Review: STUNT SQUAD

Title: STUNT SQUAD

Year: 1977

Director: Domencio Paolella

Writer: Domencio Paolella & Dardano  Sacchetti

Starring: Marcel Bozzuffi, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Riccardo Salvino

STUNT SQUAD is one of those movies that makes me so thankful for Raro USA. Raro has introduced me to a ton of movies that I didn't already know about. Some of those movies I likely would have eventually heard about elsewhere. With STUNT SQUAD I think only Raro could have introduced and boy am I glad that they did.

STUNT SQUAD is a 1977 Eurocrime film from director Domencio Paolella. Local shopkeepers and business folks are being terrorized by a group of thugs who offer protection from other groups of thugs. If you're business refuses to pay for protection, you're in great danger. The racketeers begin to cleverly hide explosives in the various businesses, taking out the shops, their owners and any unfortunate customers who happen to be in at the time. 

Police Inspector Grifi is trying to crack the case by every time he attempts to talk to a witness, they turn up dead.  Tired of being foiled by the very criminals he's trying to catch and being held back by the red tape of the legal system, Grifi gets permission to put together an elite team, the Stunt Squad. The team consists of highly skilled individuals who are giving free reign to bring down criminals using any means necessary.

The formation of the Stunt Squad is one of the finest moments in the history of cinema. I love a good montage and over the years there has been many of them. STUNT SQUAD may very well have the best. For starts it's a training montage, which everyone knows is the best form of montage known to man. Here we have motorcycle stunt riders doing wheelies while shooting targets with guns. This is an experience you must take in.

The film is quite violent. A few scenes in particular really stand out. The opening of the film was actually shocking. The damage left behind from a small explosive placed in a pay phone is quite brutal. I was actually shocked. I wasn't expecting to be hit with something so powerful so early.

The score from composer Stelvio Cipriani is quite the treat. If Cipriani's style sounds at all familiar it's most likely because you've heard his work in Tarantino's DEATH PROOF. I don't know what it is about Italians but they make some of the best scores and Cipriani's STUNT SQUAD music is among the very best.

Overall this is a film that really surprised me. I wasn't expecting something good when I popped the bluray from Raro in. There are a few moments here and there that get a tad slow, but really nothing to complain about. STUNT SQUAD is an extremely fun movie that I could watch over and over again.

Rating: 4/5

*STUNT SQUAD is currently available from Raro USA.