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!

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 .

VIOLENT CITY is definitely not your average Charles Bronson action extravaganza, but there is so much more going on than you think. Italian filmmaker Sergio Sollima (REVOLVER, THE BIG GUNDOWN) brings his energetic flair from his Spaghetti Westerns to this exciting tale of revenge loosely based on Jean Pierre Melville's LE SAMOURAI. From watching the stunning opening credits sequence, the audience knows they're in for a rough, wild ride. In one of his first starring roles, Charles Bronson brings his laconic screen presence into the role of professional hit man Jeff Heston. As his former mistress Vanessa, Jill Ireland conveys innocence and sensuality within every emotion of the character. Telly Savalas gives his most sinister performance as the crime kingpin Al Weber so convincingly that I was immediately baffled and mesmerized at the same time. From watching the car chase in the Bahamas, my eyes were literally glued to the screen. Turbo-charged engine cars crashing, unlimited amount of speeding, no dialog and no music. Perfecto. The race track scene is also another highlight of the film. As the ricocheting bullet nails a tire, a racing car crashes into a brick wall causing it to explode. That by the way is a sweet revenge. Ennio Morricone (THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, THE UNTOUCHABLES) delivers a magnificent, pulse-pounding score as always ranging from the orchestral to the psychedelic. Cameraman Aldo Tonti takes advantage of the Techniscope format with stunning compositions and tight close-ups.There may be no way to recommend VIOLENT CITY except that it's a striking masterpiece of the always-overlooked Eurocrime genre.

I've been watching a lot of these Italian cop flicks recently, but unfortunately; Violent City isn't one of the best. The film was released before Dirty Harry (unlike the rest of the genre), so it does deserve some credit for originality. That's not to say it's bad by any means, but this Charles Bronson vehicle doesn't entertain on the same level as a lot of the rest of the genre. There are certainly a lot of good things about this film; but unfortunately, there's also a lot of bad and the film features long stretches where little or nothing happens, which certainly isn't to its credit. It's a shame really as this has the basis to be one of the best of the Italian crime films just because of the fact that it stars the 'man of few words' Charles Bronson. The plot is pretty standard stuff, and focuses on a hit-man that is double crossed by his friend and girlfriend. After getting out of jail, he decides to take revenge on those that wronged him. However, some way into his revenge; he begins being blackmailed by a powerful crime boss that wants the hit-man in his organisation.Charles Bronson has a lot of screen presence, despite the fact that this role doesn't really suit him. His character is called 'Jeff' (it's really hard to imagine the grizzled Charles Bronson being called "Jeff"), and it's also rather difficult to imagine him having the women after him... The film's positives are, luckily, enough to save it from being a complete loss. The opening car chase is really good, and provides the perfect opening to the film. From there, we are treated to a handful of good action scenes, including plenty of shooting (a given, since the lead character is a hit-man). The sequence at the end is the best part of the film, as it's both exciting and inventive, and provides the perfect way for our lead character to get his revenge. The support cast isn't great, and features Telly Savalas, who is decent enough and Jill Ireland, who looks nice throughout. However, the plotting continually gets in the way and the fact that the film doesn't run smoothly greatly hinders it. Overall, Violent City certainly has its moments; but it's not one of the best crime films to come out of Italy during the seventies.