High Crime, 1973.
Directed by Enzo G. Castellari.
Starring Franco Nero, James Whitmore, Delia Boccardo, Fernando Rey, and Silvano Tranquilli.
SYNOPSIS:
An Italian cop takes on a European drug ring but the deeper he goes the more those around him start to get bumped off.
Released as part of StudioCanal’s new Cult Classics line of movies, 1973s Euro-crime caper High Crime stars Italian genre legend Franco Nero (Django/Die Hard 2) as Police Vice-Commissioner Belli, a tough and streetwise cop who is on the trail of a Lebanese drug dealer. After a high-speed car chase Belli gets his man but the culprit is blown up by a bomb that was apparently planted by a new gang in town. Belli receives this information from mobster Cafiero (Fernando Rey), who has reportedly given up his criminal ways and is now a gardener, but Cafiero also wants rid of the new gang, and when Belli’s boss Commissioner Scavino (James Whitmore – The Shawshank Redemption) finally agrees to try and take down all the gang members all hell breaks loose as a wider crime syndicate is busted open.
High Crime is a solid poliziotteschi movie to help launch a new range of cult movie restorations as it is bright, occasionally colourful and, thanks to a spirited performance from Franco Nero, full of energy that keeps things rolling along as Belli moves from one suspect to the next in his quest to bring down the drug ring. However, despite the stylistic flourishes and Franco Nero going full The Sweeney in his quest to beat up everyone he can, High Crime does suffer from being a bit difficult to follow. Yes, the overall plot is fairly simple but there are a lot of characters thrown into the mix and Belli does seem to go randomly from one to another, and you’re never too sure who is working for who or what their connections to each other are. There is also a thread that adds a lot of emotional weight to the story, especially in the third act, but it does feel a bit tacked on, as if the writers needed to add something to make Belli feel a bit more rounded. It serves its purpose but you could remove it and still have pretty much the same movie.
Coming early in the poliziotteschi cycle, High Crime does pack a lot into its 93-minute running time, and despite it getting a bit confusing at times you could never say that it was boring, mainly thanks to Franco Nero and James Whitmore stealing the limelight from everyone else but also Enzo G. Castellari’s no-nonsense direction and a funky ‘70s score to highlight most of the action. It also helps if you have some violent kills to up the ante and there are a few of those, mainly by meat hooks or people getting mowed down by cars or motorbikes.
Featuring interviews with Enzo G. Castellari and camera operator Roberto Girometti, plus a featurette on the crazy stunts of stuntman Massimo Vanni, of which there are plenty, this restoration of High Crime looks as neat as Franco Nero’s perfectly trimmed moustache despite not being the best the genre has to offer, and although the opening car chase is one of the most exciting you’ll see from a movie of the era – you can tell Bullitt was a huge influence, as well as The French Connection – the movie gets too muddled within its own plot and cannot maintain that momentum all the way through. Nevertheless, this tidy edition of High Crime is certainly worth picking up if the wild world of the 1970s Italian poliziotteschi is the place you like to spend your time in.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
