Vittorio Salerno’s Savage Three (1975), starring Joe Dallesandro, follows three young men whose petty violence escalates into a murder spree. A grim Eurocrime–Giallo hybrid, it captures the nihilism of Italy’s “Years of Lead” with shocking brutality.

Mario Imperoli’s Like Rabid Dogs (1976) is a disturbing Eurocrime–Giallo mix about wealthy youths terrorizing Rome with sadistic violence. Part poliziottesco, part exploitation shocker, it’s one of the most infamous Italian crime horrors of the 1970s.

Massimo Dallamano’s Colt 38 Special Squad (1976) is a gritty poliziottesco featuring a special police task force created to battle violent crime. With mob bosses, corruption, and revenge-driven justice, it’s a classic of the Italian Eurocrime wave.

Stelvio Massi’s Highway Racer (1977), starring Maurizio Merli, is a high-octane Eurocrime about a hotshot police driver taking on criminals in spectacular car chases. Famous for its action set pieces, it’s one of the most entertaining films of the poliziottesco boom.

Vittorio Salerno’s No, the Case Is Happily Resolved (1973) is a tense Giallo–Eurocrime hybrid about a man who witnesses a murder and finds himself accused. Blending legal corruption, psychological suspense, and Giallo-style mystery, it’s a grim reflection of Italy’s justice system.

Arrow Film

The 1970s were a time of intense uncertainty and instability in Italy. Political corruption and widespread acts of left and right-wing terrorism, alongside a breakdown in social cohesion and a loss of trust in public institutions such as the government and police, created a febrile atmosphere of cynicism, paranoia and unexploded rage. Throughout this period, these sentiments found expression in a series of brutal, often morally ambiguous crime thrillers which tapped into the atmosphere of violence and instability that defined the so-called Years of Lead.

This box set gathers five films from the heyday of the “poliziotteschi” – the umbrella term used to describe this diverse body of films. In Vittorio Salerno’s Savage Three (1975) and Mario Imperoli’s Like Rabid Dogs (1976), random acts of violence committed by vicious young sociopaths threaten the fragile fabric of respectable society. In Massimo Dallamano’s Colt 38 Special Squad (1976) and Stelvio Massi’s Highway Racer (1977), renegade cops battling against red tape and political corruption turn to new and morally dubious methods to dispense justice. Finally, class dynamics are explored in Salerno’s No, the Case is Happily Resolved (1973) as an innocent man finds himself under suspicion for a savage crime committed by a highly respected member of society.

Decried by critics for their supposedly fascistic overtones, the poliziotteschi were in fact more ideologically varied and often considerably more nuanced than such superficial readings would suggest, and proved a huge hit with theatergoers, who responded to their articulation of present-day social concerns. Featuring an impressive line-up of Euro-cult stars, including Joe Dallesandro (The Climber), Ivan Rassimov (Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key), Maurizio Merli (Violent City) and Enrico Maria Salerno (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), this collection of stylish, hard-hitting Euro-crime thrillers showcases the range and breadth of the genre and is a must-have for newcomers and grizzled veterans alike.