Confessione di un commissario di polizia al procuratore della repubblica (1971)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Damiano Damiani

Writers:

Damiano Damiani (writer)
Fulvio Gicca Palli (writer)

Release Date:

22 June 1972 (Hungary)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Professional. Unscrupulous.

Plot:

One of the first films about the mafia occurrence, in which the fight is hopeless, because "the polyp's feeler" reaches everything and everybody...

Plot Keywords:

Mafia | Class Struggle | Conflict Of Interest | Trade Union | Grindhouse

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Franco Nero	...	Deputy D.A. Traini
Martin Balsam	...	Commissario Bonavia
Marilù Tolo	...	Serena Li Puma
Claudio Gora	...	District Attorney Malta
Luciano Catenacci	...	Ferdinando Lomunno (as Luciano Lorcas)
Giancarlo Prete	...	Giampaolo Rizzo
Arturo Dominici	...	Lawyer Canistraro
Michele Gammino	...	Gammino
Adolfo Lastretti	...	Michele Li Puma
Nello Pazzafini	...	Prisoner
Calisto Calisti	...	A mafioso, e.g. involved in wall in
Wanda Vismara	...	Traini's maid
Adele Modica	...	Lina Paladino - lover of Bonavia
Dante Cleri	...	Usher
Roy Bosier	...	Giuseppe Lasciatelli

Also Known As:

Confessions of a Police Captain (USA)
Confessions of a Police Commissioner to the District Attorney (UK)

Runtime:

101 min | France:108 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Germany:16 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1972) | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Euro International Film (EIA)

CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN (Damiano Damiani, 1971) ***

As was the case with L'ISTRUTTORIA E' CHIUSA: DIMENTICHI (1971), this too proved different to what I had been anticipating - as Martin Balsam is the nominal police-officer hero, while lead Franco Nero is merely an investigating magistrate! When Balsam is bumped off, the film follows Nero's actions but ends on an ambiguous open-ended note. However, Balsam is excellent as the unorthodox and determined Commissioner; Nero, on the other hand, occasionally overacts as the flustered State representative. Marilu' Tolo has a small but pivotal role, and her death sequence is particularly mean.

Despite the poliziottesco ambiance, it's far less action-oriented than usual but all the more classy and compelling for this reason; still, when action is required by the narrative, the film rises to the occasion. The complex plot (involving Balsam's backstory told in intermittent flashbacks) takes some effort to follow, but the rewards are reaped eventually. As usual for this sort of film, Riz Ortolani's score is a notable asset. By the way, not only is the surname of Nero's superior, a judge, Malta but other surnames here - such as Bonavia (Balsam's character) and Rizzo - are also typically Maltese!