Shoot First, Die Later

This film is ultimately very downbeat. It seems to be a sort of slow motion lesson on how crime does not pay , more specifically how if you dabble in or turn a blind eye to crime , you and a lot of other people can get hurt. And it delivers that message without pulling any punches. Some of the scenes of violence are hard to watch because of how cruel and ruthless they are.

The movie starts with a bang with a spectacular , nerve wracking car chase. After that it's mostly pretty slow , although the story does keep getting propelled forward and there is some action and also humor peppered here and there. In the last third things start picking up a lot more with yet another car chase and a whole slew of plot twists. The ending is a huge , ironic surprise. Overall, a very entertaining and satisfying movie, much better than I had anticipated.

Funky soundtracks, delicious 70's fashion styles, macho men living life in the fast lane and dames so exquisite even you might consider a life of crime. There are many reasons to love the Italian crime movies of the 70's. They have a certain lovable charm. They can be funny but they can also be nihilistic and grim.

You never know who will live or die. In the world of Italian gangster flicks no-one is safe. The love interest, the children, the parents, even the hero himself and everyone who is around him are in constant danger of meeting a cruel and painful death at any moment. Because of this you get very tense and unforeseeable plots that will have you sitting on the edge of the seat until the credits roll down the screen.

"Shoot first, die later" is also one of the better titles of the genre. So you should definitely check it out. It might be a little talky for some people but it never gets boring. The plot is simple but perfectly executed and there is always something exiting happening to keep my interest.

There are a couple of nice car-chases, a few explosions and some standard gunfare but the true excitement lies in the tense and emotional plot. Luc Merenda is no Fabio Testi but he delivers a solid performance as the corrupt cop who get tangled in a increasingly bleak situation that might be the end for both himself and those who stand him near. He is actually quite perfect for movies of this type. Di Leo, probably the best director in the genre, have once again delivered a great crime movie that should be seen by everyone who is even remotely interested in the world of Italian action-thrillers.

I love these movies and if you are into this stuff you should definitely check out the two volumes of Fernando Di Leo crime collection (amongst others this movie is found in this collection) put out on both DVD and blu-ray by Raro Video. The Blu-rays look and feel great and they are reasonably cheap to buy. So i would absolutely recommend those collections even for newcomers. Now i am of to watch another one and dream of the next GTA title paying homage to the Itallian crime genre ala Vice City for "Scarface" and "Miami Vice". I can tell you that i would be first in line to get a taste of that. It could be titled something like "GTA: Roma Violencia"... ooooh i would like that.

Though generally a tad overrated (neither Milano Calibro 9 nor Il Boss are the transgressive "masterpieces" some Italocinema fetishists want them to be), so-called "cult" director Fernando di Leo manages to strike some grippingly dissonant chords in Shoot First, Die Later, the original title being less sensationalistic than bone dry: The Rotten Cop. While most poliziotteschi are essentially feelgood movies, the degenerates and lowlifes getting what they justly deserve, this one marches to an entirely different drum. At its core a father-son story – the excellent Salvo Randone playing Pops to the opposite of leading beau Luc Merenda –, it's a cynical morality play about a model cop appropriately named Malacarne (literally meaning "bad meat") who feels perfectly comfortable with being on the payroll of the mafia until things go terribly awry: Unlike the cheap-thrills roller coaster violence of other Eurocrime movies, the stark brutality here comes across as callous, pitiless, not even nasty, but unpleasant through and through; actually, the two car chases, skillfully done by stunt coordinator Rémy Julienne, feel like a concession to the regular poliziotto crowd. In its acidly sarcastic Weltanschauung and the complete lack of redeeming qualities, Shoot First, Die Later is doubtless more akin to the cinema of Rosi, Damiani or Elio Petri than to the staccato over-the-top action of Castellari or Lenzi: A doom loop of human failings.

(1976) Il Poliziotto è marcio/ Shoot First, Die Later (In Italian with English subtitles) CRIME DRAMA/ ACTION

Interesting familiar premise but with expected results starring Luc Merenda as Domenico Malacarne a young corrupt police lieutenant who always had no problems working with a particular don for illegal booze and cigarettes, until some elder bystander files a complaint regarding being blocked from the inside from getting out. For cautionary reasons the mob is pressing Domenco to go to the police station where the file is located and then retrieve it for the mob so that he can have it destroyed since it contains the license plate number that can connect a particular person with a current murder that happened nearby. Written and directed by Fernando Di Leo has some interesting things to say regarding the problems that can exist regarding corruption that involves the law of authority, which can be used as a scare tactic not to do business with the mob under any circumstances, that I have no doubt in my mind some of it is based on fact. I just wished there was a better result I guess would've made the film unrealistic.

Luc Merenda reads from the diary of a corrupt police officer

In terms of action, things get off to a good start when the wiry Inspector Domenico Malacarne (Luc Merenda) hunts down bad guys in Milan. He is a true hero, this police officer that successful director Fernando Di Leo presents to us in this film. Pretty girlfriend (Delia Boccardo as Sandra) from the gallery scene, good relationship with his dad, the upright Maresciallo Malacarne (Salvo Randone). But then we, astonished viewers, slowly have to realize that this boyish, sporty Malacarne (bad meat, nomen est omen) has become too involved with the mafia. Richard Conte (1910-1975) as a cunning mafia lawyer and Raymond Pellegrin (1925-2007) as the very evil boss Pascal bear witness to this. Well! Screenwriter Sergio Donati skillfully shows us the abysses that we would rather not have seen...

Action-heavy, always in the middle, we are presented with a protagonist who is likeable and corrupt. Car chases, fights and the bitter realization that even such a bright man is susceptible to the corruption of everyday life. Fernando Di Leo repeatedly opens his audience's eyes to the dirty secrets of a police officer's life. It also worked at the box office: ITL 676 million was grossed.

Worth seeing contribution from the almost inexhaustible Poliziotteschi genre!