So, you like post-modernism eh? Try this one out, a pseudo-documentary told in a fragmented fashion that kind of starts out describing crime throughout Milan, but then shows the aftermath of a botched robbery, then the events leading up to the robbery, then the robbery, then the aftermath again. Hell, it doesn't even start to have a plot until about twenty minutes in - that's how weirdly constructed this one is.You see, we follow Detective Tomas Milian as he uses documentary techniques to replay crimes that have happened in the past. At least I think that's what he says. We also get to see extortion rackets, gambling dens, and the burning of an escort girl before a robbery goes wrong and several innocent bystanders get whacked for their troubles (and this is where the story starts being coherent at all) - but who is behind these awful killings?Turns out the gang have struck seventeen times before, including three robberies in one day. This gang is led by smiling, overconfident Gian Maria Volonte, who gets very philosophical about things. He even has a cover story - he runs a legitimate business during the day with his other two gang members also attending as 'employees'. They also pick up a third member in the form of young Ray Lovelock who wants to escape his boring life. This is an odd take on the Euro-crime film, so cop Tomas Milian is basically pushed into the background to interrogate one of the robbers while the real emotional core of the film sits with Volonte, who loves his mamma and promises his wife the world, while being charming to his secretary (he gets her driving lessons) and nurturing the criminal career of Lovelock, all while laughing his head off about everything. We also spend a lot of time with character who have nothing to do with anything, like prank callers, and the escort girl from the start. The best part about the film is the big robbery, as the gang do a lot of groundwork before the actual robbery itself, and we are shown in great detail the lives of the innocent people just about to be caught up in a world of violence. In fact, this bit is carried out so well that the rest of the film just kind of runs down to a halt. Strange.You can see how this would have been an influence on Quentin Tarantino - the plot is all over the place, it's full of dialogue that has nothing to do with the plot, and it's rather violent. Just throw in Samual L Jackson, some funky music, and a fixation on the 'n' word and your good to go! For a very similar film, see Gangster's Law.

A hard boiled thriller that shoots itself in the foot by being far too hyperactive to be either cohesive or very satisfying. For the film's first quarter or so, director Carlo Lizzani pulls together what is essentially a docudrama on the crime wave hitting Milan in the mid to late 1960s. By the time the bandits (led by Gian Maria Volonté) appear, the viewer has already been assaulted by a blitz of sordid images ranging from riots to shootings to prostitution stings. Edited in such a high pitched staccato way, the film leaves one exhausted and, frankly, bored BEFORE the film proper even begins. Nevertheless, the acting is very good with Volonté giving an excellent performance as a degenerate crook passing himself off as morally high and mighty (the type of role Volonté mastered during his career...see INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION or SLAP THE MONSTER ON PAGE ONE). Tomas Milian is the police commissioner and Carla Gravina, María Rosa Sclauzero (as Volonté secretary) and Ray Lovelock are in it too.

This is an entertaining Italian crime drama from 1968 starring the excellent Gian Maria Volonte (bad guy in A Fistful Of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More) as the intelligent and increasingly hubristic leader of a gang of bank-robbers. The first ten minutes are pretty misleading, making it appear like this is going to be a light, even campy affair more in line with Mario Bava's Danger: Diabolik! than the serious crime drama it turns out to be. But once the gang's driver is rescued from an angry mob and interrogated by Tomas Milian we get down to business. This overlooked little Italian gem does a number of firsts from what I can tell and anyone who knows better is free to correct me. First, is the use of pop music throughout the film. It has instrumental tracks but the pop tunes are fairly ubiquitous in a way they were not in any other crime movie from that time or before. Secondly, there is the realistic planning and casing for one of the robberies, not the amusing fantasy plotting of the Italian Job, Topkapi, or Ocean's 11. Thirdly, there is a full speed, bullet flying car chase through the urban environment of Milan without any use of back screen, sped up film, or any other tricks still prevalent in Hollywood films from the period. It's all fast driving and editing. Last but definitely not least is the gritty cinema verite photography that is stamped all over later films like The French Connection and The Seven Ups. Having watched this, it's pretty obvious to me that the young film school turks like William Friedkin and Martin Scorcese (a self-admitted Italian film fanatic and preservationist) saw this movie when it was first released in the U.S. That makes Bandits In Milan a.k.a. The Violent Four a must see for film and 1970's crime drama buffs. I found it at Netflix but only for streaming which was unfortunate as I had to watch it on my laptop. Still glad I did.

Inspired by some shocking criminal events of the time, this is a great and very ingenious piece of cinematography. Shot between a crime flick and a documentary it is extraordinary to see how long before Oliver Stone made his movie this one already had it all: the craziness, the character's excessive performances, the mix of footages (documentary, news, acting), the gratuitous violence... If in the 60's Italy produced some of the most important masterpieces, in the 70's Italy became extraordinarily experimental producing some incredible innovative movies and movie genres (the poliziottesco, Damiani's mafia movies, Argento's gialli, Bava's horrors, the soft porn comedies, Rosi's movie-inchiesta, to name the more famous) This movie has not dated and is still to be recommended to anyone interested in experimental movie-making. A tribute should be dedicated to that supreme actor named Gian Maria Volonte' here in top form.