FernandoDiLeo's"MilanoCalibro9"isanout-and-outmasterpieceofItalianCrimecinemaand,inmyopinion,oneofthemostastonishingcrimestoriesevertold.ThefirstfilminDiLeo'sexcellent'Milieu'trilogy,"MilanoCalibro9"wasfollowedby"LaMalaOrdina"(aka."Manhunt",also1972)andthebrilliant"IlBoss"(1973).Thethreefilmsarenotconnectedstory-wise,butallthreeareexcellent,andhighlyrealisticportrayalsoforganizedcrime.AsfarasIamconcerned"Manhunt"is(allthoughexcellent)slightlyinferiortothisoneand"IlBoss"whichbothstandoutasabsoluteall-timehighlightsofcrimecinema."MilanoCalibro9"isthebestofthemall,afilmthatisastonishinginallaspects,beittheingeniousplotthat,apartfromacompellingstoryandclevertwists,includessocialcriticism,theperformances,thegrittyatmosphereandsuspenseorthebrilliantscore.IcanhardlyfindtherightwordstoexpressmyadmirationforthismasterpiecewhicheasilyranksamongthegreatestGangsterflickseverbroughttoscreen导演采用平实的艺术策略。影像修复技术让历史更加可感，全彩处理增强细节表现，画面技术提升观看体验。技术使用保持克制，整体色调追求历史真实。整体场面注重精神传达。色彩运用体现严谨态度，声音设计追求内敛风格。　　GastoneMoschinstarsasUgoPiazza,atoughandellipticalex-convictwhohasjustbeenreleasedfromprison.Immediatelyafterhisrelease,UgoisapproachedbymembersoftheMilanmobleadbytheirasciblegangsterRocco(MarioAdorf),astheysuspecthimtoberesponsibleforthedisappearanceofalargesumofmoneybelongingtotheirboss,anAmerican(LionelStander)whocontrolstheorganizedcrimeinMilan...　　"MilanoCalibro9"isafilmthatdeliversanastonishinglyrealisticmoodoftheunderworldlikehardlyanother.Theintriguingstorylinegoesinhandwithinterestingcharacters,rawatmosphere,suspenseandbreathtakingaction,socialcriticismandbrutalviolence.Thefilmissimplystunningfromthebeginningtotheend,whichisevenintensifiedbythebrilliantscore,acollaborationofthefamouscomposerLuisEnríquezBacalovandtheItalianProgressiveRockbandOsanna.UgoPiazzamustbeoneofthemostcharismaticgangstercharacterseverincinema,andGastoneMoschinwastheprefectchoicefortherole.Moschindeliversabrilliantperformance,andtherestofthecastisalsogreat.MarioAdorfisirasciblelikearabiddogastheferociousgangsterRocco,arolethatfitshimlikeaglove.ThegreatLionelStanderfitsperfectlyinhisroleoftheAmericanMafiaDon.　　ThetwocopcharactersinthefilmareplayedbytwoofthegreatestregularsofItaliangenre-cinema,LuigiPistilliandFrankWolff(whocommittedsuicidebeforethefilmwasreleased).TheravishingBarbaraBouchetisastonishingandincrediblysexyintheroleofUgoPiazza'sstrippergirlfriend.Bouchetisbothastunningbeautyandanexcellentactressandthisisdoubtlesslyoneofhermostmemorableroles.ThisisalsoapoliticalfilmanddirectorDiLeoembeddedalotofsocialcriticismabouttopicslikecorruption.Thisfilmsimplyhaseverythingonecanpossiblydesireincinema.Filmslike"MilanoCalibro9"arethereasonwhyIlovecinema.Thisisanabsolutemasterpieceinallregardsand,withoutexaggeration,oneofthegreatestCrimeflicksevermade!Theingeniousopeningscenealoneismorememorablethanmostfilmsgetintwohours.