF, A SKY FULL OF STARS) Gastone Moschin, Richard Conte (both THE GODFATHER 2), Henry Silva (MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE), Woody Strode (THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE) and Gianni Garko (SARTANA). The first film is widely considered to be the finest example of the Italian crime genre.

One of the most surprising aspects of this series is the performance of Mario Adorf. He was Guiliano Gemma's goofy partner in AND FOR A ROOF... but here, he is frighteningly convincing as the psychotic lead henchman for the mob. In the second film, his performance is even more different. A very versatile actor.

During the shooting of this initial trilogy, Di Leo began writing a second trilogy. This next series consisted of the polizio parody LOADED GUN (1974), NICK THE STING (1975) and concluded with RULERS OF THE CITY (1976). Jack Palance, Woody Strode, Mark Porel and Ursula Andress featured in these films. This second trilogy is not as interesting as the first at least not to me and I have yet to watch NICK THE STING all the way through but the first and second films did nothing for me.

Meanwhile, Castellari was asked again and again to direct more crime films in the wake of his first two hits. He would not return to the genre until 1977's violence packed vigilante-fest THE BIG RACKET and the downbeat and mind numbingly turgid THE HEROIN BUSTERS both starring Fabio Testi. Since he had seemingly no interest in contributing to the genre further (he did return with DAY OF THE COBRA in 1980 starring Franco Nero and Sybil Danning), another popular director would step in and make the crime film his own. That man would be the great Umberto Lenzi. Lenzi, who is best remembered for his down and dirty cannibal-jungle adventures and ultra violent horror pictures, did his best work in the crime and war genres.

Lenzi began his polizio tenure with the 1973 film MILANO ROVENTE aka GANG WAR IN MILAN starring Antonio Sabato and Phillippe Leroy. American gangster Bobby Baroni also starred in this film about three crime bosses vying for control of Milan. Lenzi followed this up with one of the best entries in the genre, ALMOST HUMAN (1974). Tomas Milian gives the performance of his life here (his personal favorite role) as a sleazy small time hood involved in an ever escalating series of violent acts that culminates in a great final confrontation with the determined and persistent detective played coldly by Henry Silva. Originally, Silva was to play the bad guy but Milian was adamant about taking the role as he'd yet to portray such a violent and sadistic character. Silva would get to play a villain in a later Lenzi crime flick called FREE HAND FOR A TOUGH COP (1976). Even though he is absent from much of the film, he gets to deliver some great lines. Silva would become one of the most recognizable faces in these movies and also appeared in WEAPONS OF DEATH (1977), CRIMEBUSTERS (1976) and the superbly sleazy CRY OF A PROSTITUTE (1974).

Milian would become a regular in these movies often playing villains and he seemed to enjoy essaying antagonists even more so than protagonists. He would play a character named Rambo (taken from the original novel FIRST BLOOD) in the 1975 film SYNDICATE SADISTS also starring Joseph Cotten. Here, Rambo is a motorcycle riding anti-hero who comes to town to visit a friend who has recently become a cop. His friend is killed in the line of duty so Rambo steps in and sets about turning the two rival crime syndicates responsible against each other.

That same year, producer Luciano Martino wanted a Franco Nero look-alike to headline a series of crime thrillers. The actor that won this honor was newcomer Maurizio Merli. The film was ROMA VIOLENTA (1975) aka VIOLENT ROME. The film was a huge success and cemented Merli as Italy's new action star of the time. Since Merli did in fact resemble Nero, his critics never took him or his films seriously proclaiming that his success rested solely on his similarities to Nero (actually, Merli always looked more like the construction worker in the Village People than he did Franco Nero). This bothered Merli to no end but one thing is certain; Merli was a better athlete than Nero could ever hope to be. Merli performed most of his own stunts and never appeared wooden in his action scenes. Merli would be a favorite of director Lenzi along with Milian. Although the two could not get along, Merli and Milian did at least two movies together, the classic THE CYNIC, THE RAT & THE FIST (1976) and the follow-up ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH (1977) which featured Milian as a vengeful hunchback. Apparently, Milian was a difficult actor to get along with much to the chagrin of Maurizio Merli and reportedly he refused to appear in the same scene with his Merli while shooting THE CYNIC, THE RAT & THE FIST (1977). But then, Merli wasn't necessarily the easiest actor to get along with either as his persona on screen was pretty much the man off screen as well.

Merli, while not the best actor, was efficient in the role of the embittered cop who despises a legal system that protects the guilty allowing the innocent to suffer without much hope of legal justice. He seldom got to show any other emotions besides those of anger and an often times sarcastic and callous attitude towards his superiors. But then this type of character suited Merli perfectly and he played it as such but he never escaped the Nero mold created for him despite his desire to do other types of movies to show that he could do something besides shoot a gun and bitch slap the bad guys senseless. He did get to showcase a more subdued cop in Lenzi's final polizio FROM CORLEONE TO BROOKLYN (1979). Here, his character follows the rules and never resorts to excessive force to accomplish his goals. Even with a less violent Merli, the film is still very exciting with action and suspense from start to finish.

However, in IL COMMISSARIO DI FERRO (1977; roughly translated as THE COMMISSIONER OF IRON) Merli gets to display a wide range of emotions for a change in relation to its ironic title. He plays a stoic cop who slowly loses his grip when his son is kidnapped by some criminals. One of the best Massi movies save for the final scene which was rushed for scheduling and monetary reasons.

Another popular actor who featured quite regularly in Italo crime movies was the aforementioned French actor/model Luc Merenda. Merenda would appear along with frequent American star Richard Conte in Sergio Martino's fine film THE VIOLENT PROFESSIONALS (1973). This film features a damn fine car chase-smash up during the opening. In several later films, bits of stock footage culled from this chase sequence would be pilfered for other polizio's. Merenda was also discounted by critics but not because of a resemblance to any particular actor, but that he was considered too good looking. Some notable Merenda flicks are NAPOLI SI REBELLA (1977; A MAN CALLED MAGNUM), GAMBLING CITY, THE LAST ROUND (1976; starring boxer Carlos Monzon) and Fernando Di Leo's classic THE KIDNAP SYNDICATE (1975). Merenda also did not get along with Tomas Milian and the two still do not speak kindly of one another.

Milian would also portray one of his most popular characters, 'Monnezza', first in Lenzi's FREE HAND FOR A TOUGH COP (1976) and then in DESTUCTION FORCE (1977; aka DIRTY GANG). In 1978 Milian would appear in a dual role again as a hunchback (seemingly the same one seen in ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH) and also as an off kilter mechanic (with a more than passing resemblance to his Monnezza character but with a different name) with a curly fro in Lenzi's LA BANDA DEL GOBBO (1978; aka BROTHERS TILL WE DIE). Good use of split screen is utilized here. He would also star in his most famous role in Italy. SQUADRA ANTISCIPPO (1976; aka COP IN BLUE JEANS). A series of 11(!) films all starring Milian. Only the first film is fairly serious with most of the remaining entries containing a lot of comedic elements. All are directed by Bruno Corbucci.

Throughout the decade, scores of other cop movies were popping up all over the place such as Massimo Dallamano's COLT .38 SPECIAL SQUAD (1974), THE BLOODY PAYROLL (1978) starring Claudio Cassinelli, THE BLOODY HANDS OF THE LAW (1973) which featured a suitably nasty turn by Klaus Kinski, Ruggero Deodato's sole entry LIVE LIKE A COP, DIE LIKE A MAN (1975) which is considered to be the most violent of all Italo crime movies even with the scene of the eyeball removal rumored to be no longer in existence. EMERGENCY SQUAD (1974) starring Gastone Moschin and Tomas Milian, Sergio Grieco's VIOLENCE FOR KICKS (1975) hands down one of the slimiest movies of any genre and the same directors BEAST WITH A GUN (1976) starring Richard Harrison and Helmut Berger. Grieco is without doubt one of the least subtle directors and redefines the word exploitation.

Guiliano Gemma also did a handful of these movies including A MAN ON HIS KNEES (1979) from Damiano Damiani, A MAN TO RESPECT (1973) also starring Kirk Douglas from Michele Lupo, THE BASTARDS (1968) with Kinski as Gemma's brother(!) from Tessari and I AM THE LAW (1977) also starring Claudia Cardinale

One of the best is YOUNG, VIOLENT & DANGEROUS (1976) directed by Castellari's cousin Romolo Gurrieri who also directed numerous bandwagon movies. Here, Tomas Milian plays a detective (in a very unusual character turn) out to arrest three young men who have begun a crime wave in Rome that becomes more and more violent by the day. Written by the master Fernando di Leo, the film follows a similar pattern set down by the previous years VIOLENCE FOR KICKS but does it with a much more professional hand and although it's very violent, the sleaze elements never quite reach the level achieved by the Grieco film.

One film in particular, A SPECIAL GUN FOR TONY SAITTA (1976) aka BLAZING MAGNUM is as good as any introduction to the genre. An Italian & Canadian co-production, the film is wholly unrealistic but is bolstered by a jaw droppingly vicious performance by Stuart Whitman. Martin Landau and John Saxon also star. Saxon, a regular in these movies, is totally wasted as Whitman's partner. Whitman is so nihilistically insane in this movie that your mind wanders from all the illogical situations. Highly recommended for its sheer refusal to adhere to any form of realism and a totally outlandish 7 minute car chase that's one of the best ever seen.

One of the most notable aspects of the genre was that, despite there similarities to American crime flicks, many of these films were based on real incidents that were going on at the time in Italy. Sometimes criminal activity was involved in the films release. A producer was kidnapped and remained missing for a number of years over an unreleased movie called LA BONIDITA-THE BIG RIP-OFF. The film was recently discovered in a box full of Japanese movie reels and was released as a special feature from NoShame on their double disc release of COLT .38 SPECIAL SQUAD (1974).

Meanwhile, Merli would appear in one of his best movies, PAURA IN CITTA' aka FEAR IN THE CITY (1976). Here, Merli goes to extremes not seen in his earlier cop thrillers getting revenge on a crime boss and his gang after the deaths of his family. Guiseppi Rosati directs this surprisingly well made movie and is further enhanced by the presence of James Mason. Merli would then participate in a couple of crime flicks with former DP Stelvio Massi such as IL COMMISSARIO DI FERRO (1977) and CONVOY BUSTERS (1978). Around this time, Merli felt that the cop genre had run its course and wanted to try something different. Merli appeared in his first and only western MANNAJA (1977; Merli did appear briefly in a spaghetti western from 1967).

However, Merli and Lenzi would collaborate one last time for the final crime movie of director Lenzi's career, FROM CORLEONE TO BROOKLYN (1979). One of the best examples of the genre it is quite surprisingly, a very subtle venture when compared to Umberto Lenzi's other cop movies. It concerns Merli trying to get a witness to testify in America against a powerful Mafia boss. But first, they must get there and go from one obstacle to another to make it to court alive. The somewhat downbeat ending assures that more trouble lies ahead for Merli.

The genre was coming to a close about this time with a few forgettable releases here and there like DOUBLE GAME (1980) starring George Hilton. The genre had its best moments a few years earlier but the Euro crime movies have a cult following (mostly in European countries) that keeps the films alive today and many of these get very nice Italian DVD releases with special features but sadly, most are not English friendly at all. A number of these films also play on Italian television in widescreen and uncut, but again, no English options save for a small number of fans that create fan subbed or dubbed versions from existing VHS releases (most with inferior picture quality) that have a dubbed English track.

[jiujitsu77]

now you are speaking my language son. seriously you have made my day.

double game and it's follow up are still ok, however as much as i like george hilton (i even like his entry in the sartana series "sartana's coming, trade your pistols for a coffin"), he just couldn't save the film from relative mediocrity. tony:another double game has little to do with the first, however not a bad release. no shame did an excellent job with it's release of the double disc

are you aware of digital conquest dvd?

[venoms5]

now you are speaking my language son. seriously you have made my day.

double game and it's follow up are still ok, however as much as i like george hilton (i even like his entry in the sartana series "sartana's coming, trade your pistols for a coffin"), he just couldn't save the film from relative mediocrity. tony:another double game has little to do with the first, however not a bad release. no shame did an excellent job with it's release of the double disc

are you aware of digital conquest dvd?

No never heard of the company. I have the DOUBLE GAME double set but could barely finish the first film and never bothered with the follow up. Hilton's best, IMO is BULLET FOR SANDOVAL in terms of his action films. He also did a crime film that mixed martial arts. The name escapes me at the moment.

[jiujitsu77]

go to www.digitalconquestdvd.com

if mark don't got it....well no one does

some of the best and unheard of in italian cinema

oh yeah fulci's bullet for sandoval is awesome, along with massacre time

[venoms5]

go to www.digitalconquestdvd.com

oh yeah fulci's bullet for sandoval is awesome, along with massacre time

That's just a rumor. Fulci had nothing to do with BULLET FOR SANDOVAL. That's Julio Buch's movie all the way. Have you seen Fulci's WHITE FANG? His western SILVER SADDLE with Gemma is hard to find in good quality English although there's a recent DVD of it but no english options, sadly.

[venoms5]

Looking at the site now. Love the IRONMASTER pic on the main page!

[venoms5]

He has a Greek subbed version of BLAZING FLOWERS. I have a fan subbed version from the Italian DVD. It's gorgeous. The movie isn't the greatest but the pic quality is great. Hilton's in that one too.

[jiujitsu77]

thought it was him as "second unit director bt taking over the whole project" kinda thing, much like zombi 3, but in reverse. that is what i heard through the nerdline

yeah order from that dude he has great stuff

and i just bought IRONMASTER at godzilla fest this last weekend, along with sho kosugi's pray for death. it's a goodin'

[venoms5]

There's a note about it in the Fab Press Fulci book. He had nothing to do with the movie. PRAY FOR DEATH is an excellent DEATH WISH with ninjas. There was word that the uncut version was coming out but that's been several years ago now. I didn't care much for IRONMASTER. There's a new DVD of it out in Germany I think. No English options, though.

[venoms5]

Here's a list of some of my fave Euro crime movies...

ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH

CYNIC, THE RAT & THE FIST

FEAR IN THE CITY

VIOLENT NAPLES

SPECIAL COP IN ACTION

BLAZING MAGNUM

FROM CORLEONE TO BROOKLYN

MILAN CALIBER 9

MANHUNT

THE BOSS

CRY OF A PROSTITUTE (the uncut version is highly recommended)

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

What about Contraband aka Luca il contrabbandiere? that was an awesome flick! And The big racket and the one with Franco Nero... I always forget the title... Heroin busters or something! Many good ones!

[Alex]

Here's a list of some of my fave Euro crime movies...

ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH

CYNIC, THE RAT & THE FIST

FEAR IN THE CITY

VIOLENT NAPLES

SPECIAL COP IN ACTION

BLAZING MAGNUM

FROM CORLEONE TO BROOKLYN

MILAN CALIBER 9

MANHUNT

THE BOSS

CRY OF A PROSTITUTE (the uncut version is highly recommended)

no rabid dogs? booerns

i've been trying to find a good uncut copy of cry of a prostitute for a while, one day they all just mysteriously disappeared from ebay

[jiujitsu77]

booerns! ha!

man do i feel like a noob. what the hell is cry of a prostitute?

[venoms5]

no rabid dogs? booerns

Haven't watched it yet. Again, I wrote this some time ago and removed portions of it. I state this at the top. The uncut DVD for CRY OF A PROSTITUTE is available on Italian DVD. No english options though but there are fan subbed/dubbed versions of this title out there. The English DVD is the cut version.

[venoms5]

booerns! ha!

man do i feel like a noob. what the hell is cry of a prostitute?

Here's a blurb I did on the movie from another site on August 16th of 2007...

Watched this tonight and what an amazingly distasteful, sleazy, squalid, offensive and repugnant little movie. A sordid version of YOJIMBO has Silva pitting crime families against each other for a personal vendetta. Nearly every scene brims with sleaze. Whether it be the abundant nudity or various sexual shenanigans such as a semi-strip tease rub down with milk or a rear entry poke with Bouchet's face inside a pigs carcass, or the numerous scenes of gore and gruesome violence such as vertical bisection by bandsaw, bulldozer decapitation or squashing by steamroller.

Directed with some semblance of professionalism by Andrea Bianchi, this film is miles away better directorially than his later BURIAL GROUND. Both films are good for what they are but here, Bianchi mixes salacious and savage scenes of violence with an assured polish that is totally absent from the other film. BURIAL GROUND is an excellent gore movie with a high "fun" factor but in CRY OF A PROSTITUTE, Bianchi really shows what he was capable of as a director. I should definitely check out his STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER soon. How is his horror film from '89 entitled MASSACRE? I almost bought that one at one time.

Anyway, Silva again is a human Terminator proving he was THE premiere (albeit underrated) movie badass. A title usually reserved for Charles Bronson and one or two others, Silva encapsulates the hardened "good-bad" guy and totally commands your attention in all his scenes with the bits without him leaving you wanting for his return. Bouchet is stunningly trampish as the wife of one of the crime bosses. I thought it was funny how the mafioso let us know his wife was an American considering the way foreigners view our women as loose and not at all relationship material. The first time I saw Bouchet was in the STAR TREK episode BY ANY OTHER NAME where she played an alien who, along with her commander were to get back to their home world thousands of light years away and save on food sources by turning the crew of the Enterprise into tiny box like cubes. Bouchet was a stunner on TREK as well presumably using her real voice.

Silva receives a spaghetti western style beatdown at the end only to show up shortly thereafter at the villains ranch for a similar styled showdown. The oft-used and popular machine guns in all these movies finally make an appearance late in the game as I wondered where they were considering everybody uses shotguns the bulk of the film. The ending is a nice capper to a great and gritty film.

The score is excellent. After hearing the first few bars during the opening I immediately fell in love with this score. Maybe a CD issue is in the works if there isn't already one out. Seldom can a film perfectly balance nasty and callous elements with a proficient flair for skillful direction but Bianchi does it here. I wonder if there are more like this one out there? Definitely high on the entertainment value scale and worth several more views unquestionably.

[venoms5]

What about Contraband aka Luca il contrabbandiere? that was an awesome flick! And The big racket and the one with Franco Nero... I always forget the title... Heroin busters or something! Many good ones!

Fabio Testi and David Hemmings are in HEROIN BUSTERS. CONTRABAND is okay I guess. BIG RACKET is excellent vigilante flick. Nero's crime movies are below. Let me know if I missed one...

RANSOM IN SARDINIA (1969)

CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN (1971)

HIGH CRIME (1973)

REDNECK (1973)

STREET LAW (1974)

HOW TO KILL A JUDGE (1974)

BLOOD BROTHERS (1974)

SMILING MANIAC (1975)

THE BLUE EYED BANDIT (1980)

DAY OF THE COBRA (1980)

[Calabresi Spara]

In 1973 a film entitled HIGH CRIME was released to Italian movie theaters which officially began the Poliziotteschi movies that would be popular there for a good 6-7 years.

No offence but it is well known here in Italy that Steno's LA POLIZIA RINGRAZIA was the crime/cop film that started the wave of Polizesco films that became so popular.

[venoms5]

No offence but it is well known here in Italy that Steno's LA POLIZIA RINGRAZIA was the crime/cop film that started the wave of Polizesco films that became so popular.

Yes, I have heard that. Refer to paragraph 3 and 4 above. I mention this very thing above. Castellari claims in an interview he started the flood of films. Clearly there were other movies before his but there were not the huge number of them till after his movie saw release.

[Calabresi Spara]

My friend write a book "Italia odia" which has the real facts about this film,trust me;)

[venoms5]

My friend write a book "Italia odia" which has the real facts about this film,trust me;)

I believe you. You are not the first Italian person to say that but Castellari says different and I mention this in the article above. But even still, considering the structure of HIGH CRIME, there are far more movies that follow that formula than RINGRAZIA. The popularity and career of Maurizio Merli can attest to that despite his first effort being something of a combination of both HIGH CRIME and RINGRAZIA.

[Calabresi Spara]

But Castellari have to say this as it he's film,in Italy it very different and LA POLIZIA RINGRAZIA a bigger film.

Maybe you should read "Italia odia",there is the 'real' facts.

[venoms5]

Maybe you should read "Italia odia",there is the 'real' facts.

That would be great. Is it available for purchase online and does it have English text?

[jiujitsu77]

venoms5..i wish to subscribe to your weekly newsletter

and i should seek out cry of a prostitute. any movie with henry silva is certain to be awesome. what an unsung bad mofo

[venoms5]

venoms5..i wish to subscribe to your weekly newsletter

and i should seek out cry of a prostitute. any movie with henry silva is certain to be awesome. what an unsung bad mofo

You will love this movie and you will spew saliva for silva after witnessing his performance.

[gravedigger666]

Has anyone seen italian movies "contraband" and "cut&run" and japanese "double suicide"?Worth buying?