Big Guns Collection

This DVD from Pop Flix contains 5 Italian action movies at a very good price.

1. Big Guns (1973)
I have actually had the French DVD from Fox Pathé already, but after considering that I could get 4 more movies, and the price was great as well, why not? Comparing the 2, the one from Fox Pathé has better picture quality, but it's more expensive, so I will not complain. My French is actually very bad, but the sound from Fox Pathé DVD is much clearer than the English dialogues from this one. One scene is missing from the English version: when Sandra is being beaten at Tony's hotel room. Perhaps it's cut off because they think it's too violent (I think so, too. Poor Sandra.). On the other hand, one scene is missing from the French version: a police follows Tony when he's out from the hotel in Milan, buys flowers, and go to the cemetery. We only see Tony sees the bed, walk out the room, and the next scene shows he has arrived at the cemetery. Notes of places and dates are missing from the English version. Another difference is when Domenico (Marc Porel) is about to die. I like the French version better where he says, "You can kill me now." (after they forced him to tell the name of the hotel & room number in Milan where Tony stays) - and no scream. He dies like a real man. In the English version he says, "What else do you need from me?" and then he screams when they are killing him.

2. Violent Professionals (1973)
The sound is very bad that I could not understand most of the dialogues. If only there were English subtitles! I can excuse the bad quality of picture, but bad sound is unforgivable. Luc Merenda plays a police-officer whose superior is murdered by a organized crime ring and he infiltrates it to find who behind his boss's death. I have never seen Richard Conte in a fight scene before.

3. Long Arm of the Godfather (1972)
They should have made the title of the movie shaped like a long arm instead of three white balls. I was relieved that only Violent Professional has bad sound. Young Vincenzo bravely (and stupidly!) steals Don Carmelo's truck full of arms. I used to think that all 'Godfathers' cared more about loyalty than money, but in this movie, Don Carmelo more concerns about the money. He should have killed Vincenzo at the first opportunity. Amazingly, Vincenzo wins, although it doesn't mean that in the end he doesn't lose anything.

4. Magnum Cop (1977)
Maurizio Merli plays a private detective who is looking for a missing girl. He follows the trail to Austria where he meets a mother whose daughter is dead. The 2 things are connected and will lead him to a children prostitution ring. Some dialogues are funny. Also starring is Joan Collins.

5. Emergency Squad (1974)
Only this and Big Guns has good picture quality in the DVD. Tomas Milian plays the hero, a cop who doesn't hesitate to kill the culprit. It begins with a robbery in the street. The robbers pretend to be actors that people on the street think they are watching a film making, so no one raise an alarm until it is too late. Tomas (Milian) finds that the bullet which has killed the guard is from the same gun that killed his wife 5 years ago. Meanwhile, on the run, the robbers have themselves killed one by one, leaving only Tomas's wife's murderer and his beautiful girlfriend. Apart from Big Guns, this is the best among the 4 (could be of the good picture quality...)

All have nice music soundtrack which made me remember how I used to enjoy my father's old soundtrack tapes from the 70's.