This Tomas Milan-starrer is a kinder, gentler Poliziotteschi (inspired by the uber-graphic "Dirty Harry" and "Death Wish"; yeah, toss "Serpico" and "The French Connection" in there) courtesy of writer-director Bruno Corbucci injecting the (admittedly, lower-budgeted) comedy chocolate into the peanut-butter action. As result: one can consider "Squadra antiscippo" as a precursor to the not-made-yet, US cop-buddy romps "Beverly Hills Cop," and "48 Hours," as well as the "Lethal Weapon" series. A Euro-crime box office smash across Europe, it became Tomas Milan's "James Bond": he starred in ten sequels as the titular, non-conformist loner Inspector Nico Giraldi (eleven films in all from 1976 to 1984).
Remember this is a comedy; so instead of Eastwood's Harry Callahan hunting down a serial killer or cop-assassination squad, you get -- an admittedly, more quirky -- inversion as Inspector Giraldi (who is as scruffy as Al Pacino was in his cop flick) is out to bust an elaborate, motorcycle-based purse-snatching ring (they even use trained German Shepards!). Things turn bloody when the ring's latest victim is an American gangster (Jack Palance, who's not here, much; if you remember his gag in the first "Batman" movie, then you know what you'll get from him here, here) -- to the tune of five million dollars. And the off-beat Giraldi knows how criminals think: he was a member of the underworld until he turned a new leaf to become a cop.
The original, Euro-theatrical cut runs 95 minutes; the subsequent US-cuts on video are hacked to an incomprehensible 75-minutes -- which leave the film, at least to US eyes -- worse than it really is. The cuts don't take away from the incredible motorcycle-based action (so much so, you wonder when Steve McQueen from "The Great Escape" shows up), gun-fights, and fistacuffs as only an Italian action film can bring. Instead, those edits cuts out some of the more offensive (remember, it's 1976, after all) "comedy" regarding Japanese tourists and homosexuals, as well as the "colorful" cursing, throughout.
As result of its overseas popularity -- and doing well on US home video shelves in the '80s, which is how I first watched this: in a Poliziotteschi-binge month (right after my Philippines war flicks-binge month; blaxploitation, before that!) -- this is easy to find on US-streaming platforms such as Tubi (for free), but commercial-free on Amazon Prime Video for a mere .99 cents. You can also pick up a copy as part of Mill Creek's "The Swinging Seventies" 50-film pack.
Remember this is a comedy; so instead of Eastwood's Harry Callahan hunting down a serial killer or cop-assassination squad, you get -- an admittedly, more quirky -- inversion as Inspector Giraldi (who is as scruffy as Al Pacino was in his cop flick) is out to bust an elaborate, motorcycle-based purse-snatching ring (they even use trained German Shepards!). Things turn bloody when the ring's latest victim is an American gangster (Jack Palance, who's not here, much; if you remember his gag in the first "Batman" movie, then you know what you'll get from him here, here) -- to the tune of five million dollars. And the off-beat Giraldi knows how criminals think: he was a member of the underworld until he turned a new leaf to become a cop.
The original, Euro-theatrical cut runs 95 minutes; the subsequent US-cuts on video are hacked to an incomprehensible 75-minutes -- which leave the film, at least to US eyes -- worse than it really is. The cuts don't take away from the incredible motorcycle-based action (so much so, you wonder when Steve McQueen from "The Great Escape" shows up), gun-fights, and fistacuffs as only an Italian action film can bring. Instead, those edits cuts out some of the more offensive (remember, it's 1976, after all) "comedy" regarding Japanese tourists and homosexuals, as well as the "colorful" cursing, throughout.
As result of its overseas popularity -- and doing well on US home video shelves in the '80s, which is how I first watched this: in a Poliziotteschi-binge month (right after my Philippines war flicks-binge month; blaxploitation, before that!) -- this is easy to find on US-streaming platforms such as Tubi (for free), but commercial-free on Amazon Prime Video for a mere .99 cents. You can also pick up a copy as part of Mill Creek's "The Swinging Seventies" 50-film pack.