''The Big Racket'' ( it, Il grande racket) is a 1976

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

poliziottesco Poliziotteschi (; singular ''poliziottesco'') constitute a subgenre of crime 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'', ...

'' film directed by Enzo G. Castellari.

Fabio Testi Fabio Testi (born 2 August 1941) is an Italian actor. After growing up witnessing film work done around Lake Garda, Testi entered the sets of the film and began work as a stuntman and a double on set, where he worked as a stuntman on ''The Good, ...

stars as a police inspector who takes on a gang of hoodlums who terrorise an Italian city by extorting cash from local shop and bar owners.

Cast

: Inspector Nico Palmieri *

Vincent Gardenia Vincent Gardenia (born Vincenzo Scognamiglio; January 7, 1920 – December 9, 1992) was an Italian-American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, first for ''Bang the Drum Slow ...

: Pepe *

Renzo Palmer Renzo Palmer (20 December 1929 – 4 June 1988) was an Italian film, television and stage actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1957 and 1988. Life and career Born in Milan as Lorenzo Bigatti, Palmer was the adopted son of the ...

: Luigi Giulti *

Orso Maria Guerrini Orso Maria Guerrini (born 25 October 1942) is an Italian film, television and stage actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Florence, Guerrini started his career with several small roles in Spaghetti Westerns and genre films. He became ...

: Gianni Rossetti *

Glauco Onorato Glauco Onorato (7 December 1936 – 31 December 2009) was an Italian actor and voice actor. As an actor and dubber popular with audiences throughout Italy, he was renowned for voicing over nearly all of Bud Spencer's roles as Spencer had a thick ...

: Piero Mazzarelli *

Marcella Michelangeli Marcella Michelangeli (born 28 January 1943) is an Italian former actress and singer. Biography Born Marcella Gherardi in Uscio, Genoa, she won several beauty contests at a young age, including Miss Liguria. While a student at the School of Fi ...

: Marcy *

Romano Puppo Romano Puppo (25 March 1933 – 11 May 1994) was an Italian stuntman and actor. Life and career Born in Rome, Puppo debuted in 1961 in the Mauro Bolognini's drama '' Careless'', and after a number of very minor roles he soon became a regular ...

: Doringo *

Antonio Marsina Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

: Attorney Giovanni Giuni *

Salvatore Borghese Sal Borgese (born 5 March 1937, in Rome) is an Italian film actor. He is sometimes credited as Salvatore Borghese or Mark Trevor. He is noted for extensive work in the Italian film industry from the 1960s to present day, and for his work as a s ...

: Sgt. Salvatore Velasci *

Joshua Sinclair Joshua Sinclair (born May 7, 1953) is an American writer, producer, actor and director born in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 po ...

: Rudy *Daniele Dublino: Commissioner * Anna Zinnemann: Anna Rossetti

Production

The role of Doringo, played by

was a role Castellari initially wanted for

Lou Castel Lou Castel (born Ulv Quarzell; 28 May 1943) is a Swedish actor who became known through his work in Italian films. Life and career The son of a Swedish father and an Irish mother, Castel was born Ulv Quarzell in Bogotá, Colombia, where his fa ...

. ''The Big Racket'' was shot at Incir-de Paolis in Rome and on location in Rome. The character of the restaurateur's daughter is played by Stefania Castellari, the director's own daughter.

Release

''The Big Racket'' was released in Italy on August 4, 1976 where it was distributed by

Titanus Titanus is an Italian film production company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo (1885–1951). The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the Via Tiburtina, 13 km from the centre of Rome. Lom ...

. The film grossed a total of 1,479,567,800

Italian lire The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...

. The film was released by

Blue Underground Blue Underground is an American company specializing in releasing authoritative editions of cult and exploitation movies on Blu-ray Disc and DVD. It was originally formed as a shell company to oversee 'making of' documentaries during founder ...

on DVD.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Film critic

Morando Morandini Morando Morandini (21 July 1924 – 17 October 2015) was an Italian film critic, author, journalist and occasional actor. Born in Milan, Morandini began working as a film critic in 1952 for the ''La Notte'' newspaper. Between 1965 and 1998 he wa ...

started his review writing ""It's a fascist film. It's a vile film. It's an idiot film" and subsequently criticized the violent and "reactionary" morality of the film. In his book ''Italian Crime Filmography'', Roberto Curti referred to the film as Castellari's best work and praised the action scenes in the film stating that they "outdo anything that had been done in Italy until then" and that "Castellari pulls out all the stops." Castellari stated that when the film was shown at retrospectives, someone always asks him how he shot the scene where Fabio Testi is trapped in a car while vehicle is tumbling down a ditch. Castellari also considers the ending of the film as the best one he has ever shot.

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

noted that the films "clever script" that builds "up in tension and brutality until it reaches its explosive finale." The review praised the acting of Fabio Testi, Vincent Gardenia and Renzo Palmer and praised the direction of Castellari stating that he "directs the film with his trademark kinetic sense of style, keeping up a sharp pace that blends action with quieter, more atmospheric, moments and deploying bursts of slow motion at just the right time during action scenes"

Notes

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Racket 1976 films Films directed by Enzo G. Castellari Titanus films Poliziotteschi films Rape and revenge films Films scored by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis Films shot in Rome 1970s Italian films