Violent Naples

Ever been to Naples? It's like a sprawling metropolitan city, only someone's decided to condense that sprawling city into a very small space, then add loads of markets and alleyways, then add loads of mopeds and cars, then add loads of people screaming in each other's faces at top volume. Naples is total bedlam from the moment you emerge from the train station. It really does chew you up and spit you out. I love the place, and would return there in a second, but will not argue with the opinion that it is, to be honest, an absolute hole.

Take it from me: I relished any time I spent there, but it does have an overcrowded, hyperactive atmosphere to the place. This seems to have infected the makers of Violent Naples, because nary have I seen such a Euro-crime movie that has so many story lines, or a pace that moves at 100mph....

Maurizio Merli is Inspector Berti - who has arrived from Rome on an assignment to another Italian city (he was hoping for something more exotic, but Naples is Italy's whipping boy so he regrets going there), and before you know it, he's getting death threats and is already on the case of some jewel thieves, and some rapists, and, to be honest, a trail leading to the boss of all bosses, Mr something or other (the film is so fast paced I didn't have time to catch his name - The Commandante - That's it!) Merli bothers himself at first with the rapists, the protection racket, and the jewel thief, plus an armed robber who manages to establish an alibi in sequences that had even my jaded wife's jaw dropping in awe at the actual lack of safety towards the actors or indeed the public...

Merli works himself up the line, exposing undercover police agents (none of whom receive a happy ending), wasting the rapists (one gets impaled on a fence, right through the jaw), and generally hassling John Saxon, a sleazy businessman who seems to have made a general series of mistakes leading to his heading into hiding...

Most folks, I'd guess, are introduced to Umerbto Lenzi through either his cannibal films (Cannibal Ferox, Eaten Alive), or his zombie efforts (Nightmare City) or for his late-eighties crap-fests (House of Lost Souls, Nightmare Beach), but I can say, without a doubt, that this guy was an expert in action film. He does not waste a minute of this film, even injecting a bit of pathos in the end as some sort of statement regarding the youth's arrogance in the face of corruption, or something. Look - If Tarantino were to re-make this classic, it would take him about nine hours.

Violent Naples is well up there in terms of greatness, in a genre the Italians rarely got wrong, and gets my highest recommendation. It's a sheer classic from start to finish.

Actually, I'm gonna mention how violent this film actually is, because at some points I had to say "For feck's sake!" at the TV screen. At first this happened when one of the rapists impaled his face on a fence, but when an armed robber pushes a woman's head out of a window in order for her face to be struck over and over again with a passing tram, my jaw hit the floor. Not to mention the guy used in a bowling alley or the ironic crippling of a kid, and you've got something mental here. It still doesn't manage to be as gory as Contraband, but it's sure up there.

Untarnished Euro-crime favourite, 'Violent Naples' aka 'Napoli Violenta' (1976) is yet another thrillingly bellicose, fruitful cinematic coupling betwixt the mightily short-fused, Maurizio Merli & steely powerhouse Poliziottesco director, Umberto 'Cannibal Ferox'. Lenzi. This time out the irrepressible, routinely roundhousing rage of Commissioner, Berti (Maurizio Merli) angrily finds gory grist to his ever-more violent mill by unearthing the criminal machinations of rapacious drug overlord, Francesco Capuano (John Saxon).

Needless to say with thrill-master general, Umberto Lenzi behind the wildly-spinning wheels of this rampaging Poliziotteschi juggernaut, Lenzi's brutal fistful of molars, 'Violent Naples' excitingly escalates to a fever pitch of tumultuously unexpurgated thug trashing, Berretta blasting mayhem! The stolid performances of craggy-looking, Barry Sullivan, and devilishly handsome Euro-cult hero, Silvano Tranquilli offer a temporary reprieve from the hyper-masculinity of, John Saxon and Maurizio Merli! The musical icing on this spectacularly Moorish Euro-crime treat is capably provided by maestro, Franco Micalizzi, his electrifying crime-funk score robustly complements the wrathful modus operandi of commissioner Berti, going pell-mell after the scum and villainy like some incandescently vengeful, PCP-crazed, Dirtier-than-Harry cop! Berti's histrionic approach to justice evokes the catastrophic tableau of a blood-mad bull run amok within the genteel environs of a Fortnum & Mason tearoom!

While I find director Umberto Lenzi's horror output to be hit or miss. However he never disappoints when it comes to poliziottesco films.

A crime wave hits Naples, and inspector Betti (Maurizio Merli) is transferred there to take control. This means, by any means. Any means. Despite his bosses not entirely agreeing with his no-barred, uncompromising methods.

'Violent Naples' (the second film of police commissioner Betti's trilogy) is vicious, though not entirely graphic (surprising being directed by Lenzi) crime caper. Fast paced, and action packed. Story is fairly simple, but it's always entertaining watching Merli go about his business. You know, roughing 'em up. John Saxon also shows up... and lucky to not get the backhand of Merli for his shady dealings.

Umberto Lenzi's "Napoli Violenta" is a first class cop movie that really shocked me.It's exciting and really memorable with some nasty bits of violence(including a fence post impalement and bowling ball facial).Maurizio Merli is great as a veteran cop named Betti.He sets out to clean up a protection racket run by the Commandant(Barry Sullivan).Along the way,Betti befriends a little boy whose father is murdered by the criminals.Since Merli passed away in 1989,"Violent Protection" attained almost a cult status in some places.There are some great car chases and plenty of exciting gun-play.So if you're a fan of Italian crime genre give this one a look.Highly recommended.

Umberto Lenzi tried his hand at just about every popular type of film in Italy during the sixties, seventies and eighties, and while he has some very nice entries on his list of directorial credits; it has to be said that he isn't the best director to try his hand at the likes of Giallo, zombie and cannibal movies. However, when it comes to crime films; Lenzi comes into his own, and just like Almost Human a couple of years earlier, Violent Naples is an entertaining and nasty little crime thriller. Like every film in this sub-genre, the major influence comes from the masterpiece American film 'Dirty Harry', and here we follow a copper not too far removed from Clint Eastwood's famous character. Commissario Betti is your typical disgruntled cop that favours violence over proper police procedure. He's fed up with the way that Naples is being run by the criminals, and so sets his sights on The Commandante. However, this man isn't easy to bring down, and since Betti is receiving no help from his fellow townsmen, the task of ending crime in Naples is left to our leading man.

The title of the film leads the viewer to expect lots of violence, and Lenzi certainly doesn't disappoint in this respect. We've got bowling balls to the head, a young woman having her face scraped off on a moving train, a man impaled on a sharp fence and many other such delights. Overall, it has to be said that this film isn't very original, but Lenzi injects some freshness into it with a barrage of exciting chase scenes (the best of which take a point of view shot from the front of a motorbike) and violent shootouts. The good thing about these Polizia movies is that they are played out for pure entertainment value, meaning that Lenzi is free from trying to be arty, and can pack in as much violence as he likes; a fact which is often capitalised on. The film benefits from a strong Italian cast, including Maurizio Merli; who may be no Clint Eastwood, but still delivers a strong and entertaining lead performance. John Saxon gets to join in the fun also, and there's also a place for fellow American actor Barry Sullivan, in the role of the villain. Overall, if you're into Italian cop movies; this isn't one to miss!