Il giustiziere sfida la città (1975)

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writers:

Vincenzo Mannino (screenplay)
Vincenzo Mannino (story)

Release Date:

April 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Action | Thriller

Plot:

A biker's brother is killed while investigating the kidnapping of a young boy, the byproduct of a war between two crime families. The biker vows to get revenge by finding the kidnapped boy and destroying the two families.

Plot Keywords:

Kidnapping | Hitman | Violence | Kung Fu | Fight

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Tomas Milian	...	Rambo
Joseph Cotten	...	Paternò
Maria Fiore	...	Maria Scalia
Mario Piave	...	Pino Scalia
Luciano Catenacci	...	Conti
Guido Alberti	...	Owner of Billiard Salon
Femi Benussi	...	Flora
Silvano Tranquilli	...	Dr. Marco Marsili
Shirley Corrigan	...	Conti's mistress
Antonio Casale	...	Philip Duval
Rosario Borelli	...	One of Paterno's men
Luciano Pigozzi	...	One of Conti's men
Mario Novelli	...	Franco
Bruno Di Luia	...	One of Conti's men
Giuseppe Castellano	...	One of Conti's men

Also Known As:

Final Payment (Canada: English title) (cut version)
One Just Man (Europe: English title)
Rambo's Revenge (USA) (dubbed version)
Syndicate Sadists (USA)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 | Norway:15 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Milan, Lombardia, Italy

Company:

Dania Cinematografica

Another entertaining crime-fest from Umberto Lenzi!

Umberto Lenzi is undoubtedly the king of Italian crime movies, but unfortunately; Syndicate Sadists is not the best examples of his work in this genre. Lenzi's crime flicks tend to be a cut above the rest because he makes films based on stories with a point, and they don't lack direction; but this film feels a bit too wayward to fully fit with the rest of his stuff. The film takes obvious influence from Sergio Leone's landmark western 'A Fistful of Dollars' (which in turn, took influence from Akira Kurosawa's landmark samurai flick Yojimbo), in that it features two warring families and a strong character at the centre. The crime that Lenzi focuses on is kidnapping, and we centre on a character called 'Rambo'. Rambo is dragged into the war between the two families after his brother is killed because of it. Rambo uses his brains and brawn to pit the two families against one another, in the hope of gaining revenge for his brother's death, rescuing a young boy that they've kidnapped, and ultimately letting the two sides destroy one another.

The film's biggest asset is undoubtedly Tomas Milian. Milian was put to great use by Lenzi in almost all of his crime thrillers. The range of characters he has played for Lenzi is immense, and this one is easily one of the coolest. The character is called Rambo, which immediately sprang to mind the popular Sylvester Stallone character - but for once, the Italians actually haven't stolen this name as Syndicate Sadists was released first! As usual, the film is wickedly entertaining, as we get to watch Milian get himself involved in the usual array of car chases, shootouts and brawls. Lenzi has got him riding a motorbike this time round, and every scene featuring it and Milian is a real standout! However, the film often feels like it doesn't really have anywhere to go, and this means that the running time is stretched out more than it should be. Compared to the crime films of other Italian directors, Syndicate Sadists is more than above average; but in relation to Lenzi crime flicks such as Almost Human and The Cynic, The Rat and The Fist - it doesn't stand tall as one of Lenzi's best. Still, if you're looking for ninety minutes of testosterone fuelled mayhem - Syndicate Sadists will suffice!