Weapons of Death
The streets of Naples are a challenge for Commissario Antonio Belli, organised crime and the possibility of corruption within the ranks, his target the gangster Salvatore Santoro, the spider lurking at the centre of the tangled web which stretches from the waterfront deep into the nation and always one step ahead, his raids relying on shock and hubris to carry them out, defiant in their insane audacity.
A raid on a city bank seeing the violent offenders “arrested” and taken away by false officers moments before Belli arrives, their identity accepted without question, a train heist sees innocent bodies line the tracks alongside one of Santoro’s own men, executed to prevent accusatory testimony because he was injured and unable to escape, the operations well planned and well-executed, with Santoro’s alibi always assured.
Commissario Belli having been played by Maurizio Merli three times from 1975 to 1976, in Violent Rome, Violent Napes and A Special Cop in Action, the role was taken by Leonard Mann in Weapons of Death (Napoli spara!, directly translated as Naples Shoots!), directed by Mario Caiano and released in 1977, tied with the second in the original trilogy by the appearance of Massimo Deda as wayward streetwise orphan Gennarino.
An insufferable scam-artist brat who only makes sense in that context, Santoro is played by Henry Silva, later Kane in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Belli’s undercover agent posing as a taxi driver Guidi is former model Jeff Blynn, all three leads American for international appeal, making their way through a muddled script which favours gunfire and explosions over explanations, a naked woman parading through her apartment and a building demolition both serving no purpose in the plot.
Disjointed to the point that Weapons of Death often feels as though scenes from a different film have been edited in were it not that the characters do interact, the reason for Santoro’s success seems to be the general ineptness of the Naples police force, Belli finally opening a crack by engaging in extra-legal activity only to fumble it and lose his advantage courtesy of another strange diversion to a park where a child is literally offered candy by a stranger.
Very much a man’s film, the only named woman Evelyne Stewart as late-arriving Lucia Parisi who can testify against Santoro, the fact she also has a false identity not balancing the scales, joining StudioCanal’s Cult Classics range Weapons of Death is supported by English and Italian audio options, an introduction by Jean-Baptiste Thoret, a video essay by Will Webb, an audio commentary, an archive interview with Mario Caiano and a newly recorded interview with Leonard Mann as well as stills and a trailer.
Weapons of Death will be released on 4K UHD and Blu-ray on Monday 20th July by StudioCanal
