The Family (1970) Città violenta (original title)

Director:

Sergio Sollima

Writers:

Massimo De Rita (story)
Gianfranco Galligarich (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

1 February 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

"The Godfather" Gave You an Offer You Couldn't Refuse. "The Family" Gives You No Alternative.

Plot:

A hitman is double-crossed by his girlfriend and barely escapes a murder attempt. He then sets out to take his revenge on the woman and the gang boss who put her up to it.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Hitman | Murder | Double Cross | Crime Boss

Cast

Charles Bronson	...	Jeff Heston
Jill Ireland	...	Vanessa Shelton
Michel Constantin	...	Killain
Telly Savalas	...	Al Weber
Umberto Orsini	...	Steve
Ray Saunders	...	Prisoner (as Ray Sanders)
Benjamin Lev	...	Jeff's Mate
Peter Dane	...	Television Host
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George Savalas	...	Shapiro
Beryl Salvatore	...	Debutante (uncredited)
Robert Spafford	...	Killain (voice) (uncredited)
Goffredo Unger	...	Bit Part (uncredited)

Directed by
Sergio Sollima

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Massimo De Rita		story
Gianfranco Galligarich		screenplay (as Gianfranco Calligarich)
Arduino Maiuri		story (as Dino Maiuri)
Sauro Scavolini		screenplay
Sergio Sollima		screenplay
Lina Wertmüller		screenplay

Produced by
Arrigo Colombo	....	producer (as Harry Colombo)
Giorgio Papi	....	producer (as George Papi)

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
Aldo Tonti

Film Editing by
Nino Baragli

Art Direction by
Franco Fumagalli

Makeup Department
Iolanda Conti	....	hair stylist (as Jolanda Conti)
Rocchetti	....	wig maker
Mario Van Riel	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Alfredo Di Santo	....	assistant production manager
Piero Donati	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fabrizio Gianni	....	assistant director

Art Department
Giuseppe Aldrovandi	....	assistant set designer (as Giuseppe Aldorvandi)
Francesco Bronzi	....	set designer
Giacomo Calò Carducci	....	assistant set designer

Sound Department
Aldo De Martino	....	sound (as Aldo De Martini)
Gaetano Testa	....	assistant sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Luciano Tonti	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Giulio Coltellacci	....	costumes: Jill Ireland

Music Department
Ennio Morricone	....	conductor
Bruno Nicolai	....	conductor

Other crew
Rémy Julienne	....	supervisor of racing cars
Bona Magrini	....	script girl

Production Companies

• Fono Roma
• Target Associates
• Unidis
• Universal Pictures France (UPF)

Distributors

• Universal Film (1970) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures France (UPF) (1970) (France) (theatrical)
• Cinema Internazional Corporation (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1971) (Finland) (theatrical)
• International Coproductions (1973) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed) (as The Family)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay (1993) (Canada) (VHS)
• BMG Video (19??) (Italy) (VHS)
• Blue Underground (2008) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1975) (USA) (TV)
• Eureka Video (19??) (Italy) (VHS)
• Future Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1985) (Greece) (VHS)
• JTC (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Koch Media (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• MPI Home Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Manga Films (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• Nordic Video (1989) (Finland) (VHS)
• PolyGram Video (19??) (Denmark) (VHS)
• Ricordi (19??) (Italy) (VHS) (????)
• Ripley's Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Sagres Filmes (Brazil) (VHS)
• Shedene (19??) (Italy) (VHS)
• Une Vidéo (200?) (France) (DVD)
• Unidis (2004) (France) (DVD)
• VPS Film-Entertainment GmbH (1981) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Video Treasures (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Treasures (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• Wonder Multimidia (200?) (Portugal) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Città violenta" - Italy (original title)
"Final Shot" - International (English title) (imdb display title)

Runtime:

100 min | Sweden:104 min (TV)

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Norway:16 (1971) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted | Germany:16 (re-rating) | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (2006) (DVD) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1971) (theater release) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1988) (VHS) | Japan:PG-12 | Italy:VM14 | West Germany:18 (nf) | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Fono Roma

Trivia:

Jon Voight was considered for the role of Jeff Heston which was played in the film by Charles Bronson.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the shooting scene after Coogan and Vanessa left in the Porsche, the P08 Luger, with which Jeff kills his three pursuers, is seen at one moment in a take from behind with the breech opened (magazine empty) and in the very next moment in a take from the front with the breech closed (pistol loaded). This continuity-error is about ten minutes into the movie, in a scene where Jeff lies in the sand and shoots the last attacker on the other side of the burning car.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Millennium Mambo (2001)

Stunning Sollima Crime-Action With Bronson

I'm a big fan of Sergio Sollima's ingenious Spaghetti Westerns, and Charles Bronson is without doubt a great enrichment to any movie he played in. Sollima's "Citta Violenta" aka. "Violent City" aka. "The Family" of 1970 is a very good crime/action flick with Bronson in the leading role and a great score by Ennio Morricone. "The Family" may not quite share the brilliance of Sollima's Westerns, but it is definitely a very solid, greatly acted film that no Bronson fan can afford to miss!

After hit man Jeff Heston (Charles Bronson) is double crossed by his girlfriend (Bronson's real life wife Jill Ireland), and almost gets killed by rival gangsters, he spends the following four years in prison. After getting out of jail, he wants to track down those who betrayed him. It is not so easy, however, to find out who was involved in his assassination attempt, and Heston has to make quite an effort to distinguish between friends and enemies.

Charles Bronson is once again great as the leading character, and definitely the best choice to play Jeff Heston. Telly Savalas also delivers a great performance as the boss of a crime family. Although many folks seem to think differently, I also found that Jill Ireland did a great job as femme fatale Vanessa. One of the few things that were not quite necessary in "Citta Violenta", were the endless car chases. Car chases are of course mandatory for a film like this, but when they get too long, they can get a bit boring easily. The car chase sequences here are usually followed by violent action, however. The movie is quite imaginatively photographed, and Ennio Morricone's score is, as always, great, and although it is a bit different to the 'typical' Morricone that we're used to from Westerns, it is immediately clear who composed this soundtrack.

A very well made action flick with a great leading performance by Bronson, "Citta Violenta" is a great flick, maybe not quite as essential as Sollima's Westerns, but immensely entertaining, atmospheric and totally badass, and not to be missed by a Bronson fan. 8/10