Confessione di un commissario di polizia al procuratore della repubblica

"Confessione Di Un Commissario Polizia Al Procuratore Della Repubblica" , Italian original title , or "Confessions of a Police Captain" , USA title , results to be a nice cop/political thriller , being professionally filmed and rightly made . It's a hard boiled movie that packs a noir story , police procedural , intrigue , detective inquiries , and a final twist in the plot. It deals with a pair of proverbial honest men , a stiff ,idealistic judge (Franco Nero) and an upright cop (Martin Balsam) who contend dangerous enemies , but determined in their will to fight crime and corruption . Both of whom on the edge while investigate ties between the mob , the Mayor , councillors and Justice department . But ambition , blackmail , vendetta , kidnapping and decay reach everything and everybody .

This exciting and thought-provoking Italian cop thriller turns out to be one of the first and best films about the mafia . This heavy-going tale has an interesting and politically incorrect writing by the same director Damiano Damiani & Fulvio Gicca Palli and especially dealing with corruption interwoven between town councillors and Mafia . The picture displays action , thrills , disturbing issues , suspenseful , great visual style and is pretty entertaining , though sometimes is hard to follow . Excellent main cast as Martin Balsam as a rough-and-ready police inspector and Franco Nero as a deputy public prosecutor who attempts to prove that the architect in the city is in the mafia and holding a firm belief in the law and justice system . Both of them face on Mafia which the fight is hopeless . However Martin Balsam steals the show as a dedicated police captain what tries to wipe out the bureaucratic corruption that is infecting his city . Supporting cast is frankly magnificent such as Claudio Gora , Arturo Dominici , Giancarlo Priete or Timothy Brent , gorgeous Marilu Tolo and a brief intervention by Nello Pazzafini as a Prisoner . Colorful and appropriate cinematography by Claudio Ragona . Sensitive as well as thrilling musical score by Riz Ortolani who composed an enjoyable soundtrack in Ennio Morricone style .

The motion picture was well directed by Damiano Damiani . He's an expert on all kind of genres as Drama (¨Arthur's island¨ , ¨The Most Beautiful Wife" , ¨The witch¨ , and ¨Empty canvas¨ based on the Alberto Moravia novel) , Terror (Amytiville 2 : the possession) , Historical (¨The Inquiry¨) , Spaghetti Western (¨Trinity is back again¨and the prestigious ¨A bullet for the General¨) . Damiani was specialized on crime-thriller-Subgenre or Italian cop thriller ( ¨How to kill a judge¨, ¨The case is closed , forget it¨, "Goodbye e amen" , ¨Mafia¨, "I Am Afraid" and ¨Warning¨ also starred by Martin Balsam) . ¨Confessions of a Police captain¨ seems to be a ¨must see¨ for the Poliziesco fans . This is one of the crowns of the Italian Poliziotteschi (police thrillers) of the 1970s , along with other films directed by Enzo G . Castellari , Ferdinando Baldi or Umberto Lenzi . Rating : Better than average . Essential and indispensable watching , this highly recommended film is the same for the Italian "mafia-film" of that period.

Political thriller by Damiano Damiani (BULLET FOR THE GENERAL, HOW TO KILL A JUDGE) that creates a world so vivid that every time I watch it, I forget Franco Nero didn't dub his own voice. The opening scene takes place in a Sicilian mad house, hundreds of years old, fortified with decaying stone. It is here that we first hear Riz Ortolani's amazing theme, a fuzz-tone guitar and a melancholy orchestra, and the ranting and moans of madmen. We see Captain Bonavia (Martin Balsam, who did dub his own voice) arrange for the release of LiPuma, a psychotic criminal obsessed with cleanliness who is no sooner free than he makes an attempt on the life of a gangster named D'Ambrosio, which results in the deaths of Lipuma and several of D'Ambrosio's thugs, but not D'Ambrosio. It is immediately hinted that Bonavia arranged for LiPuma's release for just this reason. The mystery here isn't who did what, but why he did it, and who you're supposed to root for: Captain Bonavia, the official made cynical and allegedly irresponsible by years on the job, who may or may not be motivated by graft, or DA Traini (Franco Nero), who investigates the attempt on D'Ambrosio's life. Traini is young and idealistic and immediately suspects Bonavia's involvement. Bonavia is fifty going on a hundred and mocks Traini at every turn as he fills him in on the history of a city built, literally, on corpses. Damiani underlines the similarities between these two men--does Traini embody the idealism Bonavia lost, are they both just stooges of a corrupt, ancient system--in subtle ways, and he, along with Balsam, builds Bonavia's character with equal aplomb. You can watch this film repeatedly and see these subtleties, equal credit for which must go to Balsam's performance, which is one of his best, which is saying a lot. Minor characters, like LiPuma and his hunted sister, Serena, come across with enough depth to exacerbate the tension. Riz Ortolani's score chimes in at just the right moments to intensify the drama, which is what this really is, a drama that grabs you by the guts. Damiani's ability to create this kind of film, angry and topical, anti-establishment, but so lived-in, it never feels forced, deserves greater recognition. This one, especially, should be required viewing, despite the fact that I've never seen it in any form other than a cheesy DVD that probably capitalized on public domain and is dubbed (it should be noted that the Italians dubbed most of their films, even the Italian versions, and were good at it) and has glitches that lead me to believe it was mastered from VHS. Don't avoid; the integrity of the film survives.

This uncompromising look at power and corruption is fascinating. Although I had never heard of the film, the combination of cast, director, and subject matter piqued my curiosity, so I purchased a copy. I am glad I did. While this film is certainly not the most pleasant thing to watch, it does provide a daring insight into the corrupt world of crooked cops on the take and a mafia-controlled system which is frank and disturbing, and must have really been a shock to audiences in 1971. Fine performances and unflinching direction make this movie one which fans of the crime/cop-movie genre will not want to miss.

Damiano Damiani was an excellent, not fully appreciated, movie director. Most of his works share to some extent the same commitment Francesco Rosi's highly regarded movies did. They may be less an artistic achievement for they probably didn't share the same originality in style, but they are equally effective in communicating and shaking the audience with messages of social and ethical nature. This particular one again (after the excellent "L'Istruttoria è chiusa: dimentichi" and before my favorite "Io ho Paura") deals with the impossibility of fighting for Justice: organized criminality and its higher level allied (politicians, ministers, judges, etc.) create an invincible corrupted system. In his movies usually the conclusion is a bitter one, not much is left to hope. This time though, a brave policeman (Martin Balsam) decides to break the rules in order to achieve the goal, while district attorney (Franco Nero) leave us with an open end and some hope... In today's Italian political and social panorama (Berlusconi is the prime minister...), Damiano Damiani would have probably lost also that little faith. Sad times indeed (great movie though!).

I'm a big fan of Italian cop flicks, but Confessions of a Police Captain actually doesn't contain many of the things that I love this type of movie for. Damiano Damiani's film is an early example of the Polizi flick and has the rare accolade of not following on the heels of Don Siegel's masterpiece Dirty Harry. The film is a rather more sober affair than what I'm used to from this sort of film and doesn't feature the things such as car chases, gun fights and fistfights that other films in this genre feature in droves; but this is made up for by the fact that the director has created a stylish and interesting film that flows well throughout. The plot focuses largely on the mafia that run Italy over and above the law. Our two central characters are Commissioner Bonavia and District Attorney Traini who are investigating mafia occurrences in the city. The plot begins with an attempt on a man's life, and the man later turns out to be D'Ambrosio; a man high up within the mafia. The two law enforcers appear to be on the same page in fighting the crime in the city...

Damiano Damiani was apparently quite a prolific crime film director in the seventies; although the only film I'd seen from him prior to this one was the abysmal Amityville II. It's clear that he has a real flair for this sort of film, however, as Confessions of a Police Captain is perfectly pitched and very professionally done. The fact that the film doesn't feature the things that usually make these films exciting may be a hindrance for some people, but in my opinion; the film has more than enough going for it elsewhere. The two central performances are one of the film's strongest elements. American actor Martin Balsam is fantastic as the police commissioner, but even better than him is Franco Nero as the district attorney. I've seen a lot of Franco Nero films and every time I see him, I become more impressed. He's a very versatile actor who seems to be able to play just about any role and once again he gives a fantastic lead performance. The commentary on justice is well thought, although I have to admit that I wasn't keen on the ambiguous ending. Overall, this is at the very top of Italian cop flicks; while it doesn't fit in with some of the better known examples, it's hard to deny that it is a gem of a movie.