Brigade spéciale

This is a dumb, but thoroughly enjoyable Italian police thriller from journey-man Italian director Umberto Lenzi. Maurizio Merli is not my favorite actor (he was kind of a cut-rate Franco Nero), but he's pretty entertaining here as an over-the-top vigilante cop who slaps around suspects, engages in dangerous high-speed chases, and has shoot-outs in busy downtown Rome. When five young punks rape a girl, he goes into their hangout BY HIMSELF and beats up ALL of them up before chasing down and eventually shooting one of them to death. Even when his superior (Arthur Kennedy) transfers him to the licenses unit, he won't stay out of the action. In one of the funnier scenes, he beats information out of a bartender, breaks into a suspect's apartment without a warrant, and chases him around the Rome rooftops (in a great cinematic scene), but after the whole thing goes awry, he blames his superiors for making him go "by the book" (if that's true I'd hate to see "the book").

This movie has a great supporting cast. Besides Arthur Kennedy (who was in movies like "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" and "Rico, the Mean Machine"), the movie features Ivan Rassimov, perhaps somewhat wasted as a low-level thug who gives his girlfriend an overdose of heroin simply because she's a "pain in the ass". The best of all though, is the great Tomas Milian as a psychotic hunchback, who starts out as a sympatheic figure, but turns out to be a frightening heavy. In one scene Meri's detective slaps him around and makes him swallow a bullet, which he later he craps out and vows to shoot the detective in the face with face with it for revenge!

The real weakness of this movie is the loose plotting. There's a lot of action set pieces, but the whole thing doesn't really hold together, especially whenever Milian is not on screen. The movie also could have used more women. Merli does have a pretty girlfriend (who the villains at one point threaten to put through a car compactor), but her role is pretty perfunctory.Still this is definitely a fun movie and I would recommend it.

Terry Levine done it again! He picked up a 1975 italian cop film, edited it down to 79 min, and open it wide in New York in 1982 (or was it 1981). People Magazine even reviewed this film!! Levine failed to mention the stars Arthur Kennedy, Tomas Milian, and little known (in the U.S.) the late action star Maurizio Merli doing the franco Nero role of a cop hellbend on going after the hunchback psycho (Milian). Levine tacked in the movie poster as the begining credit (!) (similar to what he did in MEAN FRANK AND CRAZY TONY, which he failed to mention Tony LoBianco) Kennedy is the only actor not dubbed, and the film just look standard with A to Z script. Milian, who use to get lead good guy roles in Italian film slowly became supporting player playing bad guys. Kennedy looks like he shot this film back to back with KILLER COP. Not recommended, unless the un-cut print runs better.

Maurizio Merli and Tomas Milian star in probably the most typical, yet completely enjoyable Italian crime movie by Umberto Lenzi. With a blazing soundtrack by Franco Micalizzi and some exciting camerawork by Federico Zanni, this film is fast-paced and furious although the narrative makes relatively little sense. This reminds me of THE RAIDERS OF ATLANTIS, a film Dardano Sacchetti also penned, which was completely fun and enjoyable although it didn't make any sense whatsoever.

The best scenes in this movie have to be the extended car chases. Milian hijacks an ambulence and kills all the people on board for no reason. When it crashes in a crowded flea market, Milian jumps out of the ambulence and just starts randomly firing his sub-machine gun into the crowd to create enough confusion to get away. Another great scene has a gang of upper-class teenagers led by the baby-faced Stefano Patrizi who get bored of nightclubbing and proceed to rape a girl and beat up her boyfriend in a vacant lot. Patrizi is wholely unsympathetic as he punches the boyfriend in the gut repeatedly and knees him in the face, then making weird gestures with a nearby piece of wood. Merli later pops by their nightclub and smashes Patrizi's face right through a pinball machine and then simultaneously beats the tar out of the six or so members of the gang!

This film comes fast and furious. Good performances all around by a veteran cast (with Arthur Kennedy, Ivan Rassimov, and Luciano Pigozzi along for the ride). It's not the most coherent of Lenzi's works, but it's definitely a genre classic. Where's the DVD?

Roma a mano armata" barrels through the streets of 1970s Rome with a relentless energy that is impossible to ignore. The film's atmosphere is thick with tension and urban decay, painting a city teetering on the edge of lawlessness. Lenzi and cinematographer Federico Zanni craft a visual landscape that is both raw and kinetic; the camera rarely sits still, instead plunging viewers into the heart of car chases, shootouts, and back-alley confrontations. The film's grainy texture and on-location shooting lend it a documentary-like authenticity, though at times the frenetic editing can make the action feel chaotic rather than exhilarating. Still, the city itself becomes a character, its grimy streets and shadowy corners amplifying the sense of danger.

Maurizio Merli, as Commissioner Tanzi, delivers a performance that is all clenched jaw and steely resolve. He embodies the archetypal hard-nosed cop, bending rules and bristling against bureaucratic red tape. While Merli's presence is commanding, it is Tomas Milian who truly steals the show as the unpredictable and menacing "Il Gobbo." Milian infuses his villain with a manic energy and dark charisma, making every scene he appears in crackle with menace and unpredictability. The supporting cast, including Arthur Kennedy and Ivan Rassimov, provide solid backup, but the film is at its most compelling when Merli and Milian are at odds, their mutual animosity palpable even through the screen.

Despite its strengths, "Roma a mano armata" is not without flaws. The narrative is fragmented, jumping between subplots that showcase various criminal elements in Rome, from petty thieves to privileged delinquents. This mosaic structure adds variety but also muddles the pacing and dilutes the impact of the central storyline. At times, the film feels more like a collection of set pieces than a cohesive whole, and the script's attempts at social commentary are overshadowed by the barrage of violence and action. Still, for fans of the poliziotteschi genre, Lenzi's film delivers the goods: gritty action, memorable villains, and a pulsating score by Franco Micalizzi that keeps the adrenaline pumping.

Effective installment in ¨Inspector Tanzi¨ series and followed by various sequels still gripping and moving . A twofisted , rule-bending Inspector called Tanzi (Maurizio Merli) chases mobsters (Luciano Pigozzi as Moretto , Luciano Catenacci as Gerace) and a maniacal , trigger-happy hunchback (Tomas Milian) , an one-handed bank robber and other hoodlums in an effort to catch them at whatever cost , as he'll stop at nothing to get it . As iconoclast , tough cop Tanzi tries to detain the vicious killer and other cronies who are robbing a bank , he takes on criminals determined to bring them to justice , even if he has to break some rules . Tanzi pursues the revenge-obsessed series killer and encounters he has more problems with him than he expected . The psychotic murderer is detained but is freed on legal technicalities and Tanzi takes the law into his own hands . Rule-breaking Tanzi strides grimly throughout Rome in pursuit the murderous , including an exciting final on an ambulance . Whatever your reservations about Tanzi's expeditious methods we know he'll always vanquish , shooting in cold blood with his pistol . Inspector Tanzi makes Dirty Harry look like Mr. Clean! .He lives by the law - Tanzi's Law .Vigilante enforcers - lurking in the dark... waiting to kill!

Formula thriller with plenty of action , crisply edition , tension, intrigue , suspenseful and lots of violence in exploitation style . Compellingly directed by Umberto Lenzi , after directing his Cannibal movies , in the late 1970s , Lenzi turned to the police thrillers or polizieschi , which rejuvenated his confidence and his popularity . Titles like Milano odia: la polizia non può sparare (1974), Free Hand For a Tough Cop (1976) , Brothers Till We Die (1978) , From Corleone to Brooklyn (1979) were the most popular and brutal of his thrillers . Fine main and support cast giving acceptable , tough exaggerated interpretations . Maurizio Merli's nice performance as two-fisted Inspector Tenzi , the tall and taciturn inspector who utilizing his Magnum 44 pistol kills baddies , acting as a judge , jury and executioner , and , along the way , he tells some original phrases . It packs intrigue , violence, action-filled and being a really effective film . It turns out to be interesting and plenty of vivid action , suspense and thriller . Good secondary cast gives cool performance as the American Arthur Kennedy playing Vice-Commissioner Ruini , Giampiero Albertini as Inspector Francesco Caputo and the gorgeous Maria Rosaria Omaggio as Tenzi's girlfriend . And others secondaries usual in B Italian genres as Ivan Rassimov , Luciano Catenacci , Stefano Patrizi , Tom Felleghy , Carlo Gaddi and Luciano Pigozzi nicknamed the Italian Peter Lorre .

Special mention for the stinging , stabbing musical score by Franco Micalizzi . As well as atmospheric and adequate cinematography by Federico Zanni , shot completely in Rome , Italy . The motion picture was competently directed by Umberto Lenzi , adding an interesting script by Dardano Sacchetti , Lenzi's regular. Umberto was an Italian craftsman who directed all kind of genres , such as Wartime: Bridge to hell, The biggest battle , Tempi di guerra , Wild team , The damned brigade , From hell to victory , Desert commando , The damned brigade . Poliziesco : Roma a mano armade , Napoli Violenta , Manhunt in the city , From Corleone to Brooklyn , The executioner , Brothers till we die . Eurospy : Superseven chiama Cairo, 008 operation exterminate, Kriminal. Terror and Cannibal fims : Sacrifice! Cannibal Feroz, Comidos vivos, House of witchcraft, Hell's gate , Invasion of Atomic Zombies . Giallo : Wide-eyed on the dark, Orgasmo, Spasmo, Paranoia. Spaguetti Westerns : Tutto per tutto, Pistol for a hundred coffins . Adventures : Invincible masked rider, Catalina of Russia, Triumph of Robin Hood, Temple of the white elephant , Adventures Mary Read , Sandokan, Pirates of Malasya , Zorro versus Maciste , among others . Rating : 6.5/10 . This formula thriller will appeal to Inspector Tenzi/Mauricio Merli series enthusiasts , because of the unstopped action , tension , exciting edition , chills abound in this original entry . Well worth seeing for Maurizio Merli fans and it's an enjoyable companion for the action genre followers . An entertaining and amusing film , mounted for its maximum impact and with several scenes that'll have you on the edge of your seat .