Scott LeBrun Charles Bronson is at his coolest and most bad ass in this entertaining Italian crime flick. Bronson plays Jeff Heston, a professional hit man who wants to leave that line of work behind him. But his associates will have NONE of that, and spend a lot of time trying to set him up and take him out. When attempts are made on his life, Jeff makes it his mission to get revenge on the old "friend" and current flame who tried to eliminate him.Adding a shot in the arm is Telly Savalas, appearing around the one hour mark, as a slick, rich gangster, Al Weber. Telly is a lot of fun to watch. Female lead Jill Ireland is less satisfactory (but looks amazing), but she's not bad as this scheming, conniving person. The excellent international cast also includes Michel Constantin as Killain, Umberto Orsini as Steve, and Ray Saunders as one of Jeffs' cell mates.This twist laden script, with six people in total credited for the story and screenplay (including Lina Wertmuller and director Sergio Sollima), has the potential to confuse the viewer, especially as it doesn't always exist in one time frame. But Sollima does an excellent job at crafting the action. One can hardly fail to notice that the opening set piece plays out wordlessly, with no actors speaking until about 12 minutes along. A climactic elevator ride similarly plays out almost without sound. The camera work is first rate, as is the use of various locations. The pacing may cause some viewers to fidget, as it's very deliberate most of the time.Bronson fans will see a different side of him here, as he roughs up his real life wife Ireland on more than one occasion. He's not a squeaky clean protagonist, for sure. The ending may likewise take some people by surprise.Overall this is stylish trash, well shot in Techniscope and featuring a typically eclectic soundtrack courtesy of the legendary Ennio Morricone. There are also little doses of nudity along the way.Seven out of 10.

Red-Barracuda Violent City is an Italian crime film starring Charles Bronson and Telly Savalas. It was directed by Sergio Sollima who made the notable spaghetti western, The Big Gundown. It's about a hit-man from New Orleans who is framed for a crime by a Mafia boss who has also stolen his girlfriend.This is a pretty middling poliziotteschi with some good moments. It begins very well indeed though, with an energetic Ennio Morricone theme playing over stylish credits, followed immediately with a very dramatic car chase topped off with a by bloody gun battle. There's almost no dialogue at all for the opening ten minutes that encompasses this action – it's all very cinematic and exciting. It would only be fair to say that this section is the best part of the movie as a whole. Once the narrative kicks in, it gets a little melodramatic with a plot-line that is quite messily told and not especially inspired. Bronson is solid enough in the lead role – he certainly looks the part. Savalas is very good as the crime boss and his screen charisma certainly counts for quite a lot, it's a pity he didn't have a more expansive role. The overall dynamics between all the characters isn't as interesting as it might have been though, meaning the story is not always as engaging as it could be.There is a limited supply of action scenes but they are sometimes quite memorable, such as the racing car smashing through a brick wall. While the lift scene at the end was very well staged with dramatic use of sound - or lack of it rather. Another moment that had me more baffled was the whole sequence involving the large spider in the jail cell; it was played out in a decidedly surreal manner that felt like was from another movie entirely, it seemed to serve no purpose whatsoever and felt suspiciously like Sollima had got hold of the – extremely creepy – mechanical spider thing and just wanted to use it in his film, so wrote it in utterly randomly! All-in-all, one for fans of Italian crime flicks, although it's certainly not one of the best examples of this genre. There is, however, some well shot action, a couple of B-movie legends and a muscular Morricone soundtrack – so there is definitely enough reasons to check it out if you like this kind of stuff.

JasparLamarCrabb Charles Bronson is an assassin betrayed by his girlfriend (Jill Ireland) and double crossed by one-time cronies. After spending time in jail, he's released to exact revenge. He can't seem to shake the girl and finds himself blackmailed by mafioso Telly Savalas. Despite the original title (VIOLENT CITY), Sergio Sollima's movie is not particularly violent. There is an astounding chase scene the opens the film and then fairly long stretches of Bronson squinting or roughing up Ireland. A lot of it is shot in New Orleans, but there's no real feel for that particular city. The acting is fine with Bronson being Bronson and a supporting cast that includes Umberto Orsini as a particularly sleazy mob lawyer. Savalas is fairly oily but only has a few scenes. Michel Constantine plays Bronson's heroin addicted friend. Lina Wertmüller worked on the script. The music by Ennio Morricone is one of his most bizarre.

Woodyanders Lethal and laconic professional hit-man Jeff Heston (the almighty Charles Bronson in peak rugged form) gets double-crossed and left for dead. After getting out of jail, Jeff tracks down both the shooter and the man's alluring, yet treacherous mistress Vanessa Sheldon (splendidly played with classy and sexy panache by Jill Ireland) to New Orleans. Shrewd and ruthless crime boss Al Weber (smoothly essayed with delightful twinkling humor by Telly Savalas) wants Jeff to join his organization, but Jeff refuses. This begets a series of explosive events with dangerous consequences for all involved. Director/co-writer Sergio Sollima relates the complex and absorbing story at a steady pace, maintains a tough, no-nonsense tone throughout, punctuates the plot with occasional moments of startling brutal violence, stages the action set pieces with thrilling expertise (the totally silent opening car chase is an absolute corker), delivers a flavorsome evocation of the Big Easy setting, and tops everything off with a real doozy of a surprise bummer ending. This film further benefits from tip-top acting by the stellar cast: Bronson excels in a tailer-made role that plays to his strengths (Jeff is a quiet guy whose actions speak for him), Ireland likewise impresses with her deliciously seductive portrayal of the conniving and duplicitous femme fatale supreme Vanessa, Savalas makes the most out of his few scenes, and Umberto Orsini positively oozes as smarmy and opportunistic lawyer Steve. The ubiquitous Ennio Morricone provides a perfectly robust and pulsating score. Aldo Tonti's crisp widescreen cinematography adds a nicely expansive sense of scope to the picture. Well worth seeing.