Le témoin à abattre

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!

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.

This was the first break-through success of a Poliziotti Italian crime movie and spawned several dozen imitations. Possibly the best film ever made, High Crime delivers the goods like few other movies, blending some experimental filming and editing techniques in with some good performances, solid action sequences, great music, and some pretty stunning photography by Alejandro Ulloa. Unlike a lot of other crime flicks made around the same period, this film isn't sympathetic at all to the villains. They are cold and heartless thugs who's so anything to keep themselves out of jail where they rightfully belong. This film is completely fascist and right-wing in its undertones, yet maintains an engaging level of emotional impact throughout. The scene where Franco Nero discovers his daughter dead made me almost want to cry... and Castellari expertly handles the flashbacks and knows just when to use slow motion in all the right spots.

This wasn't the film which set the trend in Italian crime films (see Violent Professionals) but it was an excellent film which caused their widespread (yet short-lived) popularity. Certain elements (like the getting-in-car-gun-down) were endlessly repeated in the genre by Castellari himself as well as his father Marino Girolami, who totally ripped off the ending of this film in ROMA VIOLENTA, a much more typical film in the genre with Maurizio Merli, who although is not as good an actor as Franco Nero, is much more intense as the leading man in these sorts of films.

if you have never seen an Italian crime movie, this is a great place to start. unlike many other films of this type, it actually works on an emotional level as well as being very entertaining, simular to the films of Scorsese. it's a very violent film, but none of the violence is gratuitous. lots of stylish slow motion shootings, car explosions, and people run over by various moter vehicles, and the excellent musical score by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis captures the emotion of these scenes perfectly. the cast is also very good, especialy Italian Star Franco Nero. highly recommended.

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.