The Big Racket (1976)

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Blistering performances.

Two-fisted police detective Nico Palmieri (an excellent and charismatic performance by Fabio Testi) goes out of his way to take down a nefarious protection racket in Rome, Italy. When the ruthless scum who run the racket resort to such foul tactics as rape and murder, Nico throws the rulebook away and organizes a motley crew of fed-up victims to deal with the criminals on their own ferocious terms.Director Enzo G. Castellari, who also co-wrote the bitter script with Massimo De Rita and Arduino Maiuri, keeps the hard-hitting story moving along at a constant brisk pace, does a sturdy job of creating and sustaining a harsh, gritty, and utterly cynical tone, and stages the bracing'n'bravura action set pieces with his trademark rip-snorting skill and verve (the climax in a sprawling warehouse in particular delivers the rousing goods like nobody's tear 'em up business!). Vincent Gardenia excels as loyal and helpful informant Pepe. Orso Maria Guerrini likewise registers well as champion skeet shooter Rossetti. Moreover, this picture further benefits from a truly hateful rogues' gallery of cruel and despicable villains: Marcella Michelangeli as wicked bitch Marcy, Antonio Marsini as crooked lawyer Giuni, and the ever-slimy Joshua Sinclair as sleazy head honcho Rudy. The explosive moments of savage violence pack an extra potent and nasty punch, with oodles of super bloody quality squib work. Marcello Masciocchi's slick cinematography provides an impressive glossy look and makes exciting use of a hand-held camera. The funky-pulsating score by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis hits the get-down groovy spot. A real bang-up stirring and satisfying winner.

A brilliant addition to the Italian crime genre and sure to capture the heart of any sleaze lover, "The Big Racket" is definitely one of the best in it's class.Fabio Testi is a knockout as the protagonist, a renegade cop who is out for blood and justice, assembling a team of outcasts to punish the wicked. Plenty of blood and violence adorn this flick, and I recommend a couple of cold Peroni's and a plate to spaghetti for the perfect evening.All in all, probably my second favorite Castellari effort, second only to "The Inglourious Bastards" but I think "The Big Racket" is technically a BETTER film. No complaints at all here.10 out of 10, kids.

My interest in Italian cinema is usually limited to horror films, but I made an exception for this crime flick - and I'm certainly glad that I did! Actually, The Big Racket isn't a world away from the popular Italian Giallo styling, only instead of having a vicious murderer on the loose; we have a small town at the mercy of a group of organised thugs. For a film with this sort of plot, it's surprising just how good The Big Racket is. Italian films from the seventies have a bad reputation for not making a lot of sense, but not only does this one make sense - it benefits from a great, multi-angled story as well. The film sees a bunch of criminals sabotaging local businesses and asking for protection money from the owners to make them stop. The police presence in the town is largely ineffective, with the exception of one man - Inspector Nico Palmieri. Of course, you can't go around intimidating people and destroying their property for long before someone is going to fight back - and as the justice system isn't working, our hero has to find other ways to bring law and order back to his town.The Big Racket benefits immensely from a strong leading performance courtesy of Fabio Testi (star of What Have They Done to Solange). Testi's portrayal of the angry police officer is perfectly judged to fit the movie, and I don't think there is an actor who could be better suited to playing the lead in this movie. He heads a strong Italian cast, who all do well in bringing their characters to life, as well as providing the movie with the Italian style that it revels in. The script is really good, and finds time to flesh out its characters as well as deliver witty dialogue that is always a part of this movie's bigger budget American cousins. The plot builds well throughout as there's always enough going on to keep things interesting. It all boils down to a fabulous conclusion which serves in ensuring the movie gets the bloody end it deserves, as well as rounding off the story perfectly. The Big Racket features a great sleazy atmosphere, in which the story is able to flourish, and the catchy music score helps to make sure that the film is technically sound. Overall, The Big Racket is a must see film for both crime fans and cult fans and comes with high recommendations from me!

A script doesn't necessarily have to be realistic to be good. In my opinion, all it needs its to make sense, to be credible within itself. This movie has it all and its very fast paced. It is a very good attempt to expand the perspective of the action movies back then, and I consider it, along with "Perros Callejeros 1 and 2" the best european action movies of the 70s, the background for much of the filmmaking that we see today as "new", and a great spectacle. The enchant of these movies is that, even though some special effects are not credible at all (some of the shot wounds don't bleed at all), those that do required cars to be burnt and some stunts to expose themselves are better than those the new computarized hollywood movies have.It doesnt make you feel like you are watching cartoons. I admit that the beauty of movies is fantasy. But when i compare this movie to any action movie from hollywood, I come to the conclusion that fantasy doesn't necessarily have to please anybodies wishes nor to be custom made for a certain public, but to show different prespectives than those that public has.the only problem...Real hard to find