La cité de la violence

There's absolutely no way that any movie can start off better than "Violent City". Charlie Bronson on a yacht with a ravishing blond chick, then moving onto land where the couple immediately gets subjected to a wild car chase through extremely narrow streets (and over stairs!) and ending with a violent shootout! And all this time not a single word is being spoken by anyone and all we here are the sounds of squeaking tires, snorting car engines and Ennio Moricone's umpteenth fabulous soundtrack. The first ten minutes of "Violent City" are so damn brilliant I was even tempted to stop watching the film because I honestly feared things could only go downwards from that point, ha! Luckily it didn't. Sure the pacing slowed down a bit (only a little bit, mind you) but a great film unfolds itself, with a simplistic but nevertheless compelling plot, gritty atmosphere and terrific acting performances by Charles Bronson (as the silent as always but deadly killer), Telly Savalas (as the sneering, sleazy and eccentric super-villain) and Jill Ireland (as the bimbo who appears to screw around with half of the city). Jeff is a retiring hit man who completes one more personal killing job when a former friend double-crosses him, leaves him for dead and runs off with his lady friend. Jeff's spectacular payback, executed at a race car circuit) gets him noticed by the big boss of the city's organized crime network. He wants Jeff to be a part of his successful crime-family, and when he refuses an exhilarating and testosterone-packed cat and mouse game ensues. The plot isn't highly original, but several independent sequences are magnificent, like the aforementioned opening, the intense finale or – most of all – the scene where Vanessa gets introduced to Weber (Savalas) in a restaurant. Sergio Sollima is a gifted director, who primarily earned his fame in the spaghetti western genre ("The Big Gundown" and "Run Man Run"). That's also exactly what "Violent City" often resembles; a gritty urban western with Bronson in his familiar role of lone outlaw passing through a town where no one can be trusted. If I understood correctly, the titular violent city is supposed to be Michigan, where strangely everyone speaks a combination of English and Italian. Funny detail on the Dutch DVD-release is that the dubbing is incomplete. Some of the dialogs start in English but halfway the conversation swifts to Italian and back to English again. Not at all bothering, especially not in case you looked forward to this movie as much as I did.

Uh-oh! We've got a hit-man here who has fallen in love and wants to go straight – we all know that there's only one way to leave the mob, right? Bronson is the hit-man and Jill Ireland is the chick who's turned his head, and after one of my favourite credit sequences ever where we see Bronson under observation to a kick-ass Morricone soundtrack, a bunch of guys turn up to waste our stone-face killer. One car chase and a double-cross later, Bronson's having bullets pulled out of him and sent to jail for a while.

It gives him plenty of time to stew over what's happened. Seems the last guy who hired to him to kill someone has double-crossed him and somehow his missus seems to be involved. Being a 'let bygones be bygones' kind of guy, Bronson's first task upon being released from jail is to try and track down these two and kill them both.

Luckily for us his past-employer is also a race car driver! That gives us a lengthy sequence at a race track where Bronson scopes out a good place to take out this guy with a sniper rifle, a sequence which is dialogue free and lasts about ten minutes. Also, it takes place under a huge advertisement for Pan-Am airlines, so I guess they were fitting the bill for the film, or Sergio Sollima was just a big fan of that airline.

Once this guy has been incinerated, Bronson starts receiving pictures of him setting up the kill at the race track, and realizes that starting a new life won't be so easy after all…

Those expecting an action-packed film with Bronson taking down waves of bad guys would probably be better switching the film off around the ten minute mark because the film is more about Bronson brooding about his relationship with Jill Ireland and arguing with Telly Savalas (a mob boss who is blackmailing Bronson and wants to hire Bronson full time). Savalas is good here as a seemingly legit-businessman who may be telling more home truths than Bronson wishes to hear.

Set possibly in New Orleans and Detroit Michigan at the same time (I was a bit confused by that), the film looks great, sounds great and for the first half is great, but be warned that pace slows way down before you get to the grim ending. Also, the version I watched had eight minutes of extra footage added in Italian with English subtitles that seems to add a bit more depth to the proceedings.

For the mopiest hit-man that wants to leave the mob, look out for Tony Arzenta!

Director Sollima first forsook the Western genre with this stylish gangster drama: its complex revenge plot is, basically, a combination of two seminal American noirs – OUT OF THE PAST (1947) and POINT BLANK (1967). The end result is overlong and deliberately-paced – but the second half generates considerable tension, and the action sequences (particularly the opening car chase, a racing-car ‘accident’ and the climactic shoot-out in a rising elevator which, incidentally, are all the more effective for being completely dialogue-free) are undeniably well-staged and exciting.

The film also provided its star, Charles Bronson, with a virtual template for all his subsequent vehicles; though his real-life wife Jill Ireland (who appears in a surprising number of nude scenes) doesn’t quite cut it as a femme fatale, the couple’s chemistry is more than evident and gives credence to the on/off romance which essentially drives the narrative. Also in the cast: Telly Savalas (in his all-too-typical role of crime kingpin), Umberto Orsini (as a shady lawyer) and Michel Constantin (as Bronson’s ageing junkie pal). Beneficial, too, is the unusual New Orleans setting – and the remaining credentials are certainly imposing: “Euro Cult” fixture Ennio Morricone’s score is excellent (but, again, the main theme is awfully similar to that of REVOLVER [1973] and THE UNTOUCHABLES [1987]!); renowned cinematographer Aldo Tonti; and, most astonishingly, co-screenwriter Lina Wertmuller.

The DVD features an informative 15-minute interview with Sollima, in which he discusses how he became involved with the project: invariably, he had found the original script terrible but was eventually lured by the opportunity of a U.S. shoot, mentions that the lead roles were originally intended for Jon Voight and Sharon Tate(!), and even recalls an amusing anecdote which sums up Morricone’s attitude to films.

I'm a big fan of Sergio Sollima's ingenious Spaghetti Westerns, and Charles Bronson is without doubt a great enrichment to any movie he played in. Sollima's "Citta Violenta" aka. "Violent City" aka. "The Family" of 1970 is a very good crime/action flick with Bronson in the leading role and a great score by Ennio Morricone. "The Family" may not quite share the brilliance of Sollima's Westerns, but it is definitely a very solid, greatly acted film that no Bronson fan can afford to miss!

After hit man Jeff Heston (Charles Bronson) is double crossed by his girlfriend (Bronson's real life wife Jill Ireland), and almost gets killed by rival gangsters, he spends the following four years in prison. After getting out of jail, he wants to track down those who betrayed him. It is not so easy, however, to find out who was involved in his assassination attempt, and Heston has to make quite an effort to distinguish between friends and enemies.

Charles Bronson is once again great as the leading character, and definitely the best choice to play Jeff Heston. Telly Savalas also delivers a great performance as the boss of a crime family. Although many folks seem to think differently, I also found that Jill Ireland did a great job as femme fatale Vanessa. One of the few things that were not quite necessary in "Citta Violenta", were the endless car chases. Car chases are of course mandatory for a film like this, but when they get too long, they can get a bit boring easily. The car chase sequences here are usually followed by violent action, however. The movie is quite imaginatively photographed, and Ennio Morricone's score is, as always, great, and although it is a bit different to the 'typical' Morricone that we're used to from Westerns, it is immediately clear who composed this soundtrack.

A very well made action flick with a great leading performance by Bronson, "Citta Violenta" is a great flick, maybe not quite as essential as Sollima's Westerns, but immensely entertaining, atmospheric and totally badass, and not to be missed by a Bronson fan. 8/10

It is an interesting drama/thriller plenty of thrills , taut , intrigue , twists and turns . Jeff Heston (Charles Bronson , though Tony Musante and Jon Voight were considered for the part) is the number one killing people with a bullet whose reputation has caught up with him . After a bloody double-cross leaves him for dead and barely escapes a murder attempt , the professional hit man named Jeff tracks down the shooter and his gorgeous mistress Vanessa Shedon (Jill Ireland , Bronson's wife , though Sharon Tate was considered and Florinda Bolkan was originally lined up to star) to New Orleans . But when Jeff takes revenge , he finds himself blackmailed by a mobster (Telly Savalas , who does not appear in the movie until about one hour in) wants him to join his organization . Jeff refuses , and is then chased and hunted through an unforgiving city where love is like a serpent or like a loaded gun .

Thrilling movie about the very deadly rivalry between two extreme contenders , a double-crossed wealthy murderer , Charles Bronson , betrayed by his girlfriend , Jill Ireland , and a powerful crime boss , Telly Savalas . This crime thriller packs intrigue , suspense , noisy action-packed with exciting racing cars , explosive excitement , thrills and lots of violence . United Artists cut about eight minutes from the Italian version of this film for its American release . The film relies heavily in the complex , inter-relationship between a fiercely independent gunman , a mob boss , and their shared love interest . Bronson is pretty good as a killer sets out to revenge his Femme Fatal woman and the gang boss who put her up to it . He gives his usual stoic acting and displays efficiently his weapons and killing mercilessly his objectives , that's why the debts of vendetta are paid in bullets . It's certainly thrilling , though the morality may be questionable , even in this time , as the spectators were clearly on the Bronson's side in spite of being a ruthless killer . Bronson as a very professional hit man for a powerful organization offers the sort of monolithic acting , as always . This was one of the first major star teamings of action star Charles Bronson with his actress wife Jill Ireland . Jill Ireland gives a mediocre performance as Jeff's love interest , but the romance isn't what this movie is about and director knows his action . Furthermore , it appears a nice secondary cast , such as : Umberto Orsini , Ray Saunders , Michael Constantin , George Savalas , Telly's brother , and there stands out Telly Savalas who though received second billing , he gives a brief but magnificent acting . It contains atmospheric musical score composed , orchestrated and performed by the great Ennio Morricone , including an unforgettable leitmotif .

The motion picture was compellingly directed by recently deceased Sergio Sollima , he even choreographed the fight scenes himself because he wanted each character to have a fighting style tailored to their personality . This movie was inspired by Jean-Pierre Melville's The Samurai (1967). Sergio Sollima's direction is well crafted, here he's less cynical and more inclined toward violence and too much action . Sergio wrote and directed all kinds of genres such as Pirate films as ¨Sandokan ¨ and ¨ Black Corsario¨ ; Peplum : ¨Rocha¨ , "Spartacus and the Ten Gladiators" , "Triumph of the Ten Gladiators" , ¨Ursus¨ "Goliath Against the Giants" ; Thriller : ¨Revolver¨ (1973) ; Euro-spy : "Requiem for a Secret Agent" , "Agent 3S3: Hunter from the Unknown" , ¨Tanger 67¨ ; being especially known for his ¨Cuchillo trilogy¨ : ¨Run Cuchillo run¨, ¨Face to Face¨ , ¨The big Gundown¨. And this ¨Violent City¨ is essential and indispensable watching for Charles Bronson fans . This is a satisfyingly violent and thrilling flick that avid fans of the genre will love .