About the only thing I can say good about Milano Trema is that it has some nice shots of Milan in it. This Italian production with a native cast is a poor ripoff of some of our cop dramas like Bullitt or The Seven Ups or even the Dirty Harry series.Luc Merenda an orthodox cop with a Dirty Harry style of doing business does one thing that Harry Callahan would never do, go undercover because too many criminals know his face. He is however suspended for an execution of a pair of escaped criminals.After that his main booster the ever so tolerant police chief of Milan is assassinated by a criminal gang. Merenda goes undercover to find them.The gang is headed by American expatriate Richard Conte who after playing Don Barzini in The Godfather played a lot of cheap grade z productions for a paycheck. He has the look of a man waiting for his paycheck to clear as he mouths his dialog.There's a nice police chase similar to the one in Bullitt in this film. But all in all it's all stuff we've seen better on American cinema.

A Dania Film/C.C. Champion Production. Italian release: 27 August 1973. French DVD title: Rue de la Violence. 104 minutes.COMMENT: I have mixed feelings about this one. I purchased the NEO DVD (which I can most highly recommend, even though they can't spell "giustizia") solely because Richard Conte was billed above the title (Luc Merenda was billed first and then Conte – and that was it for above-the-title billing). Well, Conte is one of my favorite actors and I'd never seen any of his Italian films, so naturally I was quick to pounce on this DVD. As most of you know, Conte is an Italian name and Richard could speak Italian. And doubtless he did so during the shooting. But nonetheless, his voice is dubbed. Disappointment number one.The NEO DVD offers a choice between the original 98-minutes (allowing for DVD speed) Italian version (with French sub-titles) and a censored (to 95 minutes), French-dubbed version. Naturally, I chose the Italian version. The print is impeccable, but in a sense it's too good. The print is so sharp, it's easy to spot that Conte is not doing his own fighting. On the other hand, the other action scenes – and most particularly the car chases – are out of this world. Nonetheless, the sleazy, depressingly dark and bloodthirsty tone of the whole movie made me wish I'd watched the French version instead.

The great Sergio Martino is doubtlessly best known for his Giallo masterpieces such as the elegant LO STANO VIZIO DELLA SIGNORA WARDH (THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS WARDH, 1971), the convoluted IL CODA DELLO SCORPIONE (THE SCORPION'S TAIL, 1971), the insanely brilliant IL TUO VIZIO È UNA STANZA CHIUSA E SOLO NE HO LA CHIAVE (YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY, 1972, maybe my choice for my all-time favorite Giallo), the dark and obscure TUTTI I COLORI DEL BUIO (ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, 1972) or the delightfully nasty I CORPI PRESENTANO TRACCE DI VIOLENZIA CARNALE (TORSO, 1973). A true master of the Giallo-genre Martino has also delivered great films in many other (sub-)genres of Italian cult-cinema, be it Western (MANNAJA, 1977), Cannibal-flick (LA MONTAGNA DEL DIO CANNIBALE, 1978), Post-Nuke Action (219 - DOPO LA CADUTA DI NEW YORK, 1983) or weird monster movie (L'ISOLA DEGLI UOMINI PESCE, 1979). The gritty and violent MILANO TREMA - LA POLIZIA VUOLE GIUSTIZIA aka. THE VIOLENT PROFESSIONALS of 1973 is another great example for Martino's versatility as a filmmaker.Many of the greatest Poliziotteschi of the 70s were set in Milan, and while MILANO TREMA can not quite compete with the two greatest genre-masterpieces that carry the Northern Italian city's name in their title (Fernando Di Leo's MILANO CALIBRO 9 of 1972 and Umberto Lenzi's MILANO ODIA: LA POLIZIA NON PUÒ SPARARE of 1974) it is a wonderfully gritty, violent and uncompromising example for the genre that my fellow Eurocult fans should not miss.Regular leading man Luc Merenda plays Commisario Giorgio Caneparo, a rough Milan cop whose unorthodox methods and willingness to take the law in his own hands are under-appreciated by his superiors. The film already begins brutally promising, when two violent criminals escape from a con-train, killing a bunch of innocent people and soon thereafter meed their fate at the hands of the Commissario. When the tough cop's more mild-natured superior and friend is murdered, he decides to go undercover for vengeance...The Italian Poliziottesco is a violent and gritty genre that defies political correctness, and MILANO TREMA is a great example for that. While the level of sleaze and sexual violence is relatively low (in comparison e.g. to Lenzi's movies), the movie is brutal as hell, and uncompromising in its brutality. The (anti-)hero cop played by Luc Merenda does not scant to bend the law and execute evildoers on the spot, the victims of violent crimes in the movie include innocent children and pregnant women. The rest of the cast includes the great Richard Conte, Italian cult-movie regular Silvano Tranquilli and Martine Brochard in the female lead. The movie is full of the genre-typical car-chases and violent shoot-outs, all of which are very-well made. The score by the De Angelis brothers is very good and the camera-work is amazing, especially during action-sequences. Overall MILANO TREMA is a violent and highly rewarding Poliziottesco. It does rank slightly below the ultimate genre-masterpieces like Lenzi's MILANO ODIA, but it is definitely a must-see for any fan of the genre. Highly recommended!

Dirty Harry like cop investigates the murder of a fellow cop and beats up and kills a good number of bad guys in the process.Violent police drama keeps your attention focused thanks to an almost constant stream of beatings and shootings. Not the best film and certainly far from the worst, this is just a good solid action film for a rainy Sunday without the kids. The best thing is this is a regular in bargain bins for around a buck which, as entertainment goes is quite a bargain for a film as good as this.Go get some popcorn and some sodas.7 out of 10