This poliziotteschi probably qualifies as one of the more controversial in a genre which was not light on controversy to begin with! On its release it was unanimously condemned by Italian film critics as fascist and reactionary, apparently. Its quite easy to believe right enough, as this one makes Dirty Harry appear restrained. Its story follows a low-level thief who kidnaps the daughter of wealthy businessman and demands a massive ransom. I suppose you could say that the plot is fairly basic in this one - its just the details which make it stand out. One of its undoubted trump cards was that it was directed by Umberto Lenzi, who was not only something of a specialist in Italian crime movies but was known for a trademark sledgehammer style. To this end we have a movie which fearlessly fires into the realms of ultra-violence and sleaze, with no consideration whatsoever for good taste or political correctness. The gang at the centre of the story carry out an orgy of violence, while the cop on their tail uses vigilante justice to save the day. It's a concoction which will have today's wokies having spasms. But for those of us who are partial to Italian genre efforts of the 70's, well, this one certainly serves up the goods.
Lenzi's direction is very strong and there's also a solid script from the reliable Ernesto Gastaldi. We've also got an Ennio Morricone score to add additional class. But its maybe Tomas Milain who is the ultimate trump card of this one. He puts in a very strong, fully dimensional performance as the central criminal. Milian's such a good actor that he doesn't play this character as a pure icy psychopath, like many would - in Milian's hands he is both psychotic and extremely pathetic and, therefore, much more believable as a result. The remaining cast is pretty good too, with Henry Silva getting by on his stone-faced presence as the head cop and Ray Lovelock, Anita Strindberg and Laura Belli all putting in good turns also. Aside from the personnel, the film is probably most infamous for a notorious party scene which involves forced fellatio, naked women strung up on chandeliers and a child being shot dead. Its tough, uncompromising stuff basically. For my money, this is one of the best the poliziotteschi genre has to offer.
Lenzi's direction is very strong and there's also a solid script from the reliable Ernesto Gastaldi. We've also got an Ennio Morricone score to add additional class. But its maybe Tomas Milain who is the ultimate trump card of this one. He puts in a very strong, fully dimensional performance as the central criminal. Milian's such a good actor that he doesn't play this character as a pure icy psychopath, like many would - in Milian's hands he is both psychotic and extremely pathetic and, therefore, much more believable as a result. The remaining cast is pretty good too, with Henry Silva getting by on his stone-faced presence as the head cop and Ray Lovelock, Anita Strindberg and Laura Belli all putting in good turns also. Aside from the personnel, the film is probably most infamous for a notorious party scene which involves forced fellatio, naked women strung up on chandeliers and a child being shot dead. Its tough, uncompromising stuff basically. For my money, this is one of the best the poliziotteschi genre has to offer.