Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Enzo G. Castellari
Starring: Franco Nero, Fernando Rey, James Whitmore, Delia Boccardo
By the early 1970s, cinemagoers had become burnt out on spaghetti
westerns and so Italy's action filmmakers turned their sights to a more
contemporary genre. Inspired by the success of Hollywood action
thrillers like Bullitt and
The French Connection, the Poliziotteschi genre was filled with maverick cops taking on
ruthless mobsters, and as with the spaghetti westerns, these Italian
films delivered operatic violence of the sort not found in American
productions. They also drew inspiration from Italian current events. The
'70s saw an explosion in the country of both Mafia violence and killings
carried out by political extremists, a period known as "The Years of
Lead."
One of the first major Poliziotteschi hits was
Enzo G. Castellari's 1973 film High Crime. Castellari and his writers drew inspiration from a real life incident
that had shocked Italy – the assassination of high-ranking police
officer Luigi Calabresi. Of course, the film owes a debt to American
movies, particularly the aforementioned
The French Connection.
This influence is seen early on with a prologue set in the French port
of Marseilles, then a notorious centre for narcotics distribution, and
also with the casting of Fernando Rey as Cafiero, a Marseilles
based mobster. Cafiero becomes something of a proto-Hannibal Lector,
aiding Genoa police vice-commissioner Belli (Franco Nero) in his
quest to take down the mobsters taking over the Italian city. As with
Lector, Cafiero isn't exactly a trustworthy figure, leading both Belli
and the audience to wonder if he isn't using the cop for his own
benefit.
High Crime opens with its highlight, a lengthy chase that
begins on foot through crowded streets before expanding to a car chase
choreographed by acclaimed stunt driver Rémy Julienne, who would
later work on the Bond franchise. As various of those involved boast on
the blu-ray extras, the chase was largely shot in actual traffic and
cameraman Roberto Girometti had a near miss when a flipped car
landed inches away from the camera. There's a manic energy to the car
chases of this era that has never been replicated, and while
High Crime doesn't offer one of the most impressive, it's
exciting nonetheless.
Sadly the film never quite replicates that energy as it gets bogged
down in a rather uninspired tale of cops, mobsters and political
corruption. There are lots of scenes in which Belli argues with various
figures, be they his boss, his enemies or his girlfriend, and
Castellari's idea of bringing energy to these scenes is to have Nero
shout as loudly as he can at everyone he encounters. Whether it's a case
of being lost in translation, the dialogue is particularly limp, with
characters spelling out the messy plot through their various
arguments.
If you're after over the top violence you'll be satisfied however.
Castellari must really hate dummies, as a variety of mannequins are
blown to pieces and run over by cars and motorbikes, and their
artificiality is all too obvious in this shiny new transfer. The movie
climaxes with a genuinely shocking piece of violence and a downbeat
ending that may well ruin your evening.
