Esquadrão Implacável

It is now clear that the true golden age of American film was from the mid-60s until just before the release of Star Wars. Before then, there was too much Hays Code-constricted pap. With Star Wars, the green light was lit for most films to be directed at children and morons, a practice which continues to this day. THE SEVEN-UPS, truth be told, contains a couple hackneyed lines of dialogue -- "We can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way" is one -- but I'm damned if I can find anything else wrong with it. (In fact, that line may not even have been stale when this film was made.) THE SEVEN-UPS demonstrates all that was right with the best films of the golden age: sparse dialogue, realistic acting, real locations (winter in a dirty New York has never looked better/worse), propulsive stories, and, yes, the best car chase ever filmed. Bill Hickman is the driver Scheider is chasing (you will recognize him from Bullitt), and the structure of the chase is fairly similar to the McQueen one, but I prefer Scheider's facial intensity here, the pacing, the terrific close-ups of the schoolchildren, and the shattering conclusion. (That VW bug going about 2 mph always bothers me in the Bullitt chase.) A stringy, screechy score by Don Ellis sets the perfect mood. THE SEVEN UPS: bleak, grim, action-oriented, grown-up. This is a film that couldn't be made today; there's no "gimmick" for the kiddies or preposterous ending. Thank you, Philip D'Antoni, Roy Scheider and Tony Lo Bianco: for as long as cop films are watched, THE SEVEN-UPS and its 1970s brethren (e.g., THE FRENCH CONNECTION), will set the standard.

From the man who brought cinema-goers 1968 "Bullit" and 1971 "The French Connection", Philip D'Antoni goes on to produce, but also make his directorial debut with the realistic, tough-as-nails crime thriller "The Seven-Ups" starring an unwavering Roy Scheider as the leader of a secret squad of the New York police who got their name from the minimum sentence of their targeted gangsters. Things go pear shape when their own is killed in action and the men seek their own justice.

While this urban cop formula might be overworked, it's rather well-done for its type with exciting passages like the scorchingly intense high- speed car chase. It's masterful in its execution and camera positional work. D'Antoni resourcefully keeps a fast pace, where tension is sustained through good writing, elaborate plotting (where it does show its cards early), vivid performances and well-timed thrills and spills with smooth editing. Really it's quite minimal on the action leaning towards the investigative digging, but when it occurs it's explosive and raw. Just the way the 70s loved it. One thing that did catch my attention was Don Ellis' dangerously impulsive music score. Very unhinged, but it did suit the film's dark, relentless tone.

The story is very much character based and the performances are assured across the board. Victor Arnold, Jerry Leon and Ken Kercheval make-up the rest of "The Seven-ups". Tony Lo Bianco magnificently holds up alongside Scheider as his go-to-man for information. Then there's Larry Haines as one the head mobsters. However in the bad guy roles it was Bill Hickman and especially the striking Richard Lynch who stood out. Lynch was terrifically menacing. Also in a minor part is genre actor Joe Spinell.

Compelling, lean and mean 70's cop drama.

In this spin-off from the French Connection Roy Scheider is the leader of an elite team of cops (the titular soft drinks) who target high-profile crooks. New York's gangsters are being held to ransom by extortionists posing as the Seven-Ups and strike back against the cops.

Set against the bleak, imposing backdrop of early 70s New York, a time in which almost every building was decaying and all new architecture was a brutalist, concrete nightmare, the Seven-Ups is every bit as old school as it could possibly be. If you like the cold, paranoid atmosphere of movies like Ronin or the retro-style of Bullitt you'll definitely get a kick out of this.

Aesthetically, the film is horrific, with ugly people and bad fashion all over the place. It's an abomination of bad taste and degradation. But as a simple cop thriller it's got all the right moves. The stand-out car chase at the half-way point is quite impressive and it's a shame that it seems to have been forgotten among the ubiquitous "Best Car Chase" countdowns on TV and on the Internet.

Fans of the French Connection, cop thrillers or overlooked 70s movies that represent an attitude to filmmaking and life long since gone should definitely check it out.

I love the other reviews of this movie. They mirror my attitude. I am a 70's sort of guy, minus disco and "Star Wars" childishness. There was nothing great about this movie, except for a chase scene. That is why it was good, because it was tough, basic and economical. Roy Scheider carried the movie, which was based on the crew, the 7 Ups, that backed up Gene Hackman in the "French Connection". The people in it were believable and average, who burned themselves pouring coffee, showed fear in chase scene and almost lost it after a close call crash.

Maybe it would be easier to tell you what it lacked. There was no fancy weapons, just basic revolvers and crude sawed off shotguns. There was no tough guy philosophizing, ala Tarantino. There was no kung fu or samurai nonsense and no fancy trick shooting either. There was no clever guy who carries out some complicated scheme based on hundreds of things going just the way he planned including everyone else's reactions. The criminals were bad guys but they didn't shoot people for the hell of it. As a matter of fact, there was a body count of just three. something that the average movie these days would pass in the opening credits. It could be a G movie today! No bus load of orphan school children were kidnapped nor were terrorists threatening to kill half of the city. There were no high tech hijinks, nor were the crimes themselves very moving or ingenious, the highest tech thing I saw was a touch tone ATT wall phone. It had no subplots or amusing character developments. Also, no sex or women, except for one mobster's wife who did some screaming as the Buddy our hero had her menaced.

It was some little undertaker who exploited his connections with the local mob and the police to kidnap local mobsters for some easy payoffs. The undertakers. Vito, was played by Tony Lo Bianco who did a great job, as good as Roy Schneider, Buddy the head of 7 Ups cop, whom he informed and exploited. What ever happened to Tony Lo Bianco, he seemed like a Pacino shoe in, good looking and talented? What it did have was a great NYC backdrop to a simple crime story. Locations that were bleak and dehumanizing without being a sociological study. It had a simple plot that involved this kidnapping scheme where one of Buddy's cop got accidentally involved, literally accidentally dragged in then accidentally shot dead. Since Buddy and his 7 ups are a hot dogs unit, both the NYPD Brass and mobsters thought he was involved, since the kidnappers masqueraded as plain clothes cops to lure the mobsters into compliance. Obviously the mobsters figured they had lawyers and rights to protect them from normal police. Even the mobsters were plain, old and ugly, no Godfather royalty or Soprano hipness here.

It is a good basic movie with a standout chase scene between two 70's d Pontiacs. Even the cars were plain and economical, not even a GTO or a Trans Am, like the acting and the story. In the days of Batman uber-hype or "24" levels of intensity doomsday scenarios, this movie reminds us that less is better. It should be shown to movie screen writers and directors as a caveat not to dazzle, amuse then ultimately insult us with stunts, gadgets and clown psychotic behavior galore.

What an underrated flick. Great action.Great tension.The only thing (you could ask for) would have been Friedkin directing it. I know, I know. Same year as Exorcist. Still... One comment which was made referred to the plot being confusing which I slightly agree with. Friedkin might have cracked the whip on that part. I always thought you could do a lot of different things in a car wash. And Moon!!! Thank God for Richard Lynch. What an actor.And the driver. He should have acted more. Great menace.With those little glasses. Also underrated is Roy. He never got his due. He should have won for All That Jazz. FC II is great, but this is too overlooked. p.s. AVOID THE NEW EXORCIST. Wait for Schraeder DVD.