La città sconvolta: caccia spietata ai rapitori (1975)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Fernando Di Leo

Writers:

Fernando Di Leo (screenplay)
Ernesto Gastaldi (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 August 1975 (Italy)

Genre:

Crime

Plot Keywords:

Motorcycle | Boy | Children | Poliziottesco | Revenge

Cast

Luc Merenda	...	Mario Colella
James Mason	...	Ing. Filippini
Irina Maleeva	...	Lina
Marino Masé	...	Pardi
Daniele Dublino	...	Avvocato Bonanni
Vittorio Caprioli	...	Commissario Magrini
Valentina Cortese	...	Grazia Filippini
Salvatore Billa	...	Uomo di Pardi
Marco Liofredi	...	Fabrizio Colella
Francesco Impeciati	...	Antonio Filippini
Loris Bazzocchi	...	Rapitore
Renato Romano	...	Rapitore
Enzo Pulcrano	...	Labbrone
Tom Felleghy	...	Capo I.F.I
Flora Carosello	...	Moglie di Antonio

Also Known As:

Kidnap Syndicate (USA)
La città sconvolta

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R

Company:

Cinemaster S.r.l.

Another excellent Italian crime flick!

Kidnap Syndicate may not be the all action thrill ride that describes many of the Polizi flicks, but this is still an excellent example of the genre, and one that delivers a little more than just car chases and shootouts. As the title suggests, the film focus on the profitable business of kidnapping, and director Fernando Di Leo does an excellent job of showing the horror of the effect that this can have on the victim's families, as well as delivering another excellent slice of Italian crime drama. The film stars Luc Merenda as a mechanic and poor father of a kidnapped boy. An Italian crime syndicate kidnap the child of a wealthy businessman; as well as the mechanic's son. They make their ransom demands, but the wealthy father refuses to pay and decides instead to negotiate with the kidnappers. This enrages them; so to prove they're serious, they decide to kill the mechanic's son. Distraught at his loss, the father then sets out on a mission of revenge, with the organisation behind the kidnappings firmly in his crosshairs...

Kidnap Syndicate is a film of two halves. The first half focuses on the kidnapping itself and the effect on the families involved, while the second half follows Merenda as he seeks out and takes revenge on the perpetrators. The structure of the film works well; the director allows us to get into the situation and characters in the first half of the film, before launching into a revenge thriller; and by then, every audience member is likely to want to see the kidnappers pay! You don't really expect to see much emotion in Polizi flicks, and indeed more could have been made of the situation that the lead finds himself in; but overall, I have to say that the film does a good job of making you feel for Merenda's character and his plight. The acting is good also, with Merenda providing an excellent performance that works well with both parts of the film. Seeing him tear around on his motorcycle is good fun to watch and the film provides all the car chases and shootouts that you would expect from this sort of film in the second half. Overall, Kidnap Syndicate is undoubtedly a highlight of the Polizi genre and comes highly recommended!