Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Violent City (1970)

Original title: Citta Violenta

AKA: The Family

Director: Sergio Sollima

Writers: Arduino Maiuri, Massimo De Rita, Sauro Scavolini, Gianfranco Calligarich, Lina Wertmuller, Sergio Sollima

Composer: Ennio Morricone

Starring: Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Michel Constantin, Telly Savalas, Umberto Orsini, Ray Saunders, Benjamin Lev, Peter Dane, George Savalas, Beryl Salvatore, Robert Spafford, Goffredo Unger

More info: IMDb

Tagline: "The Godfather" Gave You an Offer You Couldn't Refuse. "The Family" Gives You No Alternative.

Plot: After a bloody double-cross leaves him for dead, professional hit man Jeff tracks the shooter and his beautiful mistress to New Orleans. But when Jeff takes both revenge and the woman, he finds himself blackmailed by a powerful crime boss who wants the fiercely independent gunman to join his organization. Jeff refuses, and is hunted through an unforgiving city where love is like a loaded gun and debts of vengeance are paid in bullets.



My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes!!!


#50 on Project: Badass Charles Bronson

BRONSON'S AGE: 48
LEVEL OF BADASSICITY (10 being the highest): 10

This has been one of my favorite Bronson pictures for twenty years.  It's a damn fine film.  Bronson is great as is Ireland and Savalas.  The characters and the story have more depth than your typical crime thriller.  It takes a while for the story to unfold until you know most of what's been going on but there are some twists and turns that ultimately make this a film about more than just revenge.  But let's not forget that revenge is sweet although it's sweeter for us the viewer than it is for Bronson.  And the ending is masterfully executed.  I LOVE this movie.  Even Ennio Morricone's score has balls.  You also get some shots of New Orleans not seen in other movies.  This picture is a great example of how good a Bronson picture could be and one that a lot of people probably haven't seen.  If you haven't, you should fix that.




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