FernandoDiLeo's"MilanoCalibro9"isanout-and-outmasterpieceofItalianCrimecinemaand,inmyopinion,oneofthemostastonishingcrimestoriesevertold.ThefirstfilminDiLeo'sexcellent'Milieu'trilogy,"MilanoCalibro9"wasfollowedby"LaMalaOrdina"(aka."Manhunt",also1972)andthebrilliant"IlBoss"(1973).Thethreefilmsarenotconnectedstory-wise,butallthreeareexcellent,andhighlyrealisticportrayalsoforganizedcrime.AsfarasIamconcerned"Manhunt"is(allthoughexcellent)slightlyinferiortothisoneand"IlBoss"whichbothstandoutasabsoluteall-timehighlightsofcrimecinema."MilanoCalibro9"isthebestofthemall,afilmthatisastonishinginallaspects,beittheingeniousplotthat,apartfromacompellingstoryandclevertwists,includessocialcriticism,theperformances,thegrittyatmosphereandsuspenseorthebrilliantscore.IcanhardlyfindtherightwordstoexpressmyadmirationforthismasterpiecewhicheasilyranksamongthegreatestGangsterflickseverbroughttoscreen.GastoneMoschinstarsasUgoPiazza,atoughandellipticalex-convictwhohasjustbeenreleasedfromprison.Immediatelyafterhisrelease,UgoisapproachedbymembersoftheMilanmobleadbytheirasciblegangsterRocco(MarioAdorf),astheysuspecthimtoberesponsibleforthedisappearanceofalargesumofmoneybelongingtotheirboss,anAmerican(LionelStander)whocontrolstheorganizedcrimeinMilan..."MilanoCalibro9"isafilmthatdeliversanastonishinglyrealisticmoodoftheunderworldlikehardlyanother.Theintriguingstorylinegoesinhandwithinterestingcharacters,rawatmosphere,suspenseandbreathtakingaction,socialcriticismandbrutalviolence.Thefilmissimplystunningfromthebeginningtotheend,whichisevenintensifiedbythebrilliantscore,acollaborationofthefamouscomposerLuisEnríquezBacalovandtheItalianProgressiveRockbandOsanna.UgoPiazzamustbeoneofthemostcharismaticgangstercharacterseverincinema,andGastoneMoschinwastheprefectchoicefortherole.Moschindeliversabrilliantperformance,andtherestofthecastisalsogreat.MarioAdorfisirasciblelikearabiddogastheferociousgangsterRocco,arolethatfitshimlikeaglove.ThegreatLionelStanderfitsperfectlyinhisroleoftheAmericanMafiaDon.ThetwocopcharactersinthefilmareplayedbytwoofthegreatestregularsofItaliangenre-cinema,LuigiPistilliandFrankWolff(whocommittedsuicidebeforethefilmwasreleased).TheravishingBarbaraBouchetisastonishingandincrediblysexyintheroleofUgoPiazza'sstrippergirlfriend.Bouchetisbothastunningbeautyandanexcellentactressandthisisdoubtlesslyoneofhermostmemorableroles.ThisisalsoapoliticalfilmanddirectorDiLeoembeddedalotofsocialcriticismabouttopicslikecorruption.Thisfilmsimplyhaseverythingonecanpossiblydesireincinema.Filmslike"MilanoCalibro9"arethereasonwhyIlovecinema.Thisisanabsolutemasterpieceinallregardsand,withoutexaggeration,oneofthegreatestCrimeflicksevermade!Theingeniousopeningscenealoneismorememorablethanmostfilmsgetintwohours.
