Gang War in Milan (1973)

"Gang Wars in Milan" is Umberto Lenzi's worthwhile and compelling imitation of "The Godfather" – in Italy during the 1970's this type of films got labeled as the "Poliziottesco" – about the rivalry and battle between Sicilian pimps and French drug dealers. The drug barons are putting severe pressure on the sly and sleazy Salvatore "Toto" Cangemi, who practically has a monopoly over the prostitution network in Milan, to have his hookers sell heroin. The greedy French wolves also demand 70% of the profit, so you can image Toto refuses. The "negotiations" rapidly run out of hand, with some car-bombs left, some drug labs getting destroyed right and a handful of prostitutes being mutilated center, and gradually escalate into a devastating gang war. So, basically, what I've learned from this film is the actual definition of a mafia partnership: they start a war over 20% and when they finally do reach an agreement, all they do is double-crossing each other! "Milano Rovente" isn't the most spectacular of Italian crime epics of the 70's, as there are reasonably few car chases and violent shootouts on display, but it's nevertheless a solidly scripted and professionally acted atmosphere-driven thriller. There are some excellent plot twists to keep you interested throughout and the bit of cruelty (especially towards women) are quite hard to stomach. The film may lack some essential Poliziottesco aspects, like a dazzling soundtrack and ultra-psychopathic characters, but it was definitely a terrific predecessor to Umberto Lenzi's ultimate crime masterpiece "Almost Human".

As other reviewers have said this Umberto Lenzi "polizieschi" really pales compared to the director's earlier "Almost Human", which was one of the best of the entire genre, and Anthony Sabato is indeed a poor substitute for the great Tomas Milan. But this one does have its moments. This movie is about a "gang war in Milan" (the English title) between Sicilian pimps and French-connection drug dealers. The leader of former group (Sabato)brings in another menacing Sicialian godfather "Billy Barone" (Alessandro Sperli, who gives by far the best performance here) who ultimately turns out to be an even bigger threat than the "Frenchies".Most of the violence here is actually aimed at the prostitutes who get raped, beaten, have acid thrown in their faces, etc (although the testicles of one male character do suffer an unfortunate encounter with a car battery). The violence against women may be kind of turn-off for some, but it's also pretty standard for this genre. Marissa Mell is kind of wasted as the protagonist's gold-digging upper-class girlfriend, but the luscious Carla Romanelli (who played the sexy maid in "The Sensuous Nurse") is good as a sympathetic streetwalker.The film is enjoyably amoral. The police are almost irrelevant, and the gangsters are all equally vicious and double-dealing (and all of them are perfectly willing to traffick drugs). This is not one of the great Italian polizieschi, but it's pretty fun if you like the genre in general like I do.

Salvatore Cangemi (Antonio Sabato) is the head of an Italian crime family and the biggest pimp in Milan. When a French mobster wants to use Cangemi's girls to traffic his drugs, Cangemi refuses. The Frenchman doesn't take this lightly and moves in on the Milan territory by recruiting some of Cangemi's girls behind his back. It's not long before the two men and their entire organizations are involved in an all out gang war for control of Milan.Because Gang War in Milan was directed by Umberto Lenzi, it's hard not to make comparisons with Lenzi's Almost Human. The problem is that if you've seen Almost Human, Gang War in Milan all but pales in comparison. Almost Human is, at least to me, something of a masterpiece of the genre. Lenzi got it right with the over-the-top, uber-violence. The level of action and violence in Gang War in Milan doesn't come close to that found in Almost Human. Furthermore, if you compare Antonio Sabato in Gang War in Milan with Tomas Milian in Almost Human, Milian easily comes out on top. Sabato is adequate in his role as the leader of the gang, but does not have the screen presence or magnetic personality of Milian. Even as Milian is committing some of the most heinous crimes imaginable, it's hard to dislike the man.Based on what I've written so far, it almost sounds like I don't care for Gang War in Milan – and that's not the case. Gang War in Milan is a reasonably entertaining example of the Italian crime drama. It's far from being the worst film of this type I've seen. The story is compelling, the film looks good, and overall the acting is very nice. The different plots and schemes the French and Italian gangs carry out against each other are quite ingenious. I was especially fond of the French gang dressing like cops and arresting and holding hostage all of the prostitutes. Good stuff. Also, there are some nice plot twists toward the end of the film that I never saw coming that make for a very satisfying conclusion. And, as a real big plus, Gang War in Milan features Marissa Mell.I realize that I'm probably not being fair to Gang War in Milan because of my preference for Almost Human. If I had never seen that movie, I'm almost positive that my opinion of Gang War in Milan would be different.

The storyline is the Italians vs. the French. More accurately, the Italian pimps vs. the French drug pushers. Antonio Sabato stars as Salvatore Cangemi, Milan's biggest pimp who refuses to get in the drug trade with some French gangsters. Ah, a pimp with standards. Of course, this is what makes MILANO difficult. How can one root for a guy who repeatedly degrades/beats women and smacks around people because "the English language annoys him" at a bar? The film is interesting to watch in that it is Umberto Lenzi's first crime/mafia film. Up until this point, Lenzi had done westerns, gladiator films, spy films and a couple of giallo but nothing this focused on Italy's crime element (unless you count KRIMINAL). This comes off as a blue print for his later works. I wonder if Lenzi gauged what audiences liked the most and least from this film and infused them into his next entries. It is a theory that may hold some water because just a year later he would deliver ALMOST HUMAN, his Italian crime classic.