Poliziotteschi (; singular ''poliziottesco'') constitute a subgenre of

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

and action films that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as ''polizieschi all'italiana'', ''Euro-crime'', ''Italo-crime'', ''spaghetti crime films'', or simply ''Italian crime films''. Influenced by both 1970s

French crime films French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

and gritty 1960s and 1970s American cop films and

vigilante film The vigilante film is a film genre in which the protagonist or protagonists engage in vigilante behavior, taking the law into their own hands. Vigilante films are usually revenge films in which the legal system fails protagonists, leading them to ...

s, poliziotteschi films were made amidst an atmosphere of socio-political turmoil in Italy known as

Years of Lead Years of Lead is a phrase used in several countries to refer to periods of history marked by military repression, political violence or terrorism. Years of lead may refer to: Historical periods * Years of Lead (Brazil), from 1968 to 1974 * Yea ...

and increasing Italian crime rates. The films generally featured graphic and brutal violence, organized crime,

car chase A car chase or vehicle pursuit is the vehicular overland chase of one party by another, involving at least one automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on ro ...

s, vigilantism, heists, gunfights, and corruption up to the highest levels. The protagonists were generally tough

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

loners, willing to act outside a corrupt or overly bureaucratic system.

Etymology of the noun

In Italian, ''poliziesco'' is the grammatically correct Italian adjective (resulting from the fusion of the noun ''polizia'' "police" and the

desinence In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry gr ...

''-esco'' "related to", akin to the English "-esque") for police-related dramas, ranging from

Ed McBain Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Albert Lombino,(October 15, 1926 – July 6, 2005) was an American author and screenwriter best known for his 87th Precinct novels, written under his Ed McBain pen name, and the novel upon which the film '' Black ...

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...

novels to forensic science investigations. ''Poliziesco'' is used generally to indicate every

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as spec ...

production where police forces (Italian or foreign) are the main protagonists. Instead the term ''poliziottesco'', a fusion of the words ''poliziotto'' ("policeman") and the same ''-esco'' desinence, has prevailed (over the more syntactically-correct ''Poliziesco all'Italiana'') to indicate 1970s-era Italian-produced "tough cop" and crime movies. The prevalence of ''Poliziottesco'' over ''Poliziesco all'Italiana'' closely follows the success of the term ''Spaghetti Western'' over ''Western all'Italiana'', being shorter and more vivid – though in both instances the term that has come to be used more frequently by English-speaking fans of the genre (poliziotteschi, Spaghetti Westerns) was originally used pejoratively by critics, to denigrate the films themselves and their makers.

History

Although the subgenre has its roots in Italian

heist film The heist film or caper film is a subgenre of crime film focused on the planning, execution, and aftermath of a significant robbery. One of the early defining heist films was '' The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950), which ''Film Genre 2000'' wrote "almo ...

s of the late 1960s, such as '' Bandits in Milan'' (''Banditi a Milano'', 1968) by

Carlo Lizzani Carlo Lizzani (3 April 1922 – 5 October 2013) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and critic. Biography Born in Rome, before World War II Lizzani worked as a scenarist on such films as Roberto Rossellini's '' Germany Year Zero' ...

, it was also strongly influenced by such rough-edged American police thrillers of the late 1960s and early 1970s as ''

Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan Trustman, Alan R. Trustman and H ...

'', ''

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) ...

'', '' The French Connection'', ''

Magnum Force ''Magnum Force'' is a 1973 American neo-noir vigilante action thriller film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film ''Dirty Harry''. Ted Post, who had previously worked with Eastwood on '' Ra ...

'', and ''

Serpico ''Serpico'' is a 1973 American neo-noir biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino in the title role. The screenplay was adapted by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from the book of the same name written by P ...

''; the 1970s wave of American

s, including 1974's '' Death Wish''; the increase of cynicism and violence in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

crime films; the resurgence of

mob film Mafia films—a version of gangster films—are a subgenre of crime films dealing with organized crime, often specifically with Mafia organizations. Especially in early mob films, there is considerable overlap with ''film noir''. Popular regional ...

s in the wake of ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 The Godfather (novel), novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al ...

''; French and American noir and

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating s ...

films; and the rise of

exploitation films An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become h ...

in the late 1960s and 1970s. More generally, the genre was also heavily influenced by real-life crime and unrest in 1970s Italy during the period known as the ''anni di piombo'' (political violence, kidnappings, assassinations, bank robberies, political militant terrorism, impending oil crisis, political corruption, organized crime-related violence, and recession). Just as American police films, American crime thrillers, and American vigilante films of the time focused on the crime waves and urban decline in the United States of the 1960s and 1970s, ''poliziotteschi'' were set in the context of, or directly addressed, the sociopolitical tumult and violence of Italy's '' anni di piombo'', or the "Years of Lead", a period of widespread social unrest, political upheaval, labor unrest, rising crime, political violence, and political terrorism from the 1960s to 1980s. During this period, paramilitary and militant political terrorist groups, both on the far left (e.g. the

Red Brigades The Red Brigades ( it, Brigate Rosse , often abbreviated BR) was a far-left Marxist–Leninist armed organization operating as a terrorist and guerrilla group based in Italy responsible for numerous violent incidents, including the abduction ...

) and far right (e.g. the

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration sent ...

Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari The Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari ( en, Armed Revolutionary Nuclei), abbreviated NAR, was an Italian terrorist neo-fascist militant organization active during the Years of Lead from 1977 to November 1981. It committed 33 murders in four years, an ...

) engaged in kidnappings, assassinations, and bombings (such as the Piazza Fontana bombing and 1980 Bologna train station bombing). At the same time, there was a period of especially violent conflict and disorder within the

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia- terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sici ...

, kicked off with the " First Mafia War" of the 1960s and culminating in the "

Second Mafia War The Second Mafia War was a period of conflict involving the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place from the late 1970s to the early 1990s and involved thousands of homicides. Sometimes referred to as The Great Mafia War or the ''Mattanza'' (Italian ...

" of the early 1980s. Italian organized crime groups such as the Sicilian Mafia, the

Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...

, and especially the Roman Banda della Magliana were actively involved in both criminal and political activities during this time, carrying out bombings and kidnappings, making deals with corrupt politicians, and forming strong ties to extreme far right groups and neo-fascist terrorist organizations. Accordingly, ''poliziotteschi'' films such as '' Execution Squad'' (1972) often featured political extremists and paramilitary or terrorist groups alongside or in addition to the more commonly featured apolitical '' mafiosi'' and

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

criminal elements found in Italian crime films. Romano puppo

Due in part to the genre's often ostensibly negative portrayal of political activists and militants, especially leftist militants, and its seeming endorsement of

vigilantism Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

and "tough-on-crime" or "

law and order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

" stances, some ''poliziotteschi'' films (such as 1976's ''

The Big Racket ''The Big Racket'' ( it, Il grande racket) is a 1976 Italian '' poliziottesco'' film directed by Enzo G. Castellari. Fabio Testi stars as a police inspector who takes on a gang of hoodlums who terrorise an Italian city by extorting cash from lo ...

'') were criticized by then-contemporaneous critics and accused of exploiting

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

fears of rising crime and political upheaval while containing

reactionary In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the '' status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abs ...

, pro-violence, or even quasi-

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

ideological elements in their overarching message. These critiques were similar to those leveled at the 1970s American "

s" of the same period, such as 1974's '' Death Wish'', films by which the ''poliziotteschi'' genre were considerably influenced. In retrospect, despite contemporaneous claims in the 1970s of overly conservative or reactionary themes within the genre, film historians such as Louis Bayman and Peter Bondarella contend that, in fact, ''poliziotteschi'' films generally presented a more multi-faceted, complex outlook on the political turmoil and crime waves of the time, as well as violence in general, with Bayman and author Roberto Curti in particular arguing that the genre generally used political conflicts and violence for largely

apolitical Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased p ...

tension-building and

cathartic In medicine, a cathartic is a substance that ''accelerates'' defecation. This is similar to a laxative, which is a substance that ''eases'' defecation, usually by softening feces. It is possible for a substance to be both a laxative and a cathart ...

or emotional purposes rather than to promote any particular political agendas. Curti notes that the genre's protagonists often simultaneously displayed both right-wing and left-wing views, and protagonists were often

while villains were often wealthy right-wing conservatives. The film '' Caliber 9'' (1972), for instance, features protagonists of both right-wing and leftist ideologies and offers differing views on the causes of crime and the true antagonists of law-abiding Italian society, while ''Execution Squad'' reveals the actual antagonists of the film to be right-wing reactionary, "tough-on-crime" ex-police officers and vigilantes rather than the initially suspected leftist militants. Rather than explicitly supporting violence or vigilantism, the genre just as often displayed a morally ambiguous or aloof position on these themes, or even presented vigilantism and violence as a ''

no-win situation A no-win situation, also called a lose-lose situation, is one where a person has choices, but no choice leads to a net gain. For example, if an executioner offers the condemned the choice of death by being hanged, shot, or poisoned, all choices lea ...

.'' Though ''poliziotteschi'' films have been viewed by some critics as condemning a "liberal" or "weak" judiciary system as ineffectual in its treatment of criminals, the genre also suggests a more general distrust of authority, whether left-wing or right-wing, by portraying right-wing law enforcement, politicians and businessmen as hopelessly corrupt and manipulative. According to Bondarella, the "classic" ''poliziotteschi'' film reveals "almost universal suspicion of the very social institutions charged with protecting Italian society from criminal violence." La polizia chiede aiuto

With directors such as

Fernando Di Leo Fernando Di Leo (11 January 1932 – 2 December 2003) was an Italian film director and script writer. He made 17 films as a director and about 50 scripts from 1964 to 1985. Biography Fernando Di Leo was born on 11 January 1932 in San Ferdinando ...

and

Umberto Lenzi Umberto Lenzi (6 August 1931 – 19 October 2017) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and novelist. A fan of film since young age, Lenzi studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and made his first film in 1958 which went unr ...

and actors such as

Maurizio Merli Maurizio Merli (February 8, 1940 – March 10, 1989) was an Italian film actor and a star of many Italian police thrillers. Career After a decade of minor film roles, 1974 saw a breakthrough for Merli with his first starring role in a rema ...

and

Tomas Milian Tomas Milian (born Tomás Quintín Rodríguez-Varona Milián Salinas de la Fé y Álvarez de la Campa; 3 March 1933 – 22 March 2017) was a Cuban-born actor and singer with American and Italian citizenship, known for the emotional intensity an ...

, ''poliziotteschi'' films became popular in the mid-1970s after the decline of

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most ...

s and

Eurospy Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film (when referring to Italian-produced films in the genre), is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the British James B ...

genres. The subgenre lost its mainstream popularity in the late 1970s as Italian erotic comedy and horror films started topping the Italian box office. Although based around crime and detective work, ''poliziotteschi'' should not be confused with the other popular Italian crime genre of the 1970s, the ''

giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, a ...

'', which, to English-speaking and non-Italian audiences, refers to a genre of violent Italian murder-mystery thriller-horror films. Directors and stars often moved between both forms, and some films could be considered under either banner, such as Massimo Dallamano's '' What Have They Done to Your Daughters?'' (1974). The ''poliziottesco'' subgenre gradually declined in popularity during the late 1970s. Screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti, who was unhappy with what he deemed the genre's "fascistic" undertones, credits himself for "destroying it from the inside", by making it evolve into self-

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its su ...

. By the end of the decade, the most successful films associated with the genre were

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...

pictures, which gradually evolved towards pure comedy.

Directors include

Mario Bianchi Mario Bianchi (7 January 1939 – April 2022) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Bianchi directed several features including sexploitation A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, low- ...

* Alfonso Brescia *

Enzo G. Castellari Enzo Girolami Castellari (born 29 July 1938) is an Italian director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Early life Castellari was born in Rome into a family of filmmakers. His father was a boxer turned film maker Marino Girolami. His uncle ...

Bruno Corbucci Bruno Corbucci (23 October 1931 – 7 September 1996) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He was the younger brother of Sergio Corbucci, and wrote many of his films. He was born in Rome, where he also died. The vast majority of ...

Damiano Damiani Damiano Damiani (23 July 1922 – 7 March 2013) was an Italian screenwriter, film director, actor and writer. Poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini referred to him as "a bitter moralist hungry for old purity", while film critic Paolo Mereg ...

Alberto De Martino Alberto De Martino (12 June 1929 – 2 June 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born in Rome, De Martino started as a child actor and later returned to the cinema where worked as a screenwriter, director and dubbing supervis ...

* Massimo Dallamano *

Ruggero Deodato Ruggero Deodato (born 7 May 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and sometime actor. His career has spanned a wide-range of genres including peplum, comedy, drama, poliziottesco and science fiction, yet he is perhaps best known f ...

Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including comedies and Spaghetti Westerns, he garn ...

Mario Caiano Mario Caiano (February 13, 1933 – September 20, 2015) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, producer, art director and second unit director. Career Born in Rome, he directed nearly 50 films between 1961 and 2001 and wrote some 27 fi ...

Marino Girolami Marino Girolami (1 February 1914 – 20 February 1994) was an Italian film director and actor. Biography Marino Giorlami was born on 1 February 1914 in Rome, Italy. Formally a Professional boxer, Girolami ended his boxing career when he was 20 ...

* Romolo Girolami *

Sergio Martino Sergio Martino (born 19 July 1938) is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre. Martino is the brother of the late producer Luciano Martino (who died in 2013). They collaborated frequently in their ...

Stelvio Massi Stelvio Massi (26 March 1929 – 26 March 2004), sometimes credited "Max Steel", was an Italian director known for his "''poliziotteschi''" films. Career Massi entered the cinema industry in 1952 as assistant camera operator, and in 1954 he becam ...

* Giuliano Montaldo *

Elio Petri Eraclio Petri (29 January 1929 – 10 November 1982), commonly known as Elio Petri, was an Italian film director, screenwriter, theatre director, and critic associated with the political cinema in the 1960s and '70s. His film '' Investigatio ...

* Sergio Sollima *

Duccio Tessari Duccio Tessari (11 October 1926 – 6 September 1994) was an Italian director, screenwriter and actor, considered one of the fathers of Spaghetti Westerns. Born in Genoa, Tessari started in the fifties as documentarist and as screenwriter of pe ...

Actors include

Mario Adorf Mario Adorf (; born 8 September 1930) is a German actor, considered to be one of the great veteran character actors of European cinema. Since 1954, he has played both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, am ...

Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-German actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (19 ...

Carroll Baker Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American former actress. After studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Baker began performing on Broadway in 1954. From there, she was recruited by director Elia Kazan to play the lead in th ...

Martin Balsam Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New Y ...

Helmut Berger Helmut Berger (; born Helmut Steinberger; 29 May 1944) is an Austrian actor, known for his portrayal of narcissistic and sexually-ambiguous characters. He was one of the stars of the European cinema in the late 1960s and 1970s, and is regarded ...

* Barbara Bouchet * Sal Borgese * Marcel Bozzuffi *

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and wa ...

Luciano Catenacci Luciano Catenacci (13 April 1933 – 4 October 1990) was an Italian actor and production manager who worked on mainly Italian produced films during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Life and career Born in Rome, Catenacci started his career a ...

* Adolfo Celi *

Giovanni Cianfriglia Giovanni Cianfriglia (born 5 April 1935) is an Italian film actor. He has appeared in more than 100 films since 1958. Born in Anzio, Cianfriglia debuted as the body double of Steve Reeves in ''Hercules'', then he started appearing, often un ...

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

Richard Conte Nicholas Peter Conte (March 24, 1910 – April 15, 1975), known professionally as Richard Conte, was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from the 1940s through 1970s, including '' I'll Cry Tomorrow'', '' Ocean's 11'', and ''T ...

Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and '' Sa ...

* Alain Delon *

George Eastman George Eastman (July 12, 1854March 14, 1932) was an American entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and helped to bring the photographic use of roll film into the mainstream. He was a major philanthropist, establishing the East ...

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón Ferrer (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with '' Scaramouche'', '' Lili'' and '' Knights of the R ...

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...

Angelo Infanti Angelo Infanti (; 16 February 1939 – 12 October 2010) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1961 and 2010. He was born on 16 February 1939 in Zagarolo, Italy. He died on 12 October 2010 in Tivoli, Italy due ...

* Leonard Mann *

Luc Merenda Luc Charles Olivier Merenda (born 3 September 1943) is a French film actor. He was one of the most prominent actors of the Italian poliziotteschi genre, working several times with Sergio Martino and Fernando Di Leo. He is of Italian origin t ...

* Mario Merola *

Gordon Mitchell Gordon Mitchell (born Charles Allen Pendleton; July 29, 1923 – September 20, 2003) was an American actor and bodybuilder who made about 200 B movies. Biography Charles Allen Pendleton was born in Denver, Colorado, and began working out in h ...

Gastone Moschin Gastone Moschin (8 June 1929 – 4 September 2017) was an Italian stage, television and film actor. Career Born in San Giovanni Lupatoto (Veneto), Moschin graduated from the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico and then began ...

Franco Nero Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor, producer, and director. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film '' Django'' (1966), ...

Jack Palance Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...

Oliver Reed Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...

Fernando Rey Fernando Casado Arambillet (La Coruña (Spain), 20 September 1917 – Madrid (Spain), 9 March 1994), best known as Fernando Rey, was a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor, who worked in both Europe and the United States. A suave, i ...

Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...

* Luciano Rossi *

Antonio Sabàto Sr. Antonio Sabàto Sr. (2 April 1943 – 10 January 2021) was an Italian-American film and television actor noted for extensive work in the Italian exploitation genre. He was the father of model and actor Antonio Sabàto Jr. and Simmone Sabàto. Amo ...

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...

John Saxon John Saxon (born Carmine Orrico; August 5, 1936 – July 25, 2020) was an American actor who worked on more than 200 film and television projects during a span of 60 years. He was known for his work in Westerns and horror films, often playin ...

* Henry Silva *

Woody Strode Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode (July 25, 1914 – December 31, 1994) was an American athlete and actor. He was a decathlete and football star who was one of the first Black American players in the National Football League in the postwar era. ...

* Fabio Testi *

Massimo Vanni Massimo Vanni (born 8 July 1946) is an Italian film and television actor. Life and career Born in Rome, Vanni started his career as a stuntman, and had his first roles of weight playing tough guys in several poliziotteschi films directed by his ...

Gian Maria Volonté Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor, including roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964) and El Indio in Leone's ''For a Few Dollars More'' (196 ...

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...

Fred Williamson Frederick Robert Williamson (born March 5, 1938), also known as The Hammer, is an American actor and former professional American football defensive back who played mainly in the American Football League during the 1960s. Williamson is perhaps ...

Selected films

* '' Bandits in Milan ''(''Banditi a Milano'', 1968) * ''

Detective Belli ''Detective Belli'' ( it, Un Detective) is a 1969 Italian '' poliziotteschi'' directed by Romolo Guerrieri and starring Franco Nero. It is based on the novel ''Macchie di belletto'' by Ludovico Dentice. Plot The rude Commissioner Belli (Franc ...

''(''Un Detective'', 1969) * '' Violent City'' (''Città violenta'', 1970) * '' Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion'' (''Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto'', 1970) * '' Execution Squad'' (''La polizia ringrazia'', 1972) * '' Caliber 9 ''(''Milano calibro 9'', 1972) * '' Manhunt'' (''La mala ordina'', 1972) * ''

Tony Arzenta ''Tony Arzenta'' (internationally released as ''Big Guns'' and ''No Way Out'') is a 1973 Italian noir film directed by Duccio Tessari. The film was commercially successful. Plot When the Milan based mafia hitman Tony Arzenta asks to get out ...

''(1973) * '' High Crime'' (''La polizia incrimina la legge assolve'', 1973) * '' The Violent Professionals'' (''Milano trema – la polizia vuole giustizia'', 1973) * '' Revolver ''(1973) * '' The Great Kidnapping'' (''La polizia sta a guardare'', 1973) * '' The Boss'' (''Il Boss'', 1973) * ''

Flatfoot Flat feet (also called pes planus or fallen arches) is a postural deformity in which the arches of the foot collapse, with the entire sole of the foot coming into complete or near-complete contact with the ground. Sometimes children are born ...

'' (''Piedone lo sbirro'', 1973) * '' Gang War in Milan ''(''Milano rovente'', 1973) * '' The Police Serve the Citizens?'' (''La polizia è al servizio del cittadino?'', 1973) * '' Emergency Squad'' (''Squadra volante'', 1974) * ''

Street Law Street Law (also known as ''StreetLaw'') is a global program of legal and civics education geared at secondary school students. Street Law is an approach to teaching practically relevant law to grassroots populations using interactive teaching m ...

'' (''Il cittadino si ribella'', 1974) * '' Almost Human'' (''Milano odia: la polizia non può sparare'', 1974) * '' What Have They Done to Your Daughters?'' (''La polizia chiede aiuto'', 1974) * ''

Kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/ asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the ...

'' (''Fatevi vivi, la polizia non interverrà'', 1974) * '' The Last Desperate Hours'' (''Milano: il clan dei calabresi'', 1974) * '' Shoot First, Die Later'' (''Il poliziotto è marcio'', 1974) * '' Killer Cop'' (''La polizia ha le mani legate'', 1975) * '' Manhunt in the City'' (''L'uomo della strada fa giustizia'', 1975) * '' Mark of the Cop'' (''Mark il poliziotto'', 1975) * ''

Mark Shoots First ''Mark il poliziotto spara per primo'' (internationally released as ''Mark Shoots First'') is an Italian ''poliziottesco'' film directed in 1975 by Stelvio Massi. It is the sequel of ''Mark il poliziotto''. Cast *Franco Gasparri: Mark Terzi ...

'' (''Mark il poliziotto spara per primo'', 1975) * '' Gambling City ''(''La città gioca d'azzardo'', 1975) * '' Kidnap Syndicate'' (''La città sconvolta: caccia spietata ai rapitori'', 1975) * ''

Silent Action ''Silent Action'' ( it, La polizia accusa: il Servizio Segreto uccide, lit=The Police Accuse... The Secret Service Kills) is a 1975 Italian '' poliziottesco'' film directed by Sergio Martino. The film's plot alludes to the Golpe Borghese, a faile ...

'' (''La polizia accusa: il Servizio Segreto uccide'', 1975) * ''

Syndicate Sadists ''Syndicate Sadists'' ( it, Il giustiziere sfida la città, or ''"The Executioner Challenges the City"''), also released under the titles ''Rambo's Revenge'' and ''Final Payment'', is a 1975 ''poliziotteschi'' film directed by Umberto Lenzi. It st ...

'' (''Il giustiziere sfida la città'', 1975) * '' Violent Rome ''(''Roma violenta'', 1975) * '' Violent Naples ''(''Napoli violenta'', 1976) * '' A Special Cop in Action'' (''Italia a mano armata'', 1976) * '' Mister Scarface'' (''l Padroni della città'', 1976) * ''

The Cop in Blue Jeans ''The Cop in Blue Jeans'' ( it, Squadra antiscippo, lit=Anti-theft squad) is an Italian crime and comedy film directed by Bruno Corbucci. The film was a major commercial success and generated a film series consisting of eleven entries starring Tom ...

''(''Squadra antiscippo'', 1976) * '' Fear in the City'' (''Paura in città'', 1976) * ''

''(''Il grande racket'', 1976) * '' Strange Shadows in an Empty Room'' also known as ''Blazing Magnum'' (''Una magnum special per Tony Saitta'', 1976) * ''

Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man ''Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man'' ( it, Uomini si nasce poliziotti si muore) is a 1976 Italian poliziotteschi crime film, directed by Ruggero Deodato and starring Marc Porel and Ray Lovelock. Cast * Marc Porel as Fred * Ray Lovelock as T ...

'' (''Uomini si nasce poliziotti si muore'', 1976) * ''

The Tough Ones ''The Tough Ones'' () is a 1999 Finnish film directed by Aleksi Mäkelä. It was Finland's official Best Foreign Language Film submission at the 72nd Academy Awards, but did not manage to receive a nomination.* Plot The film starts when Jussi ...

'' (''Roma a mano armata'', 1976) * '' Free Hand for a Tough Cop'' (''Il trucido e lo sbirro'', 1976) * '' Colt 38 Special Squad ''(''Quelli della Calibro 38'', 1976) * '' The Cynic, the Rat & the Fist ''(''Il cinico, l'infame, il violento'', 1977) * '' Weapons of Death'' (''Napoli spara!'', 1977) * '' The Heroin Busters ''(''La via della droga'', 1977) * '' The Criminals Attack, The Police Respond'' (''La malavita attacca, la polizia risponde!'', 1977) * '' A Man Called Magnum'' (''Napoli si ribella'', 1977) * '' Double Game'' (''Torino violenta'', 1977) * '' Beast with a Gun'' (''La belva con mitra'', 1977) * '' Convoy Busters'' (''Un poliziotto scomodo'', 1978) * ''

Brothers Till We Die ''Brothers Till We Die'' ( it, La banda del gobbo) is a 1977 Italian poliziottesco-action film by Umberto Lenzi and fifth and final entry into the Tanzi/Moretto/Monnezza shared universe. This film is the last collaboration among Lenzi and Tom ...

'' (''La banda del gobbo'', 1978) * '' The Iron Commissioner'' (''Il commissario di ferro'', 1978) * '' Blood and Diamonds'' (''Diamanti sporchi di sangue'', 1978) * '' From Corleone to Brooklyn'' (''Da Corleone a Brooklyn'', 1979) * '' Hunted City'' (''Sbirro, la tua legge è lenta... la mia no!, 1979) * '' The Rebel ''(''Poliziotto, solitudine e rabbia'', 1980) * ''

Contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...

''(''Luca il contrabbandiere'', 1980) The Best Cop Movies You’ve Never Heard Of: ‘Poliziotteschi’ Films Get Their Due, IndieWire
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References

External links

Poliziotteschi – The Final Take
at Allmovie
Pollanet Squad
– Poliziotteschi data base

{{film genres * Italian films by genre Film genres 1970s in film 1980s in Italian cinema