BLAZING BULLETS (1977) (aka Milano Difendersi O Morire, Blazing Flowers, Heroin)
Review: Pino (Porel) is a nice young man who just happens to be getting out of jail after a 6 year stint for armed robbery. Pino Scalise is also a heck of a driver, but those days are behind him. As he leaves the jail in Sicily, he heads out for a new life with his uncle in Milan. He even gets a job driving, but just loads of flowers this time.
Pino begins to settle in to his new life, and his uncle sends him out for a night on the town. Running into an old underworld friend, Pino spends a night in a high class brothel with a beautiful woman. It's not until later he discovers the woman, Firoella, is actually his cousin Mariana. Furious that his cousin is being kept as a prostitute, he makes connections to get her freedom with the head of the local mafia, Don Chicco. A deal is struck, and Pino must take the wheel for one last job.
This is the kind of Euro-Crime flick that we like. There's a good main story, and lots of nice subplots. There are beautiful women and the screen oozes with style from both of the sexes. It's got fistfights, shootouts, and car crashes a plenty. It's got criminals with cool names like Nosey and Domino. Then there's the evocative soundtrack of Gianni Ferrio which comes across more like the soundtrack to a film noir, and grants Blazing Bullets a sense of grandness. This feeling juxtaposes the mundane life Pino craves with the criminal life he must bear. We would be remiss if I did not mention this. There's the most amazing cigarette dispenser we've ever seen about thirty minutes into the film. So if you like action, Euro-crime, or Poliziotteschi flicks, check this one out. It's almost like an offer you can't refuse. Widescreen, in English, no subtitles. Quality A-
Directed by: Gianni Martucci
Starring: Marc Porel, George Hilton, and Al Cliver
