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

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

As the Spaghetti Western thread is running so nicely, I thought it would be good to have a similar thread in which we could discuss Euro-crime pictures, whether French (the policier and the polar), Italian (the poliziesco all'italiana or poliziottesco pictures - or poliziotteschi, which seems to have become the dominant word for these amongst English-language fans) or otherwise.

Today, I received the Italian Raro Video release of di Leo's IL POLIZIOTTO E'MARCIO/SHOOT FIRST... DIE LATER. I haven't seen this (semi-rare) film before, so it'll be nice to have a 'new' di Leo picture to watch. I've popped the disc in for a quick look, and I have to say that it looks to be a very exciting little film with a metric tonne of the immediacy and urgency that characterise di Leo's best poliziesco pictures; the English dubbing isn't bad either. Merenda has grown on me as an actor over the years, I have to say.

Isn't this slated for a release in the US soon?



I also took receipt of the German DVD release of LA POLIZIA RINGRAZIA, which I have seen before, many years ago - via the Japanese DVD release from King Records(?) This new German release looks to be a significant improvement. Has anyone else watched it yet?

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

Yeah, Raro's got the Di Leo film slated for release soon I believe both as a single disc release and as part of the Fernando Di Leo Crime Collection 2 boxed set. Looking forward to seeing it myself.

LA POLIZIA RINGRAZIA was released in English as The Execution Squad, correct? Been years since I've seen it but I remember really liking that one a lot. Time for a revisit maybe.

[The Silly Swede Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Silly Swede]

Not a police film per se (as he is a private investigator) I have always been very fond of The Day of the Cobra (1980) with Franco Nero. Nice score by Paolo Vasile and a very memorable chase on the rooftops of Genua. Has this been released on any form of disc?

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

The Alive/Colosseo disc of EXECUTION SQUAD looks terrific, we discussed that one a bit somewhere around here. I love the film, it's one of my favorite euro-crimers. Enrico Maria Salerno brings a gravitas to his role that most other actors in the genre simply don't have. It's easily my most watched of all the poliziotteschi I've seen. Stelvio Cipriani's score is brilliant and really is another character in the film. It's my favorite of his many variations of certain themes that pop up in films like WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? It's not exactly the same music but it's in the ballpark. Love the ending of this film, where Mario Adorf finally wakes up and injects a bit of hope.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

Yep, Ian: THE EXECUTION SQUAD is the English title for LA POLIZIA RINGRAZIA. It's a cracking film too. The German DVD looks to be a decent upgrade over the Japanese disc, and it's got a second disc with two hour-long documentaries - although they're in German only.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

Hmm. The feature has English audio or subs though, Paul?

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

Not a police film per se (as he is a private investigator) I have always been very fond of The Day of the Cobra (1980) with Franco Nero. Nice score by Paolo Vasile and a very memorable chase on the rooftops of Genua. Has this been released on any form of disc?

I agree, Chris: it's a good film. There's a crappy US fullframe release, which looks to be sourced from a videotape. There are also a couple of German releases, but they feature the German dub only. The best of the bunch seems to be the Italian release, which AFAIK is the only one to feature an anamorphic transfer - but it's Italian language only. I think there's an English fandub of this kicking around on the Interwebular-nets.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

Hmm. The feature has English audio or subs though, Paul?

Yep, the feature disc features the English dub.

[The Silly Swede Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Silly Swede]

I think there's an English fandub of this kicking around on the Interwebular-nets.

I knew I couldn't be alone in liking this! Any idea what this fanclub is titeled? My googlings are not going all that well.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

There's a fan dub version on Cinemageddon.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Two things that I often think about in regard to these films:

1 - It's a shame there's not a label dedicated to them in region 1 land ala Wild East (yes they aren't always great discs but better than the alternative - nothing) - WE did a couple crime releases but that was it. There are so many of these films that haven't had an english friendly release.

2 - I would love to have a comprehensive book on the subject like the Italian Glittering Images Westerns trilogy or the FAB book Any Gun Can Play. I have that nice German hardcover that's well worth owning for the illustrations alone and an Italian only book from Bloodbuster. I can muddle through them pretty much but a heavily illustrated english review/overview text would be a treasure. The short little Blazing Magnums book is nice for what it is.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

Two things that I often think about in regard to these films:

1 - It's a shame there's not a label dedicated to them in region 1 land ala Wild East (yes they aren't always great discs but better than the alternative - nothing) - WE did a couple crime releases but that was it. There are so many of these films that haven't had an english friendly release

Definitely. NoShame US had a good run at releasing some English-friendly poliziesco all'italiana pictures until their demise, but nobody's picked up their baton.

I often trot over to Amazon Italia and have a look at the amazing range of poliziesco films that are on Italian DVD (and the westerns all'italiana that have been released over there) and keep meaning to order some, but the lack of English options puts me off - it takes me two or three times as long to watch a film in Italian (as I have to replay dialogue to understand it), and if there are strong regional accents, forget it.

[Scyther Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Scyther]

I can only hope that the success Mike Malloy's Eurocrime doc had during its festival run over 2012 might assist in some of these movies getting properly restored and released here in the States.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

I received this German release of ROMA VIOLENTA on Saturday, and can confirm that it's got an English track. The back cover says German and Italian only, but the disc itself contains the German and English dubs - with no sign of the Italian track.



Video quality isn't great, but it's anamorphic. I'll post some screengrabs in a day or so, when I've got a bit of free time.

It can be bought from Amazon Germany's marketplace: http://www.amazon.de/Gewalt-durch-St...8&sr=1-3-fkmr0

[Wllm Clys Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Wllm Clys]

I'm fairly new to this genre. I've seen two or three of these films and thought they were good, especially Roma A Mano Armata.
Which 5 classics are going to convince me to dive into 70s Italian crime/police cinema? In other words, it's list time! :)