The Bloody Hands of the Law (1973)

Original title:  La Mano Spietata Della Legge

AKA:  Anti Terror Squad, The Law Enforcers, Execution Squad

Director:  Mario Gariazzo

Writer:  Mario Gariazzo

Composer:  Stelvio Cipriani

Starring:  Philippe Leroy, Antonio Monselesan, Silvia Monti, Klaus Kinski, Fausto Tozzi, Pia Giancaro, Cyril Cusack

More info:  IMDb

Plot:  A crime boss is assassinated and witnesses to the crime are subsequently killed. A no-nonsense policeman decides to take the law into his own hands in bringing these criminals to justice.

My rating:  5.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

Meh.  Klaus Kinski's creepy-ass mug makes for a great villainous look.  He and his team are efficient in killing mofos.  It's tough to judge the acting because this is an Italian production dubbed in English.  I'd prefer to see this in the original language with English subs but you take what you can get, right?  Anyway, it's got its moments I guess but there are spots that drag, and some of them are partly because they don't have music.  Sometimes that's exactly what a scene needs but not for this flick, it needed more music and something that would punch it up a bit.  I'm in the middle of a 60s Eurospy movie and that one suffers the same problem.  There's a some action and nudity but it's not enough to make up for the slowness of the other bits.  I did like the ending being somewhat of a downer.  I like surprises.

Tony Arzenta (1973)

AKA: Big Guns

Director: Duccio Tessari

Writers: Franco Verucci, Ugo Liberatore, Roberto Gandus

Composer: Gianni Ferrio

Starring: Alain Delon, Richard Conte, Carla Gravina, Marc Porel, Roger Hanin, Nicoletta Machiavelli, Guido Alberti, Lino Troisi, Silvano Tranquilli, Corrado Gaipa, Erika Blanc, Anton Diffring

More info: IMDb

Tagline: By mistake they killed his wife and child - THAT was a hell of a mistake!

Plot: A mob hitman wants to retire, but his bosses don't think that's a good idea. Complications--and many bloody shootouts-ensue.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

Fans of the Poliziotteschi genre will dig this more than others.  It's got some great car chases and action scenes but it's the pacing that would be a deal killer for a novice Eurocrime viewer.  The movie is better than average but there are moments where it goes above and beyond like the aforementioned action scenes.  They're nicely edited and executed.  The plot is a by the numbers revenge picture so what's needed, as long as nothing sucks, is good action, kills, maybe some nudity (there's a little) and a good ending.  This picture ticks off those boxes.  I dig the ending but it could've been handled a little better.  It's not hard to guess what's going to happen.  If it had been, that would've been something.  Overall the movie can be a little slow going but there's enough to punctuate it throughout to keep it interesting.  I've seen it twice now and I think that's all I need.

Emergency Squad (1974)

Original title: Squadra Volante

Director: Stelvio Massi

Writers: Franco Barberi, Adriano Bolzoni, Stelvio Massi, Dardano Sacchetti

Composer: Stelvio Cipriani

Starring: Tomas Milian, Gastone Moschin, Ray Lovelock, Mario Carotenuto, Stefania Casisni, Guido Leontini, Ilaria Guerrini, Giuseppe Castellano, Marcello Venditti

More info: IMDb

Plot: A cop is consumed with the desire to get revenge on the crook who shot his wife to death during a robbery. The crook in question is Marseilles who is trying to assemble funds for his own retirement.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I reckon I've seen this at least twice in the past twenty years and it's the same every time.  Milian is bland as a sourpuss cop with a near constant frown interrupted with a small cigar in the corner.  He's got a good reason for being dour but he's no fun to be around.  His boss and co-workers were more interesting than him.  The action is OK but nothing memorable.  I liked the ending but that's about it.  I remember hearing that Milian died last year but I was surprised to see that his top two co-stars, Gastone Moschin (who was great in MILANO CALIBRO 9 (1972) and Ray Lovelock also died last year.  How about that?  The three leads in this picture dying within months of each other. 

Black Turin (1972)

Original title: Torino Nera

Director: Carlo Lizzani

Writers: Nicola Badalucco, Luciano Vincenzoni

Composers: Nicola Di Bari, Gian Piero Reverberi, Gianfranco Reverberi

Starring: Bud Spencer, Andrea Balestri, Domenico Santoro, Francoise Fabian, Marcel Bozzuffi, Guido Leontini, Vittorio Duse, Mario Pilar, Saro Urzi

More info: IMDb


Plot: Mino and Lello, two sons of a worker wrongly accused of murder, try to find out evidence of his innocence and begin to investigate mafia business in Torino.

My rating:  6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

For a Bud Spencer picture, you don't get much Bud Spencer.  He's in it in little bits in pieces between the flashbacks and present day.  It's funny because I noticed immediately that his American dubbed voice was different than usual and the usual voice actor turned up as another character that seemed to have more screen time.  I wonder why he didn't voice Bud.  Anyway, the movie isn't much more than an hour and a half but there's a mid section that drags.  There's too much detective work on behalf of the kids, the lawyer and cop.  The older kid does a fantastic job.  Oh, and the dubbing is very good, too.  If it were for that pacing problem the picture has for a while it would be much better.  The ending is grim and powerful.  I didn't see it coming.  I would say that's the European sensibility (which does play a part in it) but it's also the seventies when cinema got real and cynical.  It's a different kind of Poliziotteschi and that's a good thing. Don't let the kids angle keep you from seeing this.  It's much better than it sounds. 

Stunt Squad (1977)

Original title: La Polizia e Sconfitta

Director: Domenico Paolella

Writers: Dardano Sacchetti, Domenico Paolella

Composer: Stelvio Cipriani

Starring: Marcel Bozzuffi, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Riccardo Salvino, Nello Pazzafini, Claudia Giannotti, Francesco Ferracini, Simona Ogier

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  Hand picked to stamp out crime and violence in the city's streets

Plot: After criminal gangs wreak havoc in the streets of Italy, a take-no-guff police commissioner forms a highly trained band of motorcycle riding cops to stop them.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

This better than average Italian crime film from the 70s (a sub genre called Poliziotteschi) features a good deal of action and it is spread throughout to pepper the excitement value.  It's a pretty fast paced film that delivers the crime goods.  There's even a sweet breather at a bar...

Man, where the hell is this joint?  Road trip!  This picture has all of the ingredients to making a good Poliziotteschi like a groovy action score and even a little nudity which is something you don't see often enough in this genre but it's almost always welcome.  I like a little sleaze in my 70s crime pictures.  Hell I like a little sleaze in just about everything (come on, Disney, step it up a little, will ya?).  Like every genre there are turkeys, gems and a whole lot in between.  If you're into the genre or you want to try something different in the crime/action genre, give this one a shot.  Chances are you'll dig it.