Violent City (1970)
A great combination of Morricone, Bronson and Sollima. Relatively straight forward typical plot with a professional assassin in need for revenge. The quality lies with Sollima’s flair for providing suspense without being flashy. It isn’t a violent film as such, relatively speaking, but when it is violent, it matters. Standouts are three key scenes without dialogue, first with a car chase, later with Bronson preparing an assassination at a race track and the final scene involving an elevator. The film seem less political than I am used to for Sollima, but it has the same bleakness as Revolver. Bronson is serviceable and certainly has his own unique screen presence, but I am personally more a fan of the films he is in, than him himself. While I like Eastwood for a similar stoic mute style, Bronson falls too much on the side of almost completely expressionless, making it difficult to understand his actions and motivations. Still very much worth watching for fans of 1970s eurocrime - or westerns, as it is a very western-ish story.
Rating: 3.5