Il grande racket (1976)

Director:

Enzo G. Castellari

Writers:

Enzo G. Castellari (screenplay)
Massimo De Rita (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 July 1977 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Horror

Tagline:

Someone's gonna pay...

Plot:

Nico Palmieri is a police inspector who battles against hoodlums terrorising a sleepy Italian village, extorting cash from the locals.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Death Of Daughter | Rape | Grindhouse

Cast

Fabio Testi	...	Inspector Nico Palmieri
Vincent Gardenia	...	Pepe
Renzo Palmer	...	Luigi Giulti, restaurant owner
Orso Maria Guerrini	...	Gianni Rossetti
Glauco Onorato	...	Piero Mazzarelli
Marcella Michelangeli	...	Marcy
Romano Puppo	...	Doringo
Antonio Marsina	...	Attorney Giovanni Giuni
Salvatore Borghese	...	Sgt. Salvatore Velasci (as Salvatore Borgese)
Joshua Sinclair	...	Rudy - il Marsegliese (as Gianluigi Loffredo)
Daniele Dublino	...	Commissioner
Anna Zinnemann	...	Anna Rossetti (as Anna Bellini)
Edy Biagetti	...	Chief of Police
Salvatore Billa	...	Fabrizi
Giovanni Bonadonna	...	Cuomo

Also Known As:

The Big Racket (USA) (dubbed version)

Runtime:

104 min | UK:101 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | UK:(Banned) (1977) | UK:18 (2002; cut version)

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Cinemaster S.r.l.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Luigi loads a fresh clip into his MP-40 but does not chamber a round before he shoots himself.

Quotes:

Luigino: [gesturing with a doll he is holding to the storekeeper] Is this the kind that makes water?
Storekeeper: Yes, everything, it's the latest model from Japan.
Luigino: One of these days they'll make one that bleeds real blood... when you cut its throat!

As good as crime movies get

While not the bloodiest film per-say, this is easily one of the most violent, as in most death/action vs. running time ratio of any crime movie I've seen in recent memory. On top of that, it's got a good multilayered story of several men disenfranchised by a protection mob, who all team up to take out the trash in one massive vigilante-style raid. Most are very good characters too, especially Orso Maria Guerrini who goes from an average Joe skeetshooter to a silent assassin once the thugs rape and murder his wife. Renzo Palmer's transition is a little less subtle, and his vengeful character gets a little irritating. Vincent Gardenia is good as a very suave pickpocket and wise-guy, while Testi is his usual pretty-boy self who of course looks so handsome that in some shots he looks more like an Anime cartoon character than an actual human.

Despite the bad profanity-censored English dubbing (which substitutes 'basket' for 'bastard', 'dung' for the S-word etc.), this is otherwise a solid film. Before John Woo, this was as stylish and as violent as action movies got. There's at least 3 major shootouts, two of which are real standouts, and all of which have their fair share of amazing shots. For instance when Fabio Testi kills the thug who kills his partner – a slow motion shot of the thug flailing around in the foreground and Testi in the background shooting at him – you can see each exit wound corresponding to Testi's gunfire. Another amazing shot is film from inside Testi's car as it rolls down a hillside (complete with Testi inside trying to shield his eyes from the flying window-glass). Castellari demonstrates a solid eye for detail and is an expert at transitions – plenty of slow motion too. Big Racket also features some surprisingly good dialog in the case of most of the thug's threats, and then again near the end when the evil crime boss rants and raves about how to run a protection mob (and then turns out to be a total coward when guns are pointed at him).

An excellent comic book crime/action movie – let's hope that promised uncut DVD comes out soon in the US.