Digitmovies ventures again into the world of
the Italian police cinema by releasing as volume eight of the
Italian Police Movies OST series for the very first time complete
and in full stereo two OSTs of the mythic Stelvio Cipriani for
two Italian cult police movies:
Squadra Volante and La Polizia Ringrazia
Squadra Volante was directed in 1974 by Stelvio Massi and
starred Tomas Milian as inspector Tomas Ravelli and Gastone
Moschin as his arch enemy, a bandit called the Marseilles
man, the remaining cast including Mario Carotenuto, Ray Lovelock
and Stefania Casini:
The gang of the Marseilles man assaults an armoured car in
the city of Pavia by way of pretending to be a movie troupe
which is shooting a movie.
Inspector Ravelli (Milian) from Marseilles interpol investigates
into this case after heaving received a tip-off about the
facts.
His presence is also motivated because some years ago the
Marseilles man (Moschin), chief of the criminal gang, had
killed his wife by chance in front of a supermarket, which
is the reason why he wants to get quits with him.
After chases and brutal killings there is the climax at the
end where Ravelli, who has thrown away his police card, kills
the Marseilles man.
La Polizia Ringrazia is a movie directed in 1972 by Steno
(Stefano Vanzina) and the first of the lucky official series
which was then continued with three other movies carrying
the word Polizia in the title, all of which were scored by
Cipriani.
In the cast appear Enrico Maria Salerno as commissioner Bertone,
Mariangela Melato, Mario Adorf, Franco Fabrizi, Cyril Cusack,
Laura Belli, Corrado Gaipa and the German star singer Jürgen
Drews.
In the city of Rome two young men rob a jeweller's shop, but
thanks to their quickness the two robbers succeed to escape
even if the shop's owner and a worker, who intervened to stop
them, are killed.
Commissioner Bertone (Salerno) is charged with following the
case.
The man finds himself in the middle of a bureaucratic complexity
and an investigation is instituted against him by the severepublic
prosecutor Ricciuti (Adorf) because some collaborators of
Bertone had hit a criminal.
One of the two jeweller's robbers is killed by an Anonima
Anticrimine (in which many important authorities take part)
which eliminates dangerous elements for the society (first
steps to a newdictatorship).
At the end Bertone, after having discovered the important
people hidden behind this organization, will actually be killed
by the men of the former chief of the police Stolti (Cusack),
the real chief of the Anonima Anticrimine.
Stelvio Cipriani, famous for his sound for the police genre,
has written the fabulous music of the OSTs of these two movies.
This CD is possible thanks to the great support of C.A.M.
in whose archives the stereo mastertapes of both of the OSTs
have been well preserved.
From Squadra Volante only one track was issued on a C.A.M
library LP, whereas from La Polizia Ringrazia two tracks were
released in 1972 on a nowadays hard to find C.A.M. 45 rpm
single, which was also reissued in Japan on the Seven Seas
label of King Records.
The track on side A was also included on another C.A.M. library
LP.
For Squadra Volante, Cipriani has written a recurrent pleasant
and brilliant lounge-style theme, almost in contrast with
the sense of bitter revenge which pervades the character played
by Tomas Milian, introduced in Tr. 1 and reprised in Tr. 5,
Tr. 6, Tr. 7, Tr. 13, Tr. 20 and in Tr. 21 (a long alternate
version, maybe conceived for a 45 rpm single that never saw
the light in those days).
This romantic theme gets alternated with dance floor music
(Tr. 2, Tr. 4, Tr. 8, Tr. 9, Tr. 10, Tr. 15, Tr. 16).
For La Polizia Ringrazia, Stelvio Cipriani has written and
recorded some music which has been repeated in the movie with
various edits.
The OST is based on a dramatic orchestral theme, rhythmic
and with urban sound (Tr. 22), and reprised in Tr. 23, Tr.
24, Tr. 26, Tr. 27, Tr. 29 as well as in the side A version
of the 45 rpm single (Tr. 30).
Stelvio Cipriani has used this motiv for a sad and slow version
for commissioner Bertone which seems to foretell the tragic
death of the character (Tr. 25, Tr. 28).
It also appears in the reprise of the side B version of the
45 rpm single (Tr. 31) and in the alternative finale (Tr.
32). |
