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Released by: Alan Young Pictures
Released on: 11/13/2003
Director: Stelvio Massi
Cast: Tomas Milian, Gastone Moschin, Ray Lovelock, Mario Carotenuto
Year: 1974
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The Movie:
Eurocult stalwart Tomas Milian plays Ravelli, an Interpol agent whose wife is murdered in cold blood by a group of gangsters. With her gone, he falls into a state of depression. While working to track down a gang of bank robbers, he discovers that the leader of this gang, Marseilles, may in fact be connected to his wife's death. When Marseilles latest robbery attempt doesn't work out as planned, the cops are closing in on him and Ravelli plans his revenge.
OK, so the plot isn't going to win any points for originality but what it lacks there it more than makes up for in gritty action. Plenty of shoot-outs are the order of the day and it's served up in spades as Milian and company blast their way through some nice Italian scenery and some not so nice Italian scenery. Stand outs include a great sequence in a swanky brothel featuring a bevy of scantily clad Eurobabes, some solid car chases, and plenty of great tough talking dialogue from our down and out cigarillo chomping cop hero, Ravelli.
Stelvio Cipriani contributes a rousing score that highlights the blood soaked gunplay quite nicely. Recently deceased Stelvio (Case of the Bloody Iris, Fistful Of Lead) Massi's direction is competent and slick and the camera work lends a classy look to the film, even when the subject matter is dirty and base. In short, the movie looks and sounds really slick - like a good Italian cop film should.
Aside from the action set pieces, which are fantastic, the main reason to watch the film is Milian. Though he's starred in many Polizia and Spaghetti Western films, he gives a better than average performance here and while it's maybe not Oscar caliber, he's sufficiently believable in his depression which lends an uncharacteristic air of sympathy to the character of Ravelli. By the end of the film, we really do want him to get his revenge and we want him to bring the bad guys to justice for what happened to his wife, but for what they've down to the city's populace as well.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Presented in its original 1.85.1 widescreen aspect ratio and enhanced for anamorphic sets, Squadra Volante looks pretty good on this DVD. There is a fine layer of grain noticeable throughout as well as some minor print damage but the colors look very nice and edge enhancement and noticeable compression is kept to a minimum.
There are two Italian tracks on the DVD, one in Dolby Digital Mono and the other in Dolby Digital 5.1. As far as the English audio options go, we get a decent sounding Dolby Digital Mono track. During playback with the English audio enabled, it does switch to Italian in a few scenes with no English subtitles provided. The clarity on the English dub is fine, and while there is some underlying hiss noticeable throughout the film, it's minor and not much of a problem. The Italian audio tracks both fair a little better, and the 5.1 mix packs a nice punch during the action scenes. Too bad there are no English subtitles available.
Alan Young Pictures provides a lengthy interview with the films director, Stelvio Massi, though sadly it is in Italian only with no English subtitles, so I have no idea what he talks about. Massi also contributes a brief introduction to the film, again, in Italian only. There's also a theatrical trailer, a couple of text pieces, and a nice sized photo and still gallery included, also in Italian only.
The Final Word:
While the few scenes that don't have an English dub available for them make this a less than perfect presentation (unless of course you speak Italian - and seeing as this is an Italian market release its intended audience probably does!), Squadra Volante is a great Italian crime film. The film has got enough action and gunplay to keep things moving at a nice pace and a solid performance from Milian.