FernandoDiLeo'sMilanoCalibro9isanout-and-outmasterpieceofItalianCrimecinemaand,inmyopinion,oneofthemostastonishingcrimestoriesevertold.ThefirstfilminDiLeo'sexcellent'Milieu'trilogy,MilanoCalibro9wasfollowedbyLaMalaOrdina(aka.Manhunt,also1972)andthebrilliantIlBoss(1973).Thethreefilmsarenotconnectedstory-wise,butallthreeareexcellent,andhighlyrealisticportrayalsoforganizedcrime.AsfarasIamconcernedManhuntis(allthoughexcellent)slightlyinferiortothisoneandIlBosswhichbothstandoutasabsoluteall-timehighlightsofcrimecinema.MilanoCalibro9isthebestofthemall,afilmthatisastonishinginallaspects,beittheingeniousplotthat,apartfromacompellingstoryandclevertwists,includessocialcriticism,theperformances,thegrittyatmosphereandsuspenseorthebrilliantscore.IcanhardlyfindtherightwordstoexpressmyadmirationforthismasterpiecewhicheasilyranksamongthegreatestGangsterflickseverbroughttoscreen. GastoneMoschinstarsasUgoPiazza,atoughandellipticalex-convictwhohasjustbeenreleasedfromprison.Immediatelyafterhisrelease,UgoisapproachedbymembersoftheMilanmobleadbytheirasciblegangsterRocco(MarioAdorf),astheysuspecthimtoberesponsibleforthedisappearanceofalargesumofmoneybelongingtotheirboss,anAmerican(LionelStander)whocontrolstheorganizedcrimeinMilan... MilanoCalibro9isafilmthatdeliversanastonishinglyrealisticmoodoftheunderworldlikehardlyanother.Theintriguingstorylinegoesinhandwithinterestingcharacters,rawatmosphere,suspenseandbreathtakingaction,socialcriticismandbrutalviolence.Thefilmissimplystunningfromthebeginningtotheend,whichisevenintensifiedbythebrilliantscore,acollaborationofthefamouscomposerLuisEnríquezBacalovandtheItalianProgressiveRockbandOsanna.UgoPiazzamustbeoneofthemostcharismaticgangstercharacterseverincinema,andGastoneMoschinwastheprefectchoicefortherole.Moschindeliversabrilliantperformance,andtherestofthecastisalsogreat.MarioAdorfisirasciblelikearabiddogastheferociousgangsterRocco,arolethatfitshimlikeaglove.ThegreatLionelStanderfitsperfectlyinhisroleoftheAmericanMafiaDon. ThetwocopcharactersinthefilmareplayedbytwoofthegreatestregularsofItaliangenre-cinema,LuigiPistilliandFrankWolff(whocommittedsuicidebeforethefilmwasreleased).TheravishingBarbaraBouchetisastonishingandincrediblysexyintheroleofUgoPiazza'sstrippergirlfriend.Bouchetisbothastunningbeautyandanexcellentactressandthisisdoubtlesslyoneofhermostmemorableroles.ThisisalsoapoliticalfilmanddirectorDiLeoembeddedalotofsocialcriticismabouttopicslikecorruption.Thisfilmsimplyhaseverythingonecanpossiblydesireincinema.FilmslikeMilanoCalibro9arethereasonwhyIlovecinema.Thisisanabsolutemasterpieceinallregardsand,withoutexaggeration,oneofthegreatestCrimeflicksevermadddd!Theingeniousopeningscenealoneismorememorablethanmostfilmsgetintwohours.
