'' by
Carlo Lizzani (1968) Although the subgenre has its roots in Italian
heist films of the late 1960s, such as
Bandits in Milan (
Banditi a Milano, 1968) by
Carlo Lizzani, it was also strongly influenced by such rough-edged American police thrillers of the late 1960s and early 1970s as
Bullitt,
Dirty Harry,
The French Connection,
Magnum Force, and
Serpico; the 1970s wave of American
vigilante films, including 1974's
Death Wish; the increase of cynicism and violence in
French crime films; the resurgence of
mob films in the wake of
The Godfather; French and American
noir and
neo-noir films; and the rise of
exploitation films in the late 1960s and 1970s. More generally, the genre was also heavily influenced by
real-life crime and unrest in 1970s Italy during the period known as the
anni di piombo (political violence, kidnappings, assassinations, bank robberies, political militant terrorism,
impending oil crisis, political corruption, organized crime-related violence, and recession). '' by
Enzo G. Castellari (1976) Due in part to the genre's often ostensibly negative portrayal of political activists and militants, especially leftist militants, and its seeming endorsement of
vigilantism and "tough-on-crime" or "
law and order" stances, some
poliziotteschi films (such as 1976's
The Big Racket) were criticized by then-contemporaneous critics and accused of exploiting
conservative fears of rising crime and political upheaval while containing
reactionary, pro-violence, or even quasi-
Fascist ideological elements in their overarching message. These critiques were similar to those levelled at the 1970s American "
vigilante films" of the same period, such as 1974's
Death Wish, films by which the
poliziotteschi genre was considerably influenced. In retrospect, despite contemporaneous claims in the 1970s of overly conservative or reactionary themes within the genre, film historians such as Louis Bayman and Peter Bondarella contend that, in fact,
poliziotteschi films generally presented a more multi-faceted, complex outlook on the political turmoil and crime waves of the time, as well as violence in general, with Bayman and author Roberto Curti in particular arguing that the genre generally used political conflicts and violence for largely
apolitical tension-building and
cathartic or emotional purposes rather than to promote any particular political agendas. Curti notes that the genre's protagonists often simultaneously displayed both right-wing and left-wing views, and protagonists were often
working class while villains were often wealthy right-wing conservatives.
Directors include •
Mario Bianchi •
Alfonso Brescia •
Enzo G. Castellari •
Bruno Corbucci •
Damiano Damiani •
Alberto De Martino •
Massimo Dallamano •
Ruggero Deodato •
Lucio Fulci •
Mario Caiano •
Marino Girolami •
Romolo Girolami •
Umberto Lenzi •
Fernando Di Leo •
Carlo Lizzani •
Sergio Martino •
Stelvio Massi •
Giuliano Montaldo •
Elio Petri •
Sergio Sollima •
Duccio Tessari Actors include •
Mario Adorf •
Ursula Andress •
Carroll Baker •
Martin Balsam •
Laura Belli •
Helmut Berger •
Barbara Bouchet •
Sal Borgese •
Marcel Bozzuffi •
Charles Bronson •
Luciano Catenacci •
Adolfo Celi •
Giovanni Cianfriglia •
Joan Collins •
Richard Conte •
Joseph Cotten •
Alain Delon •
George Eastman •
Mel Ferrer •
Klaus Kinski •
Angelo Infanti •
Leonard Mann •
Luc Merenda •
Maurizio Merli •
Mario Merola •
Tomas Milian •
Gordon Mitchell •
Gastone Moschin •
Franco Nero •
Jack Palance •
Oliver Reed •
Fernando Rey •
Edward G. Robinson •
Luciano Rossi •
Antonio Sabàto Sr. •
Telly Savalas •
John Saxon •
Henry Silva •
Woody Strode •
Fabio Testi •
Massimo Vanni •
Gian Maria Volonté •
Eli Wallach •
Fred Williamson ==Selected films==