High Crime 4K Review (Blue Underground)

High Crime (aKa La polizia incrimina la legge assolve and The Marseilles Connection) is a 1973 crime thriller co-written and directed by Enzo G. Castellari (The Last Shark, Eagles Over London, Street Law, Keoma, The Inglorious Bastards, 1990: The Bronx Warriors, Warriors of the Wasteland, Escape from the Bronx, Any Gun Can Play, and The Shark Hunter). It was co-written by Tito Carpi (Tentacles, Alien from the Deep, Last Platoon, and Last Cannibal World), Gianfranco Clerici (Cannibal Holocaust, Devil Fish, The New York Ripper, Off Balance, Don’t Torture a Duckling, and Murder Rock), and Leonardo Martín (Fort Yuma Gold, Tragic Ceremony, and Mission Bloody Mary). Commissioner Belli (played by: Franco Nero from Django franchise, John Wick Chapter 2, Die Hard 2, The Pope’s Exorcist, Street Law, The Lost City of Z, The Fifth Cord, Keoma, and Top Line), a tough Italian cop that discovers gruesome murders in Genoa. The crimes are connected to the heroin trade and the ruthless gangsters that run it. He gets advice from criminal mastermind Don Cafiero (played by: Fernando Rey from The French Connection franchise, Tristana, Villa Rides, The Hit, Jesus of Nazareth, Cabo Blanco, and Angel of Death). Belli and his family end up being targets after his investigation. Belli fights back against the dangerous smugglers that’s been importing the deadly dope all the way from France. How far will Commissioner Belli go to end this problem? or Will lose all his morals to save his family from the Marseille Connection???? High Crime took advantage of the popularity of The French Connection and Italy made something similar like they were known to do back in the day. Hell, they even got the villain from it to be in this. They called these types of films polizia/poliziesco overseas and this is one of better ones from that sub-genre. It had a high quality script from some respected Italian writers and it was directed by the legendary Enzo G. Castellari so both of these elements really boosted High Crime. Franco Nero as Commissioner Belli is top notch. He’s the ambitious cop that won’t give up that gets him into trouble with organized crime. Nero is one of greatest action stars in the history of Italy especially during the 60’s and the 70’s. Fernando Rey as Don Cafiero comes back to familiar territory with High Crime. He’s not exactly good here but he helps out Belli while he’s trying to stop these drugs and killers. Fernando Rey was always good no matter what he did, this is the perfect type of role for the veteran actor. The rest of the supporting cast includes James Whitmore (The Shawshank Redemption), Delia Boccardo (Hercules), Duilio Del Prete (Voices from Beyond), Silvano Tranquilli (The Bloodstained Butterfly), Bruno Corazzari (The Psychic), Massimo Vanni (Robowar), Natasha Richardson (Gothic), and Daniel Martín (A Fistful of Dollars). High Crime is loaded with all kinds of action and violence. It has plenty of suspenseful and tense scenes. The Italians don’t hold back, it might be considered a rip off but it pushes everything a little more than it’s original influence. It’s a blast, very fun and always entertaining. High Crime has great replay value, I always end up enjoying it even more on each revisit. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Blue Underground! This 2160p (1.85:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ is from a brand new 4K restoration. High Crime looks amazing here, this is the best that it will ever look on home video. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono and Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono on the UHD. The audio is better than I thought it would be for an early 70’s production. All of the dialogue is crisp, the action is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. It has the archival “Audio Commentary” with director Enzo G. Castellari moderated by Bill Lustig. He chats about it’s connection to The French Connection. He talks about the locations, the cast, the action, and the violence. There’s some comparison with American and European when it comes to cinema. It has a brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with lead actor by star Franco Nero that’s moderated by Mike Malloy and Bill Lustig. He chats about working with director Enzo G. Castellari. He talks about doing some of the wild action and driving himself. He shares stories and information about the production. It has a brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with critics Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson, and Eugenio Ercolani. They all share their thoughts on the Italian action feature. They chat about High Crime and the history of it. Lots of interesting stuff here. It has the 3 minute “Alternate Ending”. It has the “Theatrical Trailer”. These are all the extras located on the UHD, the rest of the special features are on the blu ray. The archival “The Genoa Connection” is 26 minutes. It has interviews with director Enzo G. Castellari and lead actor Franco Nero. They bring up the influence of The French Connection. They point out some main characters that were inspired by real people. They talk about the action and the stunts. They go over it’s reputation and how it was received. The archival “From Dust to Asphalt” is 29 minutes. It’s an interview with director Enzo G. Castellari. He chats about the Western genre. He talks about production for High Crime. He goes over the dangerous stunts and wild action. The archival “Hard Stuns for High Crimes” is 20 minutes. It’s an interview with actor Massimo Vanni. He chats about his influences. He talks about working with Franco Nero and the High Crime experience. The archival “Framing Crime” is 21 minutes. It has an interview with camera operator Roberto Girometti. The archival “The Sound of Onions” is 23 minutes. It has an interview with composers Guild and Maurizio De Angelis. They chat about their impressive career and what they worked on. They talk about the cult stuff that they were offered during their careers. The archival “The Connection Connection” is 13 minutes. It has an interview with film maker Mike Malloy. He chats about High Crime and he gives his thoughts on it. Most of these are in Italian with English subtitles. It has a “Poster and Still Gallery”. There’s the soundtrack CD with 20 tracks that’s a little over 59 minutes. It also comes with a slipcover, reversible artwork, card, CD, and a blu ray. Blue Underground is killing it when it comes to home video. This set is loaded with so much stuff and the CD is a nice addition. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!