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IMDbPro

Syndicate Sadists

Original title: Il giustiziere sfida la città
  • 19751975
  • RR
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
810
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
58,617
12,502
Tomas Milian in Syndicate Sadists (1975)
A biker's brother is killed while investigating the kidnapping of a young boy, the byproduct of a war between two crime families. The biker vows to get revenge by finding the kidnapped boy and destroying the two families.
Play trailer1:07
1 Video
48 Photos
ActionCrimeDrama
A biker's brother is killed while investigating the kidnapping of a young boy, the byproduct of a war between two crime families. The biker vows to get revenge by finding the kidnapped boy a... Read allA biker's brother is killed while investigating the kidnapping of a young boy, the byproduct of a war between two crime families. The biker vows to get revenge by finding the kidnapped boy and destroying the two families.A biker's brother is killed while investigating the kidnapping of a young boy, the byproduct of a war between two crime families. The biker vows to get revenge by finding the kidnapped boy and destroying the two families.
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
810
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
58,617
12,502
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Umberto Lenzi
    • Writer
      • Vincenzo Mannino(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Tomas Milian
      • Joseph Cotten
      • Maria Fiore
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Umberto Lenzi
    • Writer
      • Vincenzo Mannino(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Tomas Milian
      • Joseph Cotten
      • Maria Fiore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 13User reviews
    • 17Critic reviews

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:07
    Trailer

    Photos48

    Tom Felleghy in Syndicate Sadists (1975)
    Shirley Corrigan in Syndicate Sadists (1975)
    Femi Benussi and Tomas Milian in Syndicate Sadists (1975)
    Maria Fiore and Duilio Cruciani in Syndicate Sadists (1975)
    Alessandro Cocco in Syndicate Sadists (1975)
    Luciano Catenacci in Syndicate Sadists (1975)
    Mario Novelli in Syndicate Sadists (1975)
    Giovanni Di Benedetto in Syndicate Sadists (1975)
    Antonio Casale in Syndicate Sadists (1975)
    Femi Benussi in Syndicate Sadists (1975)
    Evelyn Stewart in Syndicate Sadists (1975)
    Tomas Milian and Mario Piave in Syndicate Sadists (1975)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Tomas Milian
    Tomas Milian
    • Rambo
    Joseph Cotten
    Joseph Cotten
    • Paternò
    Maria Fiore
    • Maria Scalia
    Mario Piave
    • Pino Scalia
    Luciano Catenacci
    Luciano Catenacci
    • Conti
    Guido Alberti
    • Owner of Billiard Salon
    Femi Benussi
    Femi Benussi
    • Flora
    Silvano Tranquilli
    Silvano Tranquilli
    • Dr. Marco Marsili
    Shirley Corrigan
    Shirley Corrigan
    • Conti's mistress
    Antonio Casale
    Antonio Casale
    • Philip Duval
    Rosario Borelli
    • One of Paterno's men
    Luciano Pigozzi
    Luciano Pigozzi
    • One of Conti's men
    Mario Novelli
    Mario Novelli
    • Franco
    Bruno Di Luia
    • One of Conti's men
    Giuseppe Castellano
    Giuseppe Castellano
    • One of Conti's men
    Riccardo Petrazzi
    • Paterno's Thug in Saloon…
    Tom Felleghy
    • Commandante Ferrari
    • (as Tom Felleghi)
    Duilio Cruciani
    • Luigino Scalia
    • Director
      • Umberto Lenzi
    • Writer
      • Vincenzo Mannino(screenplay) (story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film predates First Blood (1982), the film which introduced audiences to the John Rambo of David Morrell by seven years. Tomas Milian happened to read David Morrell's novel while flying from the U.S. to Rome. Loving the story he tried to talk some Italian producers into making a film out of it, with him starring as John Rambo. Nothing came of this, but he was allowed to use the Rambo moniker in the next poliziottesco he starred in, Syndicate Sadists (1975). The film does not borrow elements from the novel, with Umberto Lenzi stating he was more influenced by the crime films of Don Siegel.
    • Quotes

      Rambo: Listen, Conti; life is just one hole. You start from a hole, you feed yourself through a hole, you shit from a hole, you finish up in a hole. And the one in this barrel can put you into that last hole.

      Conti: I don't believe you'd pull that trigger.

      Rambo: The chamber's loaded with dum-dums. If I put one in your brain, they'll have to re-paper the walls.

    • Alternate versions
      US unrated DVD misses about two minutes of footage: when the mother of the kidnapped boy comes home and a bunch of reporters await her, Paterno's goons searching for Rambo in a pub, two reaction shots. This omission is also present in the UK Blu-Ray Edition from 88 Films.
    • Connections
      Featured in Ultimate Poliziotteschi Trailer Shoot-Out (2017)

    User reviews13

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    SYNDICATE SADISTS (Umberto Lenzi, 1975) **1/2
    One of the myriad "poliziotteschi" to emerge from Italy during the 1970s, to which both director Lenzi and star Tomas Milian contributed a good deal; in fact, their previous collaboration – ALMOST HUMAN (1974) – is considered among the genre high-points. This, however, is fairly indistinguishable – apart from the fact that the surname of Milian's character is Rambo!; it does include plenty of typical action, not to mention a funky score by Franco Micalizzi. Rambo is a reformed gangster who now supplies iconoclastic help to the Police; predictably, his best pal in the force (actually a special vigilante squad) ends up murdered before long – which sets Rambo on exacting private revenge. This sees him coming face to face once again with his former boss, a now-blind Joseph Cotten (who, like Milian, followed a certain code of ethics in spite of the nature of the work involved) whose 'empire' is being unscrupulously run by the old man's son, Alfredo Lastretti. A smaller rival band of criminals – among whose members is the ubiquitous Luciano Pigozzi – also gets into our disheveled hero's hair by kidnapping an eminent citizen (Silvano Tranquilli)'s son. Incidentally, this incongruous sentimental emphasis on kids – since Milian also dotes on his cop friend's idolizing offspring – does the film the biggest harm; at the same time, while keeping an affectionate (but platonic) eye on the latter boy's mum, he is romantically involved with a prostitute (Femi Benussi) – who, unsurprisingly, is eventually victimized by the baddies for it. Though consistently offering reasonable gratification of various sorts, most examples of the poliziottesco genre suffered from a shallowness that made them instantly forgettable – and this one, alas, proved no exception despite the involvement of two of its major exponents.
    helpful•1
    0
    • Bunuel1976
    • Feb 19, 2010

    FAQ1

    • What are the differences between the US DVD Version and the OriginalVersion?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 1976 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Italy
    • Language
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Rambo's Revenge
    • Filming locations
      • Sesto San Giovanni, Milan, Lombardia, Italy
    • Production companies
      • Dania Cinematografica
      • Medusa Distribuzione
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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