Roma violenta

Marino Girolami's "Roma Violenta" aka. "Violent Rome" of 1975 is a good, though not exceptional Poliziottesco that is very memorable for several reasons. This was the first of three films in which Maurizio Merli played the rough and ready copper Commisarrio Betti, the other two being Girolami's own "Italia A Mano Armata" (aka "A Special Cop In Action") 1976, and the great "Napoli Violenta" ("Violent Naples"), also of 1976. This is not the best of the films in which Maurizio Merli played unorthodox cops (of different names, but basically the same character), but it was the first one. The sequel "Napoli Violenta" is superior, and Merli's all-time highlight is "Roma A Mano Armata" (directed by Umberto Lenzi), but "Roma Violenta" is the film that made him one of the greatest stars in Italian Crime/Cop cinema. Furthermore this is the last film ever to star the great Richard Conte known for many films including "The Godfather" and Fernando Di Leo's Italian crime masterpiece "Il Boss" (1973).

As the title promises, the film takes place in Rome, and a violent city it is indeed. Comissario Betti (Maurizio Merli) is a tough, mustached copper whose unorthodox methods make Dirty Harry look quite clean. Betti is fed up with criminals getting away with their crimes, and he expresses his opinion both verbally and by his tough methods of crime-fighting... As most good Poliziotteschi at the time, "Roma Violenta" is very gritty, violent and delightfully politically incorrect. It seems as if Maurizio Merli was born to play super-tough unorthodox cops, and the role of Comissario Betti fits him like a glove. Good supporting performances come from Richard Conte, Ray Lovelock and especially John Steiner, who plays a ruthless criminal. Regular Genre bit-part actor Luciano Rossi is also typecast as a sadistic small-time crook. The film is full of action-packed car chases, violent shootouts and scenes of genre-typical brutality, all stylishly shot and accompanied by a nice score by the De Angelis brothers. As mentioned above "Violent Rome" is no particular highlight of Poliziotto-cinema. It is not quite as stylish as some other specimen of the genre, and it lacks the charismatic and diabolical main villain of films like "Milano Odia - La Polizia Non Può Sparare" (aka. "Almost Human", 1974) or "Roma A Mano Armata". It is a good example for the genre, however, and a highly influential one too, as it basically made Maurizio Merli THE unorthodox copper in Italian cinema. All things considered, "Violent Rome" is a film that I highly recommend to any of my fellow fans of Italian genre-cinema. My rating: 7.5/10

A crippled guy in a wheelchair getting beaten by two jerks. Three schoolchildren gunned down in front of some nuns. Massimo Vanni hoofing Luciano Rossi in the nuts over and over again. Welcome to Violent Rome, where the moustaches are thick, the cars as brittle as poppadoms, and the general public certainly doomed.

Rome in 1975 is a filthy hovel full of bagsnatchers, conmen, bank robbers, hustlers, pickpockets, rapists, psychopaths, murderers and bawbags running riot while cop Maurizio watches in horror, almost helpless as there's only so many criminals one man can either shoot or punch in the jaw. He does have some help, however, in the form of undercover cop Ray Lovelock. And some guy who dresses up as an old lady to catch bagsnatchers, but don't get hung up on that as it has nothing to do with the rest of the film.

When Maurizio pops a cap in a particularly violent criminals ass, he ends up quitting his job as a violent policeman and starts working as a violent vigilante instead, which makes him even more violent and rage-filled. In fact, this film has so much violence, car chases, and member of the public killing that it leaves almost no time to have any kind of plot at all. Not that I was caring!

Out of the cast of regulars who keep showing up in these sorts of films for the next decade, John Steiner stands out the most as an evil bank robber who'll shoot anyone in his way. He always makes a great bad guy, and he's backed up by rapist Luciano Rossi and violent vigilante Massimo Vanni too. Richard Conte is a good guy in this one, and sadly, this is also his last film, as he died of a heart attack in 1975.

Completely lacking in style, good acting, or plausibility, Violent Rome makes an ideal addition to your collection as it's full of all the other stuff you want in a film called Violent Rome.

Commissioner Betti (Maurizio Merli), upon beholding a motivelessly slaughtered boy on a bus robbed by some thugs, vows to find the murderers, punish them for what they did, but also appease his desire of vengeance entailed by the demise of his brother who was killed in familiar circumstances. The violence begins to expand in the whole Rome…

It is virtually inescapable to succumb to this wonderfully pulpy film which is filled with ruggedly crafted action sequences and swift pace. No wonder why it was a huge commercial success on the day of its premiere and Maurizio Merli became a star. Notwithstanding, but for the neat direction by Girolami, it would not have been so effective since the script itself is not anything specific, invariably appears disjointed and towards the end the ensemble is not even concerned about clarifying why another outburst of violence embarks on. Likewise, the material lacks a strong antagonist who could emerge out of the shady streets of Rome and eventually face Betti. Another element which might not be utterly engaging is a socio-political commentary on the situation in the Italy which feels a sort of out of place and somehow contrasts with the mindlessly action-packed remainder of the flick. Instead of pushing the boundaries of pastime into the same directions as unabashedly entertaining Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (1975) by Ruggero Deodato, it aspires higher, but it's impossible to render something serious, if it's basically this kind of actionier. Thus, making allowances for those aspects, Girolami allows it all to flow and generally focuses on shootouts and fistfights, on account of which obtains an imposingly electrifying atmosphere reminiscent of a collage consisting of gliding bullets, enormous squibs and outstanding Merli ceaselessly ready to utilize his gun in the midst. The simplicity of rendition is one of the biggest benefits of this motion picture that makes it all so compelling. The best moment of Violent Rome might be the car chase when commissioner Betti pursues one of the villains played by John Steiner. The climax is so stimulating that one is capable of smelling exhaust fumes as well as the reek of burnt tyres. The execution is superb – the editing is sharp, but it never distracts and one is likely to agree that it's an extraordinarily riveting scene which stays in one's mind.

Maurizio Merli is very strong as commissioner Betti. He conveys a lot of charisma to his character as well as succeeds in creating a respectable and tough cop, the one who a delinquent wouldn't like to deal with. Ray Lovelock plays an undercover policeman who invariably comes in handy and provides Betti with multiple indispensable pieces of information. He is quite likable and believable in his role as a young, smug blonde. There are also numerous faces which all film buffs keen on Euro-cult cinema are familiar with. The soundtrack by Guido & Maurizio de Angelis is absolutely terrific and it's difficult to conceive another composer who could be able to replace this duo. Brothers de Angelis, grasping the point of the movie and their task as musicians, compose a fast, aggressive and catchy soundtrack which contextualises with this action flick phenomenally.

While certainly imperfect, Violent Rome is well-paced, ruggedly crafted and stunningly scored. It serves its purpose perfectly and it's genuinely hard to remain indifferent to its charm. Though it structurally isn't the most impressive work of all time, it's a great portion of delicious and nutritious grindhouse salad with loads of bloodily-red tomato sauce which is bound to leave its viewers satisfied.

Bit rough round the edges but full on all action with super central performance from Maurizio Merli. Tough, uncompromising and definitely politically incorrect, this barely pauses for breath as our hero takes on the young baddies of 70s Rome. Pretty shabby old Rome it looks to be too but I seem to recall London wasn't much better around that time.

There are probably a few too many fist fights and beatings but some are most effective and the central car chase was magnificent, and I'm not a real fan of them. Gritty, ruthless and unstoppable, like the main film itself. There is even time for a sleazy episode when a daughter enters the scene at the wrong time. The robberies are mainly all low key, handbags, shops and the like but there is no mention of the mafia here so maybe they kept a hold of all the big stuff.

Forgive me the immoral and perhaps even inappropriate comparison, but watching a good Poliziotteschi movie from the '70s is like taking the best drug that exists! It's the sensation of one and a half hour adrenalin rushing, all your body's blood getting pumped to the heart at high speed and a delirium in your brains! When I watch a Poliziotteschi flick, and if it's a good one, I always feel revitalized and ablaze afterwards. "Roma Violenta" certainly isn't the greatest movie of its kind, and nearly not even the best Maurizio Merli movie, but even the slightly-less-than-stellar Poliziotteschi efforts are absolute must-sees for cult fanatics and so is this one! "Roma Violenta" is the first entry in a trilogy revolving on protagonist Commissioner Betti. But don't pay too much attention to the chronological order and details of these three separate movies. Personally I watched the first film last it didn't matter one bit. Betti is the only recurring character in the series, but furthermore there is no continuity whatsoever and some actors (like John Saxon and Luciano Rossi) even depict different characters in two different movies. Commissioner Betti is a tough and unorthodox cop in Rome. His heart bleeds as he witnesses how the city streets are infested with criminals and particularly how they always become more violent and relentless due to weak legislations and cunning lawyers. There are pointless assassinations on public buses, bloody bank robberies, supermarket heists, vicious rapes, unhappily ending hostage takings and even police officer annihilation. Betti's pursuing methods are efficient but very borderline, and he regularly comes into conflict with his superiors. When Betti shoots a bank robber in cold blood, after a bloody wild car chase with several casualties including his young partner, he finally loses his cop badge. He isn't unemployed for long, though, as he joins an elite vigilante squad where he can carelessly beat nasty villains' faces to pulp! Hooray! Admittedly the plots of nearly all Poliziotteschi movies are always the same, and you always know they'll feature mandatory car chases, gratuitous nudity and shocking images of innocent people (like nice old ladies or teenagers) getting slaughtered. But the vile truth is that you simply cannot wait to see it happen! Once again the highlight here is a virulent chase, with plenty of awesome Fiat and Simca cars going in severe overdrive, and a few deaths that are almost too brutal to describe (that poor hostage!). "Roma Violenta" doesn't feature such a good soundtrack as usually the case, but acting performances are truly top-notch this time. Maurizio "moustache" Merli is terrific, of course, but there are also great supportive performances from Ricard Conte, Ray Lovelock and John Steiner.