Weapons of Death / Napoli spara (1977)

Aside from making a point about crime in Italy in the 1970s and it's obvious criticism of the society of the time Eurocrime movies would more than occasionally attempt to pull at the heartstrings. It could be argued that this was the purpose of children in these movies where the demise of a child would be used to illustrate just how desperate the villains of the piece could be.


In the instance of Napoli spara we get to meet Gennarino, a young petty criminal in the making, who by his presence links us to Napoli violenta. In some respects this is a sort of a sequel to Napoli violenta with star Leonard Mann referring to his predecessor in what can be assumed to be a reference to Commissario Betti played by Maurizio Merli.


While the role of the young Massimo Deda maybe somewhat overplayed, including for sentimentality and comic relief, it is in the battle between Commissario Belli played by Mann and the villainous Santoro (Henry Silva) that the movie draws its real strength.


A prison castration scene is likely to make many viewers wince.


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