Gang War in Milan (Milano Rovente) [Blu-ray]

This is one of those films where there are no good guys...something similar can be found in the most recent film Run All Night (2015). I appreciate that uniqueness in films that solely feature antagonists/anti-heroes...for real life rarely has any good guys nor heroes in it. Gang War in Milan (1973) aka Burning City, is definitely in my top ten Poliziotteschi genre films. Note worthy is the terrific showcase of different characters and the intricate plot...A must have for all Italian cinema junkies...and if you like the Italian-crime films like myself...this one is a real treat.

Warning: SPOILERS!!! Good Eurocrime film by director Umberto Lenzi (SEVEN BLOOD-STAINED ORCHIDS - 1972; EYEBALL - 1975; CITY OF THE WALKING DEAD - 1980 CANNIBAL FEROX - 1981), who is unfairly called a "hack" by many critics out there, but I find him to be one of the better directors of Italian genre films. Lenzi has proven himself more than capable of making good films in this genre, directing ALMOST HUMAN (1974), one of my favorite Eurocrime flicks, and this film showcases his flair for the dramatic.Salvatore "Toto" Gangemi (Antonio Sabato; BRONX WARRIORS 2 - 1983) is leading two lives. He is a legitimate produce seller by day and a pimp with a stable of women at night. One morning, while on his daily swim in the pool at his health spa, he finds the body of a young woman floating in the water. The doctor that examines her body tells Toto that she was murdered in salt water (most probably the ocean because he finds a piece of seaweed in her mouth) and dumped in the pool. There are clear bruises on her neck showing that she was purposely drowned. Is someone sending a message to Toto? It seems so, because he knew the young woman. She was one of his girls and her name was Francesca. Toto phones his associate Lino Caruso (Antonio Casagrande; WHY - 1971) to tell him the news and saying to send the "boys" to his office. He tells his "boys" that Francesca was his top-earning girl and whomever killed her is going to pay for it with their life, but first they must find out who murdered her. Chief Inspector Contalvi (Franco Fantasia; Lenzi's EATEN ALIVE! - 1980) shows up at Francesca's home, where the housekeeper tells him that two men broke into the house the night before. The Chief Inspector searches the house and finds two hidden photos of Francesca with Toto.We then see Toto and Lino "interviewing" young women to replace Francesca, making a young mother named Virginia (Carla Romanelli; THE FIGHTING FIST OF SHANGHAI JOE - 1973) strip and front of them and then wear a bra that exposes her nipples! A French mobster named Roger Daverty (Philippe Leroy; MILANO CALIBRO 9 - 1972) approaches Toto and offers him a deal to distribute heroin in his territory. He wants to use Toto's girls to distribute his "snow", Toto to get 20% and he to get 80% of the proceeds. Toto tells Daverty, who likes to be called "Captain" (so that is what I will call him), that if he leaves his house now, he will forget he ever heard of this lousy deal. Captain then tells him it was he who killed Francesca and he will give him three days to agree to the deal. And, oh, if he doesn't agree to the deal, he hid a large quantity of heroin in Toto's house, but don't bother to look for it because he will never find it. One phone call to the police will put Toto in prison for a long time. Toto doesn't take kindly to threats, so he and Lino go to Captain's home and find a giant salt water terrarium, full of squid and octopus (octopi?), probably where he killed Francesca. Toto then has his boys tear his house apart looking for the hidden heroin and they find it hidden in a box of cereal. The Chief Inspector tells Toto he knows who he is and what he does and he will personally put him out of business. It looks like he is a man of his word, as we see the police round up all of Toto's girls, only they are not the police, they are Captain's boys dressed as police. Captain phones Toto and tells him is he wants to ever see his girls alive, he will agree to the deal and do business with him. Toto agrees, but he's a shrewd businessman, asking for 50% of the profits rather than 20% and Captain agrees to 30%. They now have a deal in place, but will Toto be a man of his word? Don't count on it!Toto steals Captain's best woman, Jasmina Sanders (Marisa Mell; PERVERSION STORY - 1969), and convinces her to come work for him. When Captain nearly dies when his car explodes, he retaliates by sending his men to rape and beat up Toto's girls (one of them is graphically sliced on her breasts with a switchblade). While Toto breaks in Virginia with an Italian dignitary, he goes to Jasmina's house, where he is jumped by some of Captain's men. Toto holds his own, but he is saved from certain death when the police show up. Lino then tells Toto that five of his girls have flown the coop, too scared to work any more. To add insult to injury, Virginia's cousin, Nino Balsamo (Tano Cimarosa; DELIRIUM - 1972), tells Toto that Virginia no longer needs a pimp and she is going to work on her own. Toto confronts Virginia and she tells him it simply isn't true, Nino works for Captain, so Toto invites Nino to have dinner with him at a restaurant, where he has some of his boys kill Nino in the bathroom (giving him a hotshot of heroin), while Toto and his pals sing an Italian song (loudly). How long can this back-and-forth go on before one of them dies?Lino goes to Italian godfather Don Billy Barone (Alessandro Sperli; THE VALACHI PAPERS - 1972), who has just returned from exile in America, to get him to come to Milan and take Toto's side, which he does. Don Barone (who has a huge scar under his left eye) introduces himself to Captain, making him feel very uneasy. Then, many of Captain's men are roughed-up or killed. Barone's men kill one of Captain's top men, Taki (Riccardo De Stefanis) and his wife in a drive-by shooting as they are transporting a huge shipment of heroin across the border, the wife hiding the heroin in her fake boobs! Taki doesn't die, so Barone's men go to the hospital and kill him by blowing air into his IV! The police raid Captain's gambling den, but he skates on the charges. Don Barone tells Toto that he and Captain are like America and Russia, fighting each other but accomplishing nothing (wise man). Captain then kidnaps Lino and tells him he could be the boss if Toto were dead. Lino tells him to drop dead, so Captain calls Toto and has him listen to his thugs torturing Lino, sending electrical shocks to his genitals. Captain then sends his men to Virginia's house to leave a message: Lino's bloody necktie. Toto thinks that means Lino is dead, but he's not. Lino escapes from Captain's hideout and makes it to Toto's house. Lino tells Toto that drugs are the new racket and he should get in bed with Captain. Has Captain turned Lino?Toto and Lino invade Captain's home and find him in bed with another man! Captain, fearing being outed as a homosexual (this is the '70s after all!), agrees to cut Toto and Lino in for 50% of the drug racket profits and they begin to do business together. Toto falls in love with Jasmina, where he tells her a heart-warming story about how he and Lino became friends. Don Barone, however, becomes greedy, demanding 20% of the take from Toto, since it was he who changed things for the better for him. But are they really? We discover that these "good times" are anything but for Toto, as an important dignitary dies with one of his girls and the friendship between him and Lino becomes very strained. Don Barone brings more of his men to Milan and he double-crosses both Toto and Captain, leading to a very depressing, nihilistic finale. When you ask for help from the Godfather, expect to pay for it.This film is basically a showcase for the usually bland and staid Antonio Sabato, who impressed me here. He doesn't take crap from anyone, which eventually leads to his downfall. Director Umberto Lenzi ladles-on one tense situation to the next, as we wait for the screen to explode with violence. It's not all the back-and-forth between him and Captain that leads to his downfall, but rather when Jasmina leaves him without saying a word that does him in. You would think that a man with a stable of girls would know how to handle rejection, but, quite frankly, he loses his mind, taking the Chief Inspector hostage when he comes to his house and finds a large quantity of heroin, placed there, once again, by Captain. Toto drives to Virginia's house and tells her to go back to her baby and then visits his sick mother in the hospital, only to be betrayed by Lino and Don Barone, who kill Captain and then gun down Toto. He should have kept his friends closer than his enemies. The screenplay, by Lenzi and Franco Enna (STATELINE MOTEL - 1973), offers no apologies for Toto's behavior, so you know it can only end one way, but it's the journey to the finale that is enjoyable and poignant here. Toto's actions and decisions run contrary to what an intelligent person would do and it seems to work for him, but a man can't possibly be that lucky all the time and it eventually leads to his downfall. The music score, by Carlo Rustichelli (LIBIDO - 1965), is full of saxophone solos and soaring violins, reminding me of a low budget version of Nino Rota's score in THE GODFATHER (1972), adding some "oomph" to the scenes of death and destruction. While not as good as Lenzi's ALMOST HUMAN (1974), this film is still better than 90% of the gangster flicks that came from the U.S. in the'70s.Shot under the title MILANO ROVENTE ("Burning Milan"), this film never received a theatrical or VHS release in the United States, making its Stateside premiere on DVD and Blu-Ray courtesy of Raro Video, who do a wonderful job of presenting the film in its OAR and its original Italian with easy to read English subtitles (my preferred way of watching these films) or English dubbed. There are no extras on these discs, which is unlike Raro, just an intro from writer Mike Malloy, who also wrote the informative included booklet. Still, for less than $9.00, what else could you ask for? Also featuring Piero Corbetta (FIVE WOMEN FOR THE KILLER - 1974), Vittorio Pinelli (DEATH WALKS AT MIDNIGHT - 1972), Claudio Sforzini (THE KILLER MUST KILL AGAIN - 1975), Ottavio Fanfani (DEATH OCCURRED LAST NIGHT - 1970), Naiba Pedersoli (DEVIL IN THE BRAIN - 1972) and the prolific Carla Mancini (FLAVIA THE HERETIC - 1974). Not Rated.

GREAT DVD, picture is clear and because it's been digitally remastered.It is unlike some DVDs of old movies that the pictures were blurry, grainy and fading and seems to be produced by Desert Island videos and Mr fat-W videos. I now avoid these two productions like I avoiding defects because there are defects.

great

This is another film unknown to Americans previously -- one of ten "Eurocrime" movies directed by Lenzi, according to the video introduction by Mike Malloy. I always watch extras after the fact, and the video introduction by Malloy is very funny and informative. One other possible "blooper" I think I saw (Malloy mentions one) is a guy fires a gun once and fires again -- but it falls on an empty chamber (it clicks). Anyway Sabato and Leroy are the chief male stars, while Marissa Mell provides a bit of extra star power, but fans of the genre will note one or two other character actors they've seen before. It's all highly entertaining, and surprisingly not terribly bloody or action-driven. Raro is really filling the shoes of the now defunct No Shame films, which introduced quite a few relatively obscure Eurocrime dramas to Americans. The print is perfect, although you might want to keep the volume down a bit due to the raucous jazzy themes that start up from time to time. Highly recommended.