Bandits in Milan Review

	Bandits in Milan (1968) (aka Banditi a Milano aka The Violent Four) Directed by Carlo Lizzani Starring Gian Maria Volonté, Tomas Milian, Ray Lovelock, Don Backy, Ezio Sancrotti An early and very good entry in the Italian crime genre, Bandits in Milan is based on the real life exploits of a band of bank robbers active in (surprise, surprise!) Milan, during 1967. Director Carlo Lizziani opts to open the film as more of a documentary than a conventional crime thriller. A narrator starts off by talking about the increasing violence used by criminals. “Interviews” with Inspector Basevi (Tomas Milian), old school criminal “The Cripple” and a club owner who is the victim of a protection racket, follow. We even get Milian directing a purse-snatcher for a reconstruction for the camera crew when he's not happy with the thugs' performance he shouts: “Who do you think you are, Federico Fellini? La Dolce Flatfoot!” The story really starts when one of the robbers is shown being attacked by an angry mob before being captured by the police and that's when the film switches towards a more traditional narrative. The events leading up to the robbers capture is told in a series of flashbacks to Inspector Bavesi, the film follows the trio of bank robbers as they are setting up offices as a respectable front to plan their crimes.

Bandits in Milan (1968) (aka Banditi a Milano aka The Violent Four)

Directed by Carlo Lizzani

Starring Gian Maria Volonté, Tomas Milian, Ray Lovelock, Don Backy, Ezio Sancrotti

An early and very good entry in the Italian crime genre, Bandits in Milan is based on the real life exploits of a band of bank robbers active in (surprise, surprise!) Milan, during 1967. Director Carlo Lizziani opts to open the film as more of a documentary than a conventional crime thriller. A narrator starts off by talking about the increasing violence used by criminals. “Interviews” with Inspector Basevi (Tomas Milian), old school criminal “The Cripple” and a club owner who is the victim of a protection racket, follow. We even get Milian directing a purse-snatcher for a reconstruction for the camera crew when he's not happy with the thugs' performance he shouts: “Who do you think you are, Federico Fellini? La Dolce Flatfoot!”

The story really starts when one of the robbers is shown being attacked by an angry mob before being captured by the police and that's when the film switches towards a more traditional narrative. The events leading up to the robbers capture is told in a series of flashbacks to Inspector Bavesi, the film follows the trio of bank robbers as they are setting up offices as a respectable front to plan their crimes.

The robberies are carried out with meticulous planning and scouting of the banks and they usually carry out several robberies one after the other, often tripping the alarm in the first one before heading off to the next to complicate matters for the police. Lizzani also shows glimpses of the lives of the people that will be unlucky enough to be caught up in the violent aftermath of the final robbery, which apparently left 15 civilians and 6 policemen dead. The manhunt that follows continues for 8 days before the culprits are caught.

Gian Maria Volonté plays the leader of the group, Peter Cavallero. From what I've seen of him so far, Volanté never seems to deliver a less than stellar performance and this is no different. Cavallaro is a ruthless criminal but Volanté portrays him as a complex and not altogether dislikeable human being.

	Don Backy and Ezio Sancrotti offer solid support as the other two robbers and Ray Lovelocks does a good job as Donated Lopez, a young man drafted to the group by Cavallero. A young and very dapper looking Tomas Milian is relegated to the sidelines, spending most of his time listening to the story being told in flashbacks. Another eurocult celeb, L’Antichristo's Carla Gravina, turns up in a comedic cameo as a Swiss woman looking for a bit of TLC from the Italian police. Since it is based on real events, there is slightly less gunplay and action packed into it than your average Italian crime thriller and there’s no satisfying final showdown between the cops and the criminals but this is a highly recommended, expertly directed, well paced and very compelling film that depicts these real life events without feeling exploitive at all. (Peter)

Don Backy and Ezio Sancrotti offer solid support as the other two robbers and Ray Lovelocks does a good job as Donated Lopez, a young man drafted to the group by Cavallero. A young and very dapper looking Tomas Milian is relegated to the sidelines, spending most of his time listening to the story being told in flashbacks. Another eurocult celeb, L’Antichristo's Carla Gravina, turns up in a comedic cameo as a Swiss woman looking for a bit of TLC from the Italian police.

Since it is based on real events, there is slightly less gunplay and action packed into it than your average Italian crime thriller and there’s no satisfying final showdown between the cops and the criminals but this is a highly recommended, expertly directed, well paced and very compelling film that depicts these real life events without feeling exploitive at all. (Peter)

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