Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s

Very entertaining documentary about crime movies of the 70s in Italy. Quite a lot of people could be found and interviewed for this. It's almost like traveling back in time, when you watch this. The movie is also very well edited and shot. There is a clear distinction and structure through the whole thing (which can't be said about most of the movies discussed in the documentary of course).

If you like crime movies, than this will be an easy sell. It does appeal more to a specific group of people of course, but maybe some people will be curious and give it a try. I'm sure they will be tempted to get a few movies that are being discussed here. Mission accomplished I'd say!

I managed to see this yesterday at the Day Of Crime festival in Manchester, and was blown away. Eurocrime is my favourite genre, but there's not much information available relating to it. Thank God then, that this documentary has been made and we can now see the genres stars and directors discussing all the crazy, funny, amazing stories about making these great films. It's a long doc, but it packs in so much information that the time just whizzes by! It's one of the best documentaries about film i've ever seen and REALLY needs to be more widely available for fans of the genre like myself!! Please make this available on DVD soon!!

Dealing with the 70s Italian gangster film/rip-off scene, this is a fantastic two hours of interviews mixed with clips mixed with some very original animation segueways, all soundtracked by an authentic superfly soundtrack.

There is a general sense of good fun that runs throughout, even during the chapters that address misogyny and organised crime. Worth watching just for the car chases and scenes of actors genuinely doing their own stunts (the episode with John Saxon and live machine gun rounds is particularly memorable).

You don't need to be a particular fan of exploitation to enjoy this film; in fact its triumph lies in the way in which it weaves its own stories from the recollections of the chief protagonists. Highly recommended.

This is a genuinely interesting, well-researched and therefore informative documentary on the emergence, duration, and eventual decline of a very specific genre. Namely, the "poliziotteschi" that dominated the 1970s: those rough and raw Italian made cop and gangster films that only in more recent years have received something of a revival.

The Italians were always quick to capitalize on a fad, taking their cue from American cop films like "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection" and gangster cinema such as "The Godfather" (which inspired American-made knock-offs as well). However, they really put their own distinctive flair on these stories, upping the ante in terms of the violence and sleaziness taking place on screen.

Writer / director Mike Malloy gives us a number of extremely enjoyable interviews with the actors - both Italian and American - and filmmakers who were prolific in this genre. Among them are Franco Nero, Enzo G. Castellari, Mario Caiano, John Saxon, John Steiner, Henry Silva, Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, Chris Mitchum, Leonard Mann, and Luc Merenda.

Divided into several sections, the film has enough animation and visual gimmicks to transcend being mostly a "talking head" sort of affair, and it's delivered with an obvious passion for the subject matter. Topics covered include the origin of Eurocrime, the men who made the movies, the way that women tended to be treated in them (they usually didn't fare too well, unfortunately), the way that real life Italian crime organizations always made their presence known, the political climate in which they were released, and the way that they hastened their demise by adding too much comedy.

It seems like an oversight that Fernando Di Leo would barely get a mention; even as a relative novice to poliziotteschi, this viewer knows that Di Leo was a big name in this genre. Actor Tomas Milian gets a prominent mention, but is not seen during the documentary; a separate interview with him is an extra on the DVD release.

All in all, if you're like me and know that you've done little more than scratch the surface when it comes to Eurocrime, Malloy's movie will make you aware of how much there is to discover.

Among the funniest tidbits of information: Umberto Lenzi being outed as one of the "screamiest" directors that some of the actors had ever worked with.

Eight out of 10.

In the 1970s, Italian genre cinema was pretty much fad oriented. Always looking to cheerfully (and decidedly shamelessly) rip off whatever genre was popular in America at the time, be they spaghetti westerns, sword & sandal epics, or hard-boiled and rather racy takes on gritty American cop films, such as The French Connection or Serpico, only of course being Italian, they put their own exploitative spin on things. These cop films were known as Polizioteschi films, or more popularly, Eurocrime.

Eurocrime! The Cop & Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s, explores the mentality behind this genre, the factors that played part, and the players themselves, with contributions from the likes of Fred The Hammer Williamson, John Saxon, Henry Silva, Franco Nero, Joe Dallesandro & Luc Merenda, as well as from the technical end, from Enzo G Castellari and Claudio Fragasso.

While not without its flaws- it could have been leaner (it clocks in at over two hours, with some of it coming across rather needless padding), and fails to get any contributions (although this is probably not the maker's fault ultimately, in fairness) from the likes of Fabio Testi, Tomas Milian and Umberto Lenzi, and unforgivably hardly even mentions Di Leo, who even I, a relative novice to the Eurocrime genre am aware of- it's still a well researched and often pretty funny documentary on a prolific for its time, but often overlooked genre of Italian exploitation, with some cool clips and an awesome '70s score throughout.

Any fan of Eurocrime flicks should definitely check this one out, as it's very probably the only documentary you'll ever see on the genre, and again while not without its flaws, is overall a decent, well made and researched effort, with lots of entertaining anecdotes.

8/10, very enjoyable doc, and recommended.