Somehow I have never seen this early Bronson flick (with Telly Savalas), directed by Sergio Sollima ('Revolver'). I picked it up at Video Vertigo last night and will be settling in with a cold beer tonight to check it out. Any thoughts?

I love VIOLENT CITY! It is definitely the best of the Bronson/Ireland films with a really exciting car chase in the beginning. Plus, there is great support from Telly. One of the main reasons I like it is the ending (I won't spoil it, but it will definitely stick with you). Please let us know what you think of it.

Don't let the rock 'em opening-reel car chase, choreographed by Remy Julienne, and shootout fool you into expecting a fast-paced action picture, because that's just about all there is. VIOLENT CITY is mostly a character study of two people--a hard-nosed killer betrayed by the only person he ever allowed himself to get close to and a beautiful woman who loves him, but loves power more. Sergio Sollima's tight direction maximizes the unusual New Orleans locations; it's interesting how foreign directors seem to find better places to shoot here than American filmmakers do. Ennio Morricone's wild score is among his best and is a classic of Italian crime dramas. The film's biggest wrong note is struck by Jill Ireland, who was forced upon Sollima by her husband Bronson and has trouble playing one dimension, much less a character with as many faces as her VIOLENT CITY character. KOJAK fans might get a kick out of seeing George "Stavros" Savalas.

Liked this one as well. It was a blind buy that delivered.

I'm still trying to verify this -- I have a friend who lived in England who SWEARS that the footage in Italian only on the Anchor Bay was indeed present and in English when he saw it multiple times throughout the 70s (he's a huge Sollima fan) in the U.K. He feels that AB got the film from an Italian source or something, and just didn't make the effort/didn't know that the footage was available in English. He refuses to buy the Anchor Bay for this very reason.

Did the famous Japanese laser disc have the "italian" bits in English on it? I like the film very much, and have only seen the AB disc so I'm happy enough with it, but I'm wondering if the English language track exists somewhere. I would suspect it does, as they were just moments out of scenes where Bronsan had voiced the rest, as opposed to THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY, where the scenes likely were removed in total before the English overdubbing occured.

I used to have the Japanese LD and it was entirely in English, but I can't confirm if the scenes dubbed into Italian in the AB DVD were present as I've not actually got around to watching the disc yet.

There are also 2 Japanese DVD's available (tho' one is a Japanese dubbed version I think) but I'm not sure what master was employed.

I've got to disagree with Marty (heh, first time for everything, eh McKee?) about this. The casting of Jill Ireland works for me; she's got a child-like (nigh insipid) China doll quality that makes me trust her more than I would, say, Erika Blanc, Catherine Spaak or Rosalba Neri in the same role. Ireland seems incapable of crossing her Ts, let alone her lover... and this contrast works for me. Given Bronson's relationship with his leading lady, their last scene together (and if you've seen the film, you know what I mean) does pack a punch.

RHS

After I saw this one the first time, I had to go jogging for an hour. That was just to shake off the voltage one gets from the conclusion. Its defintly my favorite of the from Bronson's Euro phase. Although RIDER ON THE RAIN is also darn good.

Having watched LOVE & BULLETS not that long ago and finding Jill Ireland so distracting in that film, I find her to be perfectly acceptable in VIOLENT CITY. Among the numerous films she and Bronson did together, this is one of the most sensible pairings.

What amuses me about the opening car-chase is seeing Charlotte Amalie and its harbor as it was back in 1970. While the surrounding area is more built up there's much of the vicinity that looks the same. I used to walk from the pier at Havensight to the old general post office down town until a new, small postal outlet was built along the pier. Seeing the footage of the cars zipping around the area tickled me silly.

Two small bits of the Italian language sequences on Anchor Bay's VIOLENT CITY were indeed available in English on the old MPI tape released as THE FAMILY. However, as far as I know, the majority of the Italian language footage employed on Anchor Bay's disc has never turned up in English.

I agree that Bronson and Jill Ireland go better here than elsewhere. A dynamic of jealousy and unfaithfulness does the trick and suits their respective personas very well...though they would never be mistaken for a Hepburn and Tracy. They're close enough to a Bogart and Bergman this one time to satisfy, however.

Marty's right that fast action tapers off pretty quick and gives way to character study...and sociology of place/travelogue. That's director Sollima's usual approach though he tends to have a couple more chases and showdowns than this one does despite the novelistic diversions on the way. It doesn't bother me at all on this occasion. Bronson's hard nut having a crisis is captivating enough.

I would mention, however, an exciting race track hit Charley is trying to pull off and its reminders (must be intentional) of Kubrick's KILLING,