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Euro-crime: policier, polar, poliziesco all'italiana, poliziottesco/poliziotteschi

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  • Beautiful limited edition reissue (500) from Dagored for this essential Cipriani.

    I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons.

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    • VIOLENT NAPLES is freakin amazing. I'm starting to think anything with Maurizio Merli is freakin amazing. How have I not heard his name before? I'm surprised he's not talked about just as often as Tomas Milian and Franco Nero. His police detectives are quickly becoming one of my favorite film characters.

      Comment


      • Originally posted by Jason C View Post
        VIOLENT NAPLES is freakin amazing. I'm starting to think anything with Maurizio Merli is freakin amazing. How have I not heard his name before? I'm surprised he's not talked about just as often as Tomas Milian and Franco Nero. His police detectives are quickly becoming one of my favorite film characters.
        Merli's films are great fun. Check out THE CYNIC, THE RAT AND THE FIST and VIOLENT ROME, if you haven't already. You won't regret it!

        Just finished a long review of Arrow's new Blu-ray release of di Leo's MILANO CALIBRO 9, with a visual comparison with the Raro Blu-ray - if anyone's interested in seeing how the two releases compare with one another: http://dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=3707

        Raro:


        Arrow:
        'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

        http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
        'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

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        • Not surprised at all that Arrow would do a much better job.

          I have said it before and I'll say it again. I wish Raro would go away.

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          • If I didn't already own the Raro version (from the DiLeo set), the Arrow would be a no-brainer. That being said, I don't think that the difference (from the caps, anyway) is so drastic as to need to "upgrade".

            If it weren't for Raro, I wouldn't have seen most of this stuff.

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            • Yeah, Raro did okay by DEATH OCCURRED LAST NIGHT and that film alone justifies their existence in my book. NIGHT OF THE DEVILS was okay as well (among others). Sure, they have goofed on some - sometimes egregiously - but I ain't ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater yet.
              I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons.

              Comment


              • Originally posted by Mark Tolch View Post
                If I didn't already own the Raro version (from the DiLeo set), the Arrow would be a no-brainer. That being said, I don't think that the difference (from the caps, anyway) is so drastic as to need to "upgrade".
                The difference between the two is more noticeable in motion (the biggest difference between the two releases is in the encode rather than the transfers), but the Raro disc is perfectly serviceable. Whether you'd want to 'upgrade' or not would depend on how big a fan di Leo's films you are, I guess, and how often you revisit them.

                I remember when Raro in Italy were releasing di Leo's films on DVD back in 2004. Those were exciting times.

                I'd like to see Arrow tackle some of di Leo's films that aren't out on English-friendly DVD: eg, GLI AMICI DI NICK HEZARD or DIAMANTI SPORCHI DI SANGUE.
                'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

                http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
                'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

                Comment


                • Originally posted by Paul L View Post
                  The difference between the two is more noticeable in motion (the biggest difference between the two releases is in the encode rather than the transfers), but the Raro disc is perfectly serviceable. Whether you'd want to 'upgrade' or not would depend on how big a fan di Leo's films you are, I guess, and how often you revisit them.

                  I remember when Raro in Italy were releasing di Leo's films on DVD back in 2004. Those were exciting times.
                  Ha, and that Raro logo with the stinger that would inspire an unpleasant physical reaction.

                  thanks for sharing. Wasn't meaning to sound like I was knocking the review or doubting your interpretation, more saying that I didn't think that Raro did a terrible job with it.

                  Comment


                  • No worries, Mark. I didn't interpret it that way at all :) I just thought it was worth pointing out that the still frames don't tell the whole story (they never do, but it's particularly true in this instance) :)

                    That Raro 'stinger'. I never got used to it. Still frightens the bejeesus out of my to this day
                    'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

                    http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
                    'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

                    Comment


                    • Will MILANO CALIBRO 9 be released in the U.S. or is it just a UK release? Guessing UK but the site does say it's region free. I haven't picked up any of the Raro di Leo US releases (I have the r2's) but this is a film I'd like to own the best version of as it's one of my absolute favorites.

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by Paul L View Post
                        Merli's films are great fun. Check out THE CYNIC, THE RAT AND THE FIST and VIOLENT ROME, if you haven't already. You won't regret it!
                        Checked out THE CYNIC, THE RAT AND THE FIST over the weekend. Wow, fantastic. Merli is bitch-slapping everyone and I love Saxon's mustache. As much as I adore Spaghetti Western music I'm starting think I like the EuroCrime stuff even more. TCTRTF has a terrific riff.

                        Caught VIOLENT ROME a couple months back. Its great as well.

                        MILANO CALIBRO 9 was the first Eurocrime I saw (back in 2011). I didn't care for it at all and it scared me off the genre. I've seen a lot of European films since so my tastes have matured. Probably time to give Merli a bit of a break and get back into that Fernando Di Leo boxset. I'm due for some more Silva anyway.

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by Keeth View Post
                          Will MILANO CALIBRO 9 be released in the U.S. or is it just a UK release? Guessing UK but the site does say it's region free. I haven't picked up any of the Raro di Leo US releases (I have the r2's) but this is a film I'd like to own the best version of as it's one of my absolute favorites.
                          I don't think I've seen anything that suggests Arrow plan to release the film in the US, but the disc is indeed region free. Some of the extra features may be PAL only though. (I'll see if I can check over the next day or two.)
                          Originally posted by Jason C View Post
                          MILANO CALIBRO 9 was the first Eurocrime I saw (back in 2011). I didn't care for it at all and it scared me off the genre. I've seen a lot of European films since so my tastes have matured. Probably time to give Merli a bit of a break and get back into that Fernando Di Leo boxset. I'm due for some more Silva anyway.
                          Yes, those di Leo films aren't really typical examples of the poliziesco all'italiana, largely because they don't fit into any of the more conventional paradigms of the subgenre: eg, they're very different pictures to the 'rogue cop' films, and though they focus on the underworld they also don't conform to the conventions of the poliziesco films that feature roving groups of banditti. I really like them, but then I didn't see many of di Leo's films until Raro released them on video in Italy in 2004, after I'd already seen a lot of other poliziesco pictures.
                          'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

                          http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
                          'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

                          Comment


                          • I watched STUNT SQUAD (LA POLIZIA E SCONFITTA) (Domenico Paolella, 1977) for the first time last night, via the Raro Blu-ray. This is a film I'd never seen before: I'd been put off by the title, which as Mike Malloy suggests in his introduction on the BD, represents the film quite badly. Rather than a fluffly, lightweight stunt-packed picture about motorcycle cops, what I was confronted with was a gritty film about incorruptible policemen during the 'Anni di piombo'. There's a touch of MAGNUM FORCE in the vigilante-cops-on-motorbikes story, but here these cops are presented as absolutely incorruptible and their methods are depicted as entirely justified - and surprisingly sanctioned by the police commissioner, who in an unusual narrative development gives Marzel Bozzuffi's squad free rein for 48 hours.

                            Valli, the film's villain, is a chillingly amoral man; and his final comeuppance is delivered in a very unusual manner, as a product of mob justice rather than the usual heroic individualism of these types of films. The 'bottom up' view of society so prevelant in the poliziesco films is amplified here, largely owing to that ending, but also in the many scenes which feature the victims in their day-to-day lives before they become the targets of the gangsters.

                            There are two very good setpieces: the tense sequence in the hospital, after Valli organises a 'hit' ('job of work?') on a witness; and the sequence in which Bozzuffi's 'stunt squad', after receiving information from the pimp 'The Tunisian', tracks Valli down to his hideout in an abandoned factory - which Valli has booby-trapped extensively.

                            In sum, it's a very good film, and I'm a little disappointed in myself that I've avoided it before - largely owing to that (unrepresentative) English language title.
                            'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

                            http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
                            'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by Paul L View Post
                              I watched STUNT SQUAD (LA POLIZIA E SCONFITTA) (Domenico Paolella, 1977) for the first time last night, via the Raro Blu-ray. This is a film I'd never seen before: I'd been put off by the title, which as Mike Malloy suggests in his introduction on the BD, represents the film quite badly. Rather than a fluffly, lightweight stunt-packed picture about motorcycle cops, what I was confronted with was a gritty film about incorruptible policemen during the 'Anni di piombo'. There's a touch of MAGNUM FORCE in the vigilante-cops-on-motorbikes story, but here these cops are presented as absolutely incorruptible and their methods are depicted as entirely justified - and surprisingly sanctioned by the police commissioner, who in an unusual narrative development gives Marzel Bozzuffi's squad free rein for 48 hours.

                              Valli, the film's villain, is a chillingly amoral man; and his final comeuppance is delivered in a very unusual manner, as a product of mob justice rather than the usual heroic individualism of these types of films. The 'bottom up' view of society so prevelant in the poliziesco films is amplified here, largely owing to that ending, but also in the many scenes which feature the victims in their day-to-day lives before they become the targets of the gangsters.

                              There are two very good setpieces: the tense sequence in the hospital, after Valli organises a 'hit' ('job of work?') on a witness; and the sequence in which Bozzuffi's 'stunt squad', after receiving information from the pimp 'The Tunisian', tracks Valli down to his hideout in an abandoned factory - which Valli has booby-trapped extensively.

                              In sum, it's a very good film, and I'm a little disappointed in myself that I've avoided it before - largely owing to that (unrepresentative) English language title.
                              I like STUNT SQUAD as well, Paul. I first saw it via a fan version 7 or 8 years ago. While the frequent action and unusually violent pieces definitely make an impression, this one actually gets even better with revisits. In fact, really the main and only slight I can point to is that aside from Bozzuffi, the rest of the squad are pretty indistinguishable from one another. The villain, Valli, makes a much stronger impression. He's a nasty piece of work. That opening sequence in the bakery/café is truly savage and jarring and pretty much sets the tone for the violence to come. Always nice to see Nello Pazzafini turn up as well, and the Cipriani score, while maybe not among his best, is still pretty cool.
                              I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons.

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by Paul L View Post
                                I watched STUNT SQUAD (LA POLIZIA E SCONFITTA) (Domenico Paolella, 1977) for the first time last night, via the Raro Blu-ray. This is a film I'd never seen before: I'd been put off by the title, which as Mike Malloy suggests in his introduction on the BD, represents the film quite badly. Rather than a fluffly, lightweight stunt-packed picture about motorcycle cops, what I was confronted with was a gritty film about incorruptible policemen during the 'Anni di piombo'. There's a touch of MAGNUM FORCE in the vigilante-cops-on-motorbikes story, but here these cops are presented as absolutely incorruptible and their methods are depicted as entirely justified - and surprisingly sanctioned by the police commissioner, who in an unusual narrative development gives Marzel Bozzuffi's squad free rein for 48 hours.

                                Valli, the film's villain, is a chillingly amoral man; and his final comeuppance is delivered in a very unusual manner, as a product of mob justice rather than the usual heroic individualism of these types of films. The 'bottom up' view of society so prevelant in the poliziesco films is amplified here, largely owing to that ending, but also in the many scenes which feature the victims in their day-to-day lives before they become the targets of the gangsters.

                                There are two very good setpieces: the tense sequence in the hospital, after Valli organises a 'hit' ('job of work?') on a witness; and the sequence in which Bozzuffi's 'stunt squad', after receiving information from the pimp 'The Tunisian', tracks Valli down to his hideout in an abandoned factory - which Valli has booby-trapped extensively.

                                In sum, it's a very good film, and I'm a little disappointed in myself that I've avoided it before - largely owing to that (unrepresentative) English language title.
                                Terrible quality blu-ray though, isnt't it?

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