The Tough Ones
Director– Umberto Lenzi
Starring – Maurizio Merli, Tomas Milian
Country of Origin- Italy
Distributor - Grindhouse Releasing
Number of discs – 3
Reviewed by - Scott MacDonald
Date- 07/03/2019
Umberto Lenzi is one of those directors who can seemingly do no wrong. Every film he touches, every genre he works in for a good large period of his career, is entertaining all the way through. He makes gialli that are twisted, bizarre, and impossible not to love. When he does horror films we are treated to classics like Cannibal Ferox (also out from Grindhouse), and Nightmare City. Some of Lenzi's best genre work comes in the poliziotteschi, taking the excellent visuals, and over the top violence from the giallo, and applying it to a world of cops and criminals.
In this genre he created excellent films like Syndicate Sadists, Almost Human, and the latest Grindhouse Releasing film "Rome Armed to the Teeth" known for the Blu-ray release as The Tough Ones. The film has only ever had a VHS release as a part of Sybil Danning's Adventure Series, and of course, that was not uncut and in widescreen. Grindhouse corrects all that providing what will certainly be the definitive release of the film.
The Tough Ones follows inspector Tanzi played by Maurizio Merli. Merli is becoming frustrated with his job as an inspector as seemingly every criminal that he arrest is back on the streets soon after. Whether by people in the department not deeming the criminals a true danger, or because they have good enough lawyers to get them out of any situation. Merli really wants to bring a hammer down on crime in Rome, and will get into public fights, and car chases to get his point across. Of course, his point is not insanely popular with the rest of the department. All the criminal activity in the area seemingly points back to one person a hunchback named Moretto (Tomas Milian), who is aiming for Tanzi just as much as Tanzi wants to bring him down.
The Tough Ones is a true poliziotteschi explosion. The film is filled with car chases, gunfights, and such over the top amounts of violence that it is impossible to not love this film. Lenzi directs it with his usual kinetic style, never allowing a dull moment in the film's running time. The film does not really have a narrative through-line, in the sense that it seems to play like in vignettes where crime happens, and Tanzi goes to deal with it. It all inevitably ties back to Moretto. The score is an amazing sleaze-funk score by Franco Micalizzi. The screenplay would be written by Dardano Sacchetti who would go on to write some of Lucio Fulci's best known films, and also other Italian horror classics such as Demons.
Grindhouse presents The Tough Ones in a 2:40:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer. As per Grindhouse's typical quality standard The Tough Ones has an amazing transfer scanned in 4k from the original uncut negative. Colors look naturalistic, grain is organic, butt never overwhelming. Black levels are inky and deep, and everything just looks fantastic. Audio is handled with HD audio tracks in English and Italian. Both sound excellent with sound coming through nicely balanced, and without issues. Extras are truly overwhelming and put Criterion to shame, we get a commentary track by Mike Malloy, interviews and featurettes from Umberto Lenzi (one of his last interviews, I believe), and other members of the cast and crew including Micalizzi and Sacchetti. There are trailers for the film, and other Grindhouse releases, liner notes by Roberto Curti, and so much more. Also included is a CD soundtrack. The Tough Ones is one of the truly great poliziotteschi films of the 1970's. Lenzi ramps up the action and sleaze in this one creating something that is truly fantastic. The Blu-ray release from Grindhouse is a must own, and is truly the definitive release of the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
