La polizia incrimina la legge assolve

Wow! This film has all that you've come to expect from a Euro Crime flick. Violent murders, long shoot-outs with machine guns, a hot-tempered police officer who loathes criminals, downright evil henchmen and much, much more. Franco Nero has lately become one of my favorite actors, and not without a reason; in this film he proves what a talent he really had. This might just be Enzo G. Castellari's best crime film. It's very nicely directed, with some very interesting camera work and the music by the De Angelis brothers is the best and most suitable score I've heard them deliver to this point. It perfectly fits in with the various situations that Nero's character finds himself in.

The only copy I could get a hold of was a region 0 release from 23rd Century (?). It does not have the best audio or video quality, but it's watchable. Availiable on Ebay as "The Marseilles Connection".

If you're a fan of either Nero or Castellari, or of course, both, this is a film you have to see!

Mind you, I liked the collaborations between director Enzo G Castellari and his star Franco Nero a lot, usually. But in this movie, Nero pushes the restless energy of his character Belli to such a degree that he explodes with rage every two minutes, and about ten times in the movie, his colleagues have to tell him to 'Calm down, Belli!'. This is not anger, but rather impatience to a ridiculous degree. Instead of careful investigation to collect sufficient proof, Belli just gets involved in several shootings to progress (or maybe not) on the case. The quiet, but intense performance of Fernando Rey enhances the effect of hasty and thoughtless action by his counterpart. Belli is just no commissioner the audience can identify with, Nero appears to be a cross between a Duracell bunny and Charlie Bronson on a bad day. I still voted 6 of 10 because the pacing of the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat, regardless.

High Crime gets off to such a great start, with a really well-executed car chase. That sustains it for a while, and I was pretty forgiving early on of how similar it felt to The French Connection. If you want to steal from something, you may as well steal from something great. And Franco Nero, to his credit, is compelling for different reasons than Gene Hackman, and he ends up being pretty good here.

But I think High Crime runs out of steam, at a point. It's blunt at first in a good way, but then that bluntness gives way to some more convoluted stuff, and I ended up being a bit bummed out about that. There are still some good scenes here, especially early on, but it's not a great film in the end, by any means.

One of the best 1970s Italian police films out there. The great Franco Nero overacts like hell in some scenes and is excellent in others (also has a terrible wardrobe in this one!) but who cares, you cant beat a bit of Nero. Pretty violent ( the attack with bailing hooks at the dockyard stands out) and its quite well plotted. Brilliant car chase at the start and it's great to see the 60's / 70's Alpha's, Lancias etc in these films and its certainly part of the attraction with them.

The alternative title of 'Marseiile Connection' is obviously trying to cash in on the French Connection, but it isn't very similar and is more action orientated. Overall i would say a very satisfying and enjoyable film.

One of Castellari's finest works. The acting is superb. Excellent usage of lighting and settings. Unpredictable turn of events and good images. There is almost nothing wrong with this film for people who are into crime dramas.