Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s

Having just come off a long love affair with Yakuza cinema I needed a break. Crime films have aleays interested me with their ethical conundrums so I was eager to learn more about the Italian take on the genre.

Having a decent documentary act as an introduction seemed like a good entre. Eurocrime provides a good measure of basic information. What made it difficult to absorb in one sitting was the editing, which heavily relied on a style of constantly moving images (picture within picture). This technique is imitative of trailers from the 60s/70s but it becomes tedious and distracting after just a few minutes.

Furthermore the quality of the film clips reflect a disinterest of the filmmaker in tracki ng down the proper film ratios and deinterlaced codecs. Same can be said for the interviews, which have that soap opera look of 30fps footage. Furthermore the subjects looked like they were just plunked down in front of a dirty grey curtain (or, alternately a distracting faux-scratchy film effect).

Frankly it gave me a headache but in the lobg run I appreciate the information more than the style so give it a look if the genre appeals to you.