Squadra volante - La polizia ringrazia

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" (aka "Emergency Squad") 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" (aka "Execution Squad") 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" ("Anonymous Anticrime") (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"("Anonymous Anticrime"). 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 (AMP 98), 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.2Tr.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).