Fearless (1978 film)

Last updated
Fearless
Fearless (1977 film).jpg
Directed by Stelvio Massi
Screenplay by
  • Gino Capone
  • Stelvio Massi [1]
Story byFulvio Gicca Palli [1]
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRiccardo Pallottini [1]
Edited byMauro Bonanni [1]
Music by Stelvio Cipriani [1]
Production
companies
  • Promer
  • Neue Delta Film [1]
Distributed byFida (Italy)
Release date
  • 3 February 1978 (1978-02-03)(Italy)
Running time
100 minutes [1]
Countries
  • Italy
  • Austria [1]
Box office 1.146 billion

Fearless (Italian : Poliziotto senza paura) is a 1978 poliziottesco film directed by Stelvio Massi.

Contents

Cast

Production

According to director Stelvio Massi, the film was inspired by the character of Philip Marlowe, who he tried to have Maurizio Merli imitate to make him "more human, less violent cop, somewhat different from those he had already successfully played." [1] Merli stated that when the producer found out that Merli's character would only shoot his gun once in the film,he was told "Come on, he must be shooting like mad, or else nobody's going to watch this movie!" [1]

Fearless was shot at Incir - De Paolis studios in Rome and on location in Vienna. [1]

Release

Fearless was distributed theatrically in Italy by Fida on February 3, 1978. [1] It grossed a total of 1,146,557,460 Italian lire domestically. [1] It was released in France and Greece on home video as Magnum Cop and in Sweden on home video as Fearless Fuzz, A Matter of Honour. [1]

Related Research Articles

Poliziotteschi constitute a subgenre of crime and action films that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as polizieschi all'italiana, Euro-crime, Italo-crime, spaghetti crime films, or simply Italian crime films. Influenced by both 1970s French crime films and gritty 1960s and 1970s American cop films and vigilante films, poliziotteschi films were made amidst an atmosphere of socio-political turmoil in Italy and increasing Italian crime rates. The films generally featured graphic and brutal violence, organized crime, car chases, vigilantism, heists, gunfights, and corruption up to the highest levels. The protagonists were generally tough working class loners, willing to act outside a corrupt or overly bureaucratic system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurizio Merli</span> Italian film actor

Maurizio Merli was an Italian film actor and a star of many Italian police thrillers.

<i>Violent Naples</i> 1976 Italian film

Violent Naples is a 1976 poliziottesco film directed by Umberto Lenzi. It starred Maurizio Merli, John Saxon and Barry Sullivan, and was the first sequel to Violent Rome. Saxon appeared in several such movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabio Testi</span> Italian actor (born 1941)

Fabio Testi is an Italian actor. After growing up witnessing film work done around Lake Garda, Testi entered the sets of the film and began work as a stuntman and a double on set, where he worked as a stuntman on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Testi continued stunt work and getting roles in low budget genre films until he was cast in Vittorio De Sica's film The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. Following this film, Testi became a star in Italy, appearing in some artistic films by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi and Claude Chabrol. Testi also continued to work in poliziotteschi genre films in the 1970s as well as a few gialli, and gained infamy for his publicised relationships with actresses Ursula Andress and Charlotte Rampling.

Stelvio Massi, sometimes credited "Max Steel", was an Italian director known for his "poliziotteschi" films.

<i>Mannaja</i> 1977 film

Mannaja is an Italian 1977 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Martino. The main role, Blade, is played by Maurizio Merli. Other central roles are played by John Steiner, Sonja Jeannine, Donald O'Brien, Philippe Leroy and Martine Brochard.

<i>Convoy Busters</i> 1978 film

Convoy Busters is a 1978 poliziotteschi film directed by Stelvio Massi and starring Maurizio Merli.

<i>The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist</i> 1977 film

The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist is an Italian poliziotteschi film directed in 1977 by Umberto Lenzi. The film was described by Italian film critic and historian Roberto Curti as "a sequel of sorts" to Lenzi's 1976 The Tough Ones, with Maurizio Merli reprising the role of Inspector Leonardo Tanzi.

<i>Brothers Till We Die</i> 1977 film by Umberto Lenzi

Brothers Till We Die is a 1977 Italian poliziottesco-action film by Umberto Lenzi. This film is the last collaboration among Lenzi and Tomas Milian. In this movie Milian plays two characters, Vincenzo Marazzi a.k.a. "The Hunchback" that he already played for Lenzi in Rome Armed to the Teeth, and his twin brother Sergio Marazzi a.k.a. "Er Monnezza", a role that he played for the first time in Lenzi's Free Hand for a Tough Cop and later resumed in Destruction Force by Stelvio Massi.

<i>Mark of the Cop</i> 1975 Italian film

Mark il poliziotto is an Italian poliziottesco film directed in 1975 by Stelvio Massi. This film obtained a great commercial success and generated two sequels, Mark il poliziotto spara per primo and Mark colpisce ancora. The film represents the breakout for the lead actor, Franco Gasparri, who was already a star of Italian fotoromanzi.

<i>Violent Rome</i> 1975 film

Violent Rome is an Italian 1975 poliziottesco film directed by Marino Girolami It obtained a great commercial success and launched the career of Maurizio Merli. The film has two sequels, Violent Naples and A Special Cop in Action.

<i>Special Cop in Action</i> 1976 film

Special Cop in Action is a 1976 Italian poliziottesco film directed by Marino Girolami, here credited as Franco Martinelli. The film is the final chapter in the Girolami's trilogy about Commissioner Betti, after Violent Rome and Violent Naples.

<i>Highway Racer</i> 1977 film

Highway Racer is a 1977 Italian poliziottesco film directed by Stelvio Massi. It was the first collaboration between Massi and Maurizio Merli, who worked together in six titles between 1977 and 1980.

<i>The Rebel</i> (1980 Italian film) 1980 film

The Rebel ') is a 1980 poliziottesco film directed by Stelvio Massi.

<i>Il commissario di ferro</i> 1978 film

Il commissario di ferro (transl. The Iron Commissioner is a 1978 Italian poliziottesco film directed by Stelvio Massi.

<i>Mark Shoots First</i> 1975 film

Mark il poliziotto spara per primo is an Italian poliziottesco film directed in 1975 by Stelvio Massi. It is the sequel of Mark il poliziotto.

<i>Hunted City</i> 1979 film

Hunted City is a 1979 Italian poliziottesco film directed by Stelvio Massi. It represents one of the few negative roles for Merola.

<i>Destruction Force</i> 1977 film

Destruction Force is a 1977 Italian poliziottesco directed by Stelvio Massi. It is the second film in which Tomas Milian plays the character of Monnezza after Free Hand for a Tough Cop.

<i>Mark Strikes Again</i> 1976 film

Mark Strikes Again is a 1976 Italian poliziottesco film directed in 1976 by Stelvio Massi. Originally planned as an original film, during the shoots and the post-production process it was turned into a second sequel of Mark of the Cop.

<i>Emergency Squad</i> (1974 film) 1974 film

Emergency Squad is a 1974 Italian poliziottesco film directed by Stelvio Massi.

References

Sources