User Reviews

Colt 38 special squad is a rare breed in the poliziotteschi genre. Excellent shot and filled with great casting, cinematographer/director Massimo Dallamano really comes trough on this one. Known for his outstanding camera precision on the Sergio Leone trilogy Colt 38 grapes you all the way. Of course there are a lot good examples for movies in those Italian cop/crime films.Like Milano Calibre 9 or The big racket. But Colt 38 special squad belongs among those films. Rather than just focusing on the usual violence this one delivers also a other angle, those of the mental-pain and struggle. Like a real pro Massimo let's you get involved in those characters and start to care form them. With all well paced storytelling we follow French crime lord Ivan Rassimov as the Dark angel in his mad rage against the city and his cops. Expeccialy against Marcel Bozzuffi as hard boiled Capitan Vanni. An old beef is going on between the two of them. Personal as can be, Vanni and his special crew of cops now not only arresting the locals bastards but are also mix up in the personal vendetta between Vanni and the crew of Dark Angel. The result is well packed storytelling with some brutal, but subtle action. Colt 38 is a well crafted movie with memorable scenes. Think in the line of city bombing and care chases. Rassimov is one's of the most cool killers. But really, Vanni is stealing the show in my opine that is. Of course also in real life those guys competing. Both are die hard actors. Dirty rotten by all those amazing scripts in there carrier. Kinda like De Niro and Pacino in Heat. Do not make the mistake of thinking less about this movie in budget ways. It's great cinema and a prime example of Polliziotesschi madness. Not to be missed

While not the shiniest star in the euro-crime lineup, this film features lots of tense thrills and the most impressive car stunts you'll see this side of William Friedkin.

Marcel Bozzuffi makes for an interesting hero, not having the classic good looks of, say, Franco Nero, Fabio Testi, or Maurizio Merli. He DOES however know how to carry an emotional performance, playing the role perfectly of a motivated police inspector pushed even further to the edge by the cold-blooded murder of his wife.

Bozzuffi imposes a pretty heavy carbon footprint with his 4-man squad of hotshot stuntman policemen on noxious motorcycles. One of them in particular gets to play dashing playboy and involve himself with TWO women of interest who just happen to have a connection to an ex-con (Antonio Marsina) they're trying to catch before he and Ivan Rassimov succeed in blowing up the city with non-nuclear suitcase bombs. Was this hotshot hero aware of these girls' proximity to villains or just fell into relationships with them as part of a heavily unlikely coincidence? The film doesn't really ever tell you, covering up its many plot holes and contrivances with stylish chase scenes, fist fights, a couple gun battles, explosions, and a surprise gore scene for when a poor criminal tries (unsuccessfully) to grab onto an escape car.

While genre fans may be disappointed to see so few of the regular stock of Euro-henchmen get whacked this time around, we do find solace in having Ivan Rassimov take up so much screen-time in his most demented role yet as a psychopathic anarchist out to collect a heavy ransom at all costs with no qualms about murdering anyone and everyone in his way or on his own side. He becomes so tied to his detonator murder- mobile (complete with ominous and catchy Stelvio Cipriani theme) that you'll never look at a French Citroen the same way again. Between him, Marsina, and a particularly icky-looking Franco Garofalo, the villains of this film all come off as particularly loathsome, giving the audience plenty to celebrate should they be bumped off.

Fans of motorcycle exhaust, dangerous crashes, colt .38 shooting, and hand-held shots of public bomb explosion aftermath will get a kick out of this movie. Dallamano took this genre seriously and thankfully avoids most of the idiocy inherent among other films of the Italian Motorcycle Cop subgenre. Also be sure to check out the spiritual successor to this film, STUNT SQUAD, which came the next year for more of the same. Unfortunately Dallamano didn't return to direct it... 'cuz he died.

Most notable for its very prescient casting of a pre-famous Grace Jones as a nightclub singer (singing a Stelvio Cipriani song no less, only to later pop up in NIGHTMARE CITY) and far worse dubbing than usual from the regular gang of English language voice actors you'll hear in Italian movies. I suppose it was more difficult to read and match actor lip-movements while they're behind reflective glass via projector in a 1970's Roman soundbooth than it is on an HD television in 2017, so Ted Rusoff and the gang get a bit of a pass from me on this one. His stellar voice performance for Bozzuffi on the English track more than makes up for it.

COLT 38 SPECIAL SQUAD is a typical example of the Italian polizia flick, so if you're wondering what a Dirty Harry-inspired police film from the '70s looks like, then look no further than this. It's a film which exemplifies the best of a genre that's still hidden from most film fans today, who are missing out on the delights of Maurizio Merli and his contemporaries beating the hell out of criminal scum.

Although this film doesn't boast any roles for big Hollywood names or familiar genre fans, it proves to be distinctly above average. That's because it tells a complex, action-packed story at speed, never slowing down for a second. There are robberies, kidnappings, assassinations, terrorism and even a bombing campaign, all delivered in a typically gutsy, as-it-is kind of way, free of sentimentality, the focus on the realism. Massimo Dallamano's camera never sits still for a second in depicting a kinetic struggle between criminals and the police.

The essential story involves Marcel Bozzuffi (THE FRENCH CONNECTION) playing a tough Inspector with a personal vendetta against a criminal gang. He sets up a special squad, all armed with powerful handguns and motorbikes, to track down and take out the criminals, but of course it doesn't go according to plan. Although the way, the haunted Carole Andre gets caught between cops and bad guys, and Ivan Rassimov once again tackles the role of criminal mastermind. It goes without saying that the various action bits – shoot-outs, car chases, you name it – are second to none and miles ahead of most of what Hollywood churns out today.

Italian cult cinema can be so deliciously rudimentary and effective from time to time. The whole basic concept of "Colt .38 Special Squad", for instance, is simply to exploit the immense success of the Hollywood classic "Dirty Harry" and expand it by throwing in an entire squadron of ruthless & trigger-happy coppers! Add to that an evil villainous character, a staggering soundtrack by Stelvio Cipriani and a handful of extremely violent sequences and we've got ourselves a bona fide Italian Poliziotteschi cult hit! Chief inspector of police Vanni is on the hunt for über-criminal Marsigliese and shoots his brother during a confrontation. Purely to make a statement, Marsigliese savagely executes Vanni's wife right before the eyes of his 6-year-old son. After this tragic incident, Vanni receives permission from his superiors to put together a special squad that doesn't have to follow the book of instructions and with the liberty of using heavier gun power. The squad immediately has its hand full, as Marsigliese's accomplices just stole a cargo-load of explosives and terrify the city with a number of bloody bomb attacks. "Colt .38 Special Squad" is a highly entertaining and action-packed Italian cop thriller, but personally I don't rank it alongside my absolute favorites of the genre. The reason for this is merely the lack of a monumental heroic character. Even though he starred in the popular blockbuster "The French Connection", lead actor Marcel Bozzuffi plainly doesn't have the tough and invincible charisma of other Italian cop characters such as Maurizio Merli, Luc Merenda or Franco Nero. He himself is a rather inconspicuous guy, and none of his squad team members are anything special either. In fact, they are so bleak and random that I often forgot their faces or mistook them for secondary petty thieves. Ivan Rassimov, on the other hand, is very memorable as Marsigliese and literally everything you expect from a devilish gangster boss! The film also contains multiple moments of uncompromising and shocking violence, like the aforementioned execution, a nasty hit-and-run accident and packages blowing up in people's faces. You can always count on Poliziotteschi movies for gratuitous bloodshed! This was – sadly - the last accomplishment of writer/director Massimo Dallamano before he died in a car accident. To me, Dallamano will always remain the genius creator of the greatest Italian giallo ever made ("What have you done to Solange?), but he also made the excellent psychedelic horror flicks "Devil in the Flesh" and Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray".

Slightly above-average and pretty bleak poliziottesco; it came, more or less, halfway through the run of the genre and, while well enough made, it is also curiously undistinguished (though buoyed by a typically great pounding score by Stelvio Cipriani and expert cinematography by Gabor Pogany). The “Special Squad” of the title is a hand-picked team of fearless cops determined to fight the most nefarious criminal minds – their prowess and agility gives rise to plenty of exciting chase sequences (cue the remarkable stuntwork which often came in handy within this particular genre) but only one of them is really well-defined as a character.

However, there’s also the topical element of terrorism – exemplifying such heinous acts as plagued the country during this era – with a couple of spectacular but harrowing explosions in public places. The film is given a nice boost by having Marcel Bozzuffi, best-known for playing the criminal pursued by Gene Hackman in THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971), essaying the role of the iconoclastic cop this time around! Carole Andre', a regular starlet in Italian films of the time, is somewhat wasted as the long-suffering moll (though leading an outwardly luxurious life) of one of the hoods; her one attempt to stand up to the gang, plus her innocent involvement with a member of the Squad, seals her fate and she’s eventually marked for death. Ivan Rassimov is the dour villain, typically given a fashionable name (Il Marsigliese) and who engages throughout in a cat-and-mouse game with Bozzuffi – the former had killed Rassimov’s brother in a run-in with the police, and the criminal reiterated by murdering Bozzuffi’s spouse. The final showdown (with Bozzuffi predictably turning up to execute Rassimov just when it seems he’s likely to get away) is swift but nonetheless effective; disappointingly, they share no real confrontation scene.

Unfortunately, this turned out to be director Dallamano’s last film; he died some time after the end of shooting in a car accident! Also, Grace Jones makes an unremarkable early appearance here as a nightclub singer. The No Shame Limited Edition DVD is quite splendid: not only because of the shining transfer of the film itself and some wonderful supplements – fascinating interviews with both editor Antonio Siciliano and composer Cipriani – but also the fact that it includes a bonus feature on a second disc, namely Luciano Ercoli’s own swan-song called THE RIP-OFF (1978), actually a poliziottesco spoof once thought lost and which I’ll get to in due time...

A lot of motorcycle racing, many minutes of motorcycle chases, it seems that Master Dallamano really liked that. All the respect for his work with Sergio Leone, filming those great movies with Gian Maria Volontè. As a director, he made some very commercial and violent films. Like this one. Not bad, Marcel Bozzuffi is cool as a cop, and Ivan Rassimov is very convincing as a criminal maniac.

QUELLI DELLA CALIBRO 38, or COLT 38 SPECIAL SQUAD, provides a superior specimen of the Italian polizioto of the 1970's, with French actor Marcel Bozzuffi as Inspector Vanni, whose wife is shot dead in his early teens son's presence, and is out to wreak revenge come what may. Director Massimo Dallamano seems uninterested in character development: for instance, you do not get to see Vanni's tearful son again, you have no idea whether Vanni handed him over to relatives or to an institution while he chases the culprits, notably crime kingpin Marsigliese, to their deaths.

Basically everyone is cannon fodder, regardless of whether you serve the law or the criminal forces. In between, Vanni is ordered to stay off the hunt, and to go on leave, but he could not give a flip about the boss and his orders - Vanni is obsessive about payback!

Certainly, the viewer does get to watch action pretty much nonstop. Whatever dialogue you hear is quick, often under bated breaths, and the pace is frenetic, with chases in cars and on foot aplenty.

Typical washed out color and basic 1970s cinematography by to me unknown Gabor Pogani, effective editing by Antonio Siciliano, and fitting score by Stelvio Cipriani.

The script could have taken COLT 38 to greater heights with closer attention to character development, cause and effect logic... but it ain't no waste of time! 7/10.

Colt 38 Special Squad does pretty much everything you would want an Italian crime flick to do - and it does it in style! Like many of the best Polizi flicks, this one takes most of it's influence from Don Siegel's masterpiece Dirty Harry, with the weapon used by Clint Eastwood's disgruntled copper obviously being the main point of interest. As is the case with many of these films, the rising crime in Italy takes centre stage, and the plot is based on the police's attempts to halt the crime through an innovative new means. Hard bitten police captain, Capitan Vanni, is fed up of the way that his city is being run by criminals - "The Black Angel" in particular, whom Vannia has an old feud with. So, he gets clearance from his superiors to set up a 'special squad' - a team made up of four of the police's best shooters, all armed with Colt .38's for maximum impact on organised crime! But the stakes are raised when The Black Angel steals some dynamite, and starts putting his time to good use by blowing up various things within the city...

The film is directed by Massimo Dallamano, who is of course, most famous for his 'Schoolgirls in Peril' trilogy. Dallamano does another excellent job here, as he manages to keep up the fast pace throughout and the film is never boring for a second. The characters are surprisingly easy to get on with, and for an Italian crime flick; it's all rather believable too, which is a bonus. French actor Marcel Bozzuffi takes the lead role and does an excellent job with it. While he is clearly meant to come off a bit like Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry, Bozzuffi makes the role his own and gives himself sufficient distance from the classic Eastwood character to ensure that he's not just an imitation. The great Ivan Rassimov co-stars and gives another convincing bad guy performance. The Black Angel is surely one of his most interesting roles, and fans of Rassimov won't want to miss this! It all boils down to an invigorating and worthwhile conclusion that does the film justice. Overall, Colt .38 Special Squad is certainly at the top of the Polizi genre and comes highly recommended!

Captain Vanni(Marcel Bozzuffi)kills the brother of the vicious crime boss Marsiglese a.k.a. Black Angel(Ivan Rassimov)during warehouse shoot-out.Angry Marsiglese murders Vanni's wife in front of their kid.After the funeral his superiors decide to create special team of four motorcycle riding cops with Colt 38 pistols.Marsiglese returns to Torino with a gruesome plan which involves explosives hidden in suitcases plus plenty of ordinary people killed during detonations in public places.Very violent and exciting Italian polizioteschi flick with fantastic car/motorcycle chase sequences and some spectacular explosions.The acting by Marcel Bozzuffi and Ivan Rassimov is great as is the score of Stelvio Cipriani.8 Colt 38 pistols out of 10.

Colt 38 Special Squad in truth gives the viewer a warning that it's probably going to be a B-grade action flick with its name, but I still wanted to give it a chance because Arrow video makes it available in a beautiful Italian version. If you're the sort of person who is amused by gun fights and car chases this was made for you. Alas I cannot recommend it to anyone since it isn't especially atmospheric or character driven, and the story seems written just to pander to opportunities to display the aforementioned shoot-outs and automobile accidents. Numerous people die in the first ten minutes, and I am utterly unclear on why a "dine and ditch" scene with reckless young men was inserted into a police drama about gangsters.

Interestingly, gutsy Italian director Massimo Dallamano's adrenaline-spiked 'Colt 38 Special Squad' is both a bravura, prototypically high octane example of the increasingly popular Poliziotteschi film cycle from the mid-to-late 70s, but expresses far less overtly reactionary sensibilities of the more rumbustious, Gung ho Umberto Lenzi titles, as in this specific instance the hero cop Inspector Vanni (Marcel Bozzuffi) certainly doesn't employ the hyperbolically violent, fists-of-lead approach of a fiesty Franco Nero, or moustachioed maniac Maurizio Merli, Vanni is merely a stolid law man now uncomfortably forced by severe circumstances to head a specially trained elite squad of daredevil, motorcycle riding cops in a attempt to stem the bloody swathe of violent crime currently terrorizing the city, only to discover they remain wholly ill-equipped to cope with the gruesomely genocidal modus operandi of brutal psychopath 'The Marseillaise' (Ivan Rassimov), his meticulously merciless bombing campaign very soon threatens to bring the beleaguered Turin to its knees! Maestro Dallamano robustly invests 'Colt 38 Special Squad' with the very same white-knuckle exhilaration as his grisly Giallo hybrid 'What Have They Done To Your Daughters', and while many Poliziotteschi concern the bellicose B-Movie retribution of a maverick 'Thug-Trashing Cop', there is a bleaker, nihilistic tone to Dallamano's doom-laden crime thriller, following the increasingly desperate travails of greatly oppressed inspector Vanni, ultimately being overwhelmed by the sheer atrocity of The Marseillaise's monumentally murderous scheme to hold the entire city to ransom endows 'Colt 38 Special Squad' with an altogether more misanthropic coda, and the exciting film's brusque climax isn't so much a catharsis as prescient food for thought, as maniacal zealots only blow up civilians in the movies, don't they?