Violent Rome (Roma violenta)

Roma violenta (Violent Rome) is a 1975 Italian poliziottesco, a hard-edged police and crime film, blending crime, thriller and action. Marino Girolami directed it from a screenplay by Vincenzo Mannino. The film, about 86 minutes long, was a big commercial success in Italy and made Maurizio Merli a star. It is also the first entry in the Commissioner Betti trilogy, which was completed by two sequels in 1976.

At its centre is Commissioner Betti, played by Merli, a police officer hardened by the death of his brother in a deadly robbery. He wants to fight crime without compromise, but soon after, the shooting of a young man on a bus in the middle of the city reopens his old wound. Eager to punish the guilty without delay, Betti uses hasty, heavy-handed methods that finally cost him his post. Thrown off the force, he joins a committee of citizen vigilantes who share his anger at criminals going unpunished. Alongside Merli, the cast includes Richard Conte, Silvano Tranquilli, Ray Lovelock, John Steiner and Daniela Giordano.

The film stood out for its uncompromising, realism-minded violence and for a police figure given to tough talk on security. In Germany it was released as Verdammte, Heilige Stadt and in France as Rome violente.