Rulers of the City is a poliziotteschi thriller directed by Fernando Di Leo in 1976.  It is being made available here in the UK on Blu-ray in a 4K restoration based on the original negative.

Fans of Jack Palance’s performance as “Boss” Carl Grissom in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) may want to check him out in an earlier performance as a mob boss in this Eurocrime movie.  In this oddly light-hearted thriller, a trio of criminals operating out of a Roman gambling den decide to scam one of their customers, a sinister gangland figure called “Scarface” Manzari (Palance).  Naturally, Manzari finds out, and the crooks have to use all their resources to escape his reprisals.

Di Leo’s reputation mostly rests on tough movies like The Italian Connection (1972) and Il Boss (1973).  With Rulers of the City, he is attempting something somewhat different.  It couldn’t quite be labelled a comedy as the situation is serious, and the violent and dangerous passages land.  However, there is a certain flamboyance, if not ironic distance, in the approach that makes the film feel a little less than realistic. Di Leo was explicit about his debt to film noir.  Here, he may as well be influenced by screwball comedy.  Tony, the protagonist played by Fassbinder regular Harry Baer whose job is to pick up money owed by reluctant customers, must be the world’s most laid back and likeable shakedown artist.  Tony’s older pal Vincenzo Napoli (Vittorio Caprioli) has a running shtick concerning the greed and recklessness of the younger gangsters.  He is often used for explicit comedy relief.  The third figure in this group Ric is played by future Lucio Fulci regular Al Cliver and is played relatively straight.  Although charming with his associates, Ric is very cold and determined during his violent actions.  But then again, he has very personal reasons for his animosity against Manzari.  As the mob boss Palance cuts a rather florid figure, always brandishing a cigarette in a long holder.  As the token American performer, he replaces Henry Silva in The Italian Connection and Il Boss and provides even more gravitas.

Rulers of the City stands out as a successful, if not typical, entry in Di Leo’s filmography.  Personally, to me it feels like a low-key version of the Terence Hill and Bud Spencer comedies being made around the same time.  Obviously, there are no explicit slapstick routines, but there’s that languor on the part of the leads that implies this isn’t to be taken that seriously.  This movie isn’t a poliziotteschi that purports to be holding up a mirror to society, nor is it a sincere picture of a man under pressure like The Italian Connection.  However, it is a slick and very entertaining effort that can be recommended to all fans of crime films, Euro thrillers and Italian popular cinema.

This Radiance Films/Raro Video UK release only boasts a couple of extras, but they are good value.  The first, Violent City, features archival footage of various people reminiscing about the making of Rulers of the City.  These include director Fernando Di Leo, star Al Cliver, editor Amadeo Giomini and the guy entrusted with weapons during the stunts, Gilberto Galimberti.  The second featurette is hosted by self-described ‘tough guy film expert’ Mike Malloy and is by his own admission rather facetiously titled ‘As a child I saw my father murdered, and I want revenge now I’m grown’. Rulers of the City qualifies for the group of films this title applies to, as this is Ric’s motivation in targeting Manzari.  Malloy traces the development of this niche subgenre through popular Italian genres like the Spaghetti Western ( Death Rides a Horse, The Son of Django (both 1967), thrillers (The Summertime Killer (1972), Kid (1990)) and then looks at the sub-genre’s influence on mainstream American movies like Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Gangs of New York (2002).

With this release, Radiance and Raro Video UK continue to bring stellar Italian genre movies to an ever-growing audience in the Anglosphere.