Italian Crime Filmography: 1968-1980

In 1970s Italy, after the decline of the Spaghetti Western, crime films became the most popular, profitable and controversial genre. In a country plagued with violence, politicaltensions and armed struggle, these films managed to capture the anxiety and anger of the times in their tales of tough cops, ruthless criminals and urban paranoia. Recent yearshave seen renewed critical interest in the genre, thanks in part to such illustrious fans as Quentin Tarantino. This book examines all of the 220+ crime films produced in Italybetween 1968 and 1980, the period when the genre first appeared and grew to its peak. Entries include a complete cast and crew list, home video releases, a plot summary and the author's own analysis. Excerpts from a variety of sources are included: academic texts, contemporary reviews, and interviews with filmmakers, scriptwriters and actors. There are many onset stills and film posters.

Author Roberto Curti has given the Euro film fan an exhaustive but thorough tome on the Italian Crime film. After giving a history of how the genre developed after the decline of the Spaghetti Western and with the political tensions which were prevalent in Italy in the early Seventies, it shows how film audiences were welcoming this type of film as a way to project their rage and frustrations with the heroes and anti-heroes of the photoplays. Mr. Curti spans the entire gamut of the genre from its beginnings in 1968 with the benchmark thriller Director Carlo Lizzani's 'BANDITS IN MILAN' aka 'THE VIOLENT FOUR' aka 'BANDITI A MILANO' and covers each separate year alphabetizing each film and giving a synopsis, critical analysis including interviews with the technicians , extensive cast and crew credits and rare photos thereby giving each entry the ability to stand on its own and giving the reader more than just a browser coffee table work. The years covered are from 1968 to 1980 but Mr. Curti goes a step further by including an appendix entitled 'ITALIAN CRIME FILMS 1981 to 2013' showing the works which continued and are still being released in the genre. There are also separate chapters on the most significant directors and actors within the genre making this tome the final word on the subject and a definitive work . Highly recommended and Mr. Curti should be congratulated on a job well done thereby giving American audiences the knowledge of these classics and neglected works. May he continue to release books on other Italian Film genres in the future.



Roberto Curti has done a job that had not previously been tackled before, writing a book about the Italian crime film genre in English. I have a book that I picked up in Rome about these films, but Curti's book has pulled all stops and is the definitive tome for anyone into the myriad of police and gangster films that Italy produced in the late sixties right up until the early eighties. The book is chock full of synopses, credit listings, availability on VHS and DVD formats and anecdotes from filmmakers and actors alike. This is essential for any Italian cineaste's library and those who are fans of this oft-neglected genre. This book is a great companion piece to the excellent website, pollanet.com, which is devoted to Italian crime films. The indexes are terrific as well, although a listing of the films from 1981 onward would have been nice as there are many films that should be recognized, i.e. Wooden Overcoat with Fred Williamson. Get this one and you will hooked on these unsung films!








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