The seventies provided movie fans with some of the most
amazing films ever made. They also gave us a depiction of New York City as a
place that had its charms but also seemed to have more than its fair share of crime
at the same time. Movies like SERPICO, SHAFT, PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK, TAXI
DRIVER, REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER and THE FRENCH CONNECTION all showed us that
underbelly of the city that never sleeps. After the success of that last film
the call was out for more like it.
Producer Philip D’Antoni fresh of not only that film but
BULLITT as well was approached to do the sequel but turned it down. Instead he
decided to step into the director’s chair and make a similar movie using some
of the same source material. Using information and technical support from Sonny
Grosso (who had done some of the same on THE FRENCH CONNECTION and who the
character Buddy Russo in that film was based on) D’Antoni made THE SEVEN-UPS.
It was the only film he ever directed and that’s a loss to film goers.
Roy Scheider is Buddy Manucci, the head of an elite team in
the NYPD known as the seven-ups because of the high arrest record they have for
criminals resulting in their prison terms being 7 years long or over. The group
uses offbeat tactics and methods to make their arrest stick and are known to be
incorruptible. The opening segment of the store in which they catch a group of
counterfeiters displays this.
Buddy and his team use various informants to get information
helping them proceed with their cases. In Buddy’s case he depends mostly one
information provided to him by Vito Lucia (Tony Lo Bianco), a boyhood friend
and low level hoodlum. Using the information Buddy and his team take down
criminals that might be an issue for Vito but at the same time help with their
arrest record. Vito assures Buddy he’s not involved in anything but numbers but
as the movie progresses we learn different.
A new case lands in the teams lap as various mob bosses
begin getting kidnapped and held for ransom. A pair of men appear claiming to
be police officers before they abduct the unknowing bosses. Unwilling to go to
the police for help, the mob bosses take matters into their own hands. As the
team begins looking into a loan sharking operation it brings this case to their
doorstep as well.
It’s revealed who the man behind it all is as he tries to
shut down the kidnapping operation only to have the two killers he’s hired
carry on behind his back. Bits and pieces of information cross between the two
groups and along the way one of Buddy’s team is killed. The case has now become
personal. Buddy will stop at nothing to take down these men.
The film shares two things with D’Antoni’s previous film.
The first is that it stars Roy Scheider in the main role. The second is its
depiction of NYC. The streets are dirty, the trash needs picked up and
everything has a gray pallor to it. This is not a city anyone would choose to
live in unless you were born there and developed a taste for it.
The film also gives us a depiction of criminals as they
really are instead of the high glossed, sharp dressed mobsters or stupid thugs
seen in the past. These criminals look like normal guys, act like criminals and
go about their day to day routine as if they were businessmen. For them this is
a business and they treat it as such.
The glamor we saw depicted in films like THE GODFATHER is not seen here.
The action sequences stand out in the film, in particular
the car chase. In both of the films D’Antoni was associated with prior the car
chases had set the standard for the industry. Not to be outdone the car chase
here is equal to those with a much more startling ending to the chase. That no
one was killed is miraculous.
Scheider was just hitting his stride with the release of this
film. Having just finished lead roles in both THE FRENCH CONNECTION and KLUTE
this was his first time out as the major lead. It was his face on the posters
in theaters. It was a step in the right direction showcasing his ability to
give a top performance with whatever came his way. Two years later and he was
featured in a little film you may have heard of called JAWS, cementing him in
leading man status.
I say this with all of their releases but the fact is it’s
true. Twilight Time has offered this film in the best quality presentation
found to date with a hi-def 1080p release. And while they normally don’t offer
a lot in the way of extras that’s not the case this time around. Extras here
include and isolated music track of the Don Ellis score (the same composter
behind the score of THE FRENCH CONNECTION), an isolated music track of the
unused score by Johnny Mandel, an audio commentary track with film historian
Richard Harlan Smith, an introduction by D’Antoni, THE SEVEN-UPS CONNECTION
featurette, A REAL TONY LO BIANCO featurette, REAL TO REEL, CUT TO THE CHASE,
ANATOMY OF A CHASE: BEHIND THE SCENES FILMING OF THE SEVEN-UPS, RANDY
JURGENSEN’S SCRAPBOOK, SUPER 8 VERSION, lobby cards/still/media gallery and the
original theatrical trailers.
Here again as with all Twilight Time offerings the film is
limited to just 3,000 copies so if you’re interested order today. Fans of 70s
NYC films and cop flicks in particular will want to make sure this film, and
this version in particular, are in their collections.
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