The Violent Professionals

The Violent Professionals is a 1973 poliziottesco film directed by Sergio Martino and starring Luc Merenda, Richard Conte, Silvano Tranquilli, Chris Avram and Martine Brochard. Merenda plays a Milan cop who goes undercover as a getaway driver for the mob so he can wage a one-man war on crime, to avenge the death of his mentor.

Cast

Production

Filming took place on-location in Milan and Novara. It was the first poliziottesco for genre mainstays Sergio Martino and Luc Merenda, who would collaborate on several films throughout the decade.

Release

The Violent Professionals was released in Italy on 22 August 1973 where it was distributed by Interfilm. It was a box office hit in Italy where it grossed a total of 1,162,424,000 Italian lire.

Home media

The film has been released in an English-language friendly DVD by Wild East and as a double feature from Alpha Video with Deadly Drifter.
The boutique label restored and released the film on Blu-Ray in 2018. British label 88 Films a Blu-Ray in 2021.

Reception

A retrospective review for the website Mondo Digital reads, "One of the most purely enjoyable Italian crime films of the 1970s, The Violent Professionals has everything you could want in a poliziottesco title: a rebellious cop, fuzzy political cynicism, shocking violence, and rough and tumble car chases."
In 2009, Empire named it #9 in a poll of the "20 Greatest Gangster Movies You've Never Seen* ".