There are a bunch of reasons why "Torino Violenta" is one of the weakest Poliziotesschi flicks ever produced, and in order from least relevant to most important they are: 1) The year of release. The Italian cop/gangster thriller was an exhilarating but also very short-lived genre that spawned an immense amount of titles between 1972-1976. By 1977 the genre was slowly dying already, and no real classics were produced anymore. 2) The Director. Who is Carlo Ausino and where did he emerge from suddenly? I daresay I'm an expert when it comes to Italian cult cinema, but I never heard of him before. The average Poliziotesschi isn't exactly a meticulous piece of art, but you also cannot expect that an inexperienced director like Ausino delivers the same kind of powerful flicks as veterans like Umberto Lenzi, Stelvio Massi, Enzo G. Castellari or Fernando Di Leo. 3) The lead protagonist. I've admired George Hilton in several spaghetti-westerns, and even more so in numerous Gialli-masterpieces, but he totally missed the hype of the poliziotesschi. This man inarguably has a lot of charisma, but not the type of charisma that Maurizio Merli or Luc Merenda bring to a crime film set. Hilton is unconvincing as the tough & unorthodox copper, and even more so as the lawless vigilante. 4) The production values. Admittedly all poliziotesschi films suffer from budget restrictions, but usually the directors and their crews are far more creative than here in "Torino Violenta". The dubbing is truly horrendous, the Turin' locations are uninspired, and the action sequences are thoroughly unimpressive. The obligatory car chases appear to be much slower, while the shootouts aren't as cruel and nasty as you hope them to be. 5) The script. All previous shortcomings are basically minor excuses, but this is where "Torino Violenta" truly fails. It's a weak, derivative and boring story about a police detective fed up with the ever-increasing powers of criminal organizations in his city and the restrictions of the legal system that he must obey. And thus, outside of his duty hours, he tracks down and executes the criminals who spit in his face when he officially arrests them. This is a theme featuring in practically every poliziotesschi flick ever made, but it's very poorly elaborated here. The cops and villains are difficult to keep apart, Ugo Moretti's partner is a lot more fanatic than he is, in fact, and the situation in Turin honestly isn't as desperate as in other major Italian cities.
5 Reviews
Typical Italian crime movie from the 70s
shogun34029049225 August 2002
I had been looking forward to this for quite a while so when i finally bagged a Dutch ex-rental i was over the moon or so i thought.There are only 2 types of Italian crime movies-good or bad.This is bad,very bad!The action is slow and akward and the plot has more holes than one of George Hilton's victims while the dubbing is terrible.Just because its called Violent Torino don't go expecting another Violent Rome or Naples like i did.
I wasn't aware that Eurocrime got this boring.
The_Void31 May 2009
Well, almost every review ever written for Double Game says that it's not a good film; and who am I to buck that trend? I actually went into this film with some high hopes; 1977 was a good year for Eurocrime (Fearless, Weapons of Death, Destruction Force etc) and George Hilton usually puts in a good turn - but unfortunately, the film is just far too boring and less than half the way through, my mind began to wander. The plot is very thin and simple, and we just; as usual, focus on crime in the city, and this time a vigilante that takes the law into his own hands. However, in spite of it being simple; director Carlo Ausino has somehow managed to completely mess the plot up. It's confusing and turgid throughout, and this makes it very difficult to care about anything that's going on. This is not George Hilton's best performance either; and I can't say I blame him for not giving his all. There's very little action, and when the car chases and things do finally make an appearance; they're not well shot and unlikely to wake the sleeping audience. Overall, I'm really quite appalled at how bad this film is, and needless to say I'm not looking forward to Another Double Game.
Lifeless
bensonmum24 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
To say that I was disappointed with Torino violenta (I prefer that name to the American title Double Game) would be an extreme understatement. To begin with, the movie is dull. It lacks the good action sequences, gunfights, and car chases that make so many of the other Italian cop/crime films entertaining. What action scenes the film does have pale in comparison with those from films like Almost Human, Revolver, or Syndicate Sadists. On top of that, the actors appear to be as bored with the film as I was. You can generally count on George Hilton to give an interesting performance regardless of the material. Here, he appears to be sleepwalking through the whole movie. He looks as if he expended as little energy as possible while making Torino violenta.
Next, Torino violenta has no real plot. The first half of the film consists of a series of seemingly unrelated small-time crime scenes. It's not until the second half of the film that the plot finally reveals itself. But by then, it's too little, too late. Too little because the plot lacks any real substance and only serves to provide a stage for more of the same. Too late because by this point, I don't think I could have cared less. There's a whole subplot about George Hilton's character acting as a vigilante, working outside of the law. The problem is that this subplot goes nowhere and is only brought up when convenient.
Finally, both the dubbing and subtitles are horrendous. I normally don't complain about this kind of thing, but this is the worst I've seen. The dubbing and subtitles match neither each other nor the action on screen. I had to watch the film with both so I could try to decipher what was going on.
Looking over what I've written, I may need to revisit that 3/10 I gave Torino violenta. A 2/10 would seem to be more appropriate.
NoShame's DVD is another example of a technically sound presentation and transfer. The problems I mentioned with the dubbing and subtitles have nothing to do with NoShame. These issues, no doubt, can be traced back to the source material that NoShame was give to work with. Even though I'm disappointed with the film, as usual, I'm impressed with NoShame.
Next, Torino violenta has no real plot. The first half of the film consists of a series of seemingly unrelated small-time crime scenes. It's not until the second half of the film that the plot finally reveals itself. But by then, it's too little, too late. Too little because the plot lacks any real substance and only serves to provide a stage for more of the same. Too late because by this point, I don't think I could have cared less. There's a whole subplot about George Hilton's character acting as a vigilante, working outside of the law. The problem is that this subplot goes nowhere and is only brought up when convenient.
Finally, both the dubbing and subtitles are horrendous. I normally don't complain about this kind of thing, but this is the worst I've seen. The dubbing and subtitles match neither each other nor the action on screen. I had to watch the film with both so I could try to decipher what was going on.
Looking over what I've written, I may need to revisit that 3/10 I gave Torino violenta. A 2/10 would seem to be more appropriate.
NoShame's DVD is another example of a technically sound presentation and transfer. The problems I mentioned with the dubbing and subtitles have nothing to do with NoShame. These issues, no doubt, can be traced back to the source material that NoShame was give to work with. Even though I'm disappointed with the film, as usual, I'm impressed with NoShame.
I'm from Turin
badlieutenent5 April 2019
I'm from Turin, I heard from my cousin about this film,he's cinephile like me, I tried watch this film, and I loved it. Except the plot, that isn't too bad, the stunts and the all technic part of the film,looking at the budget, it's a very good job
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