"When 70s American and French cinemas were overtaken by worlds of gangsters and crime, you bet Italy had to make their own! Italy was in a time of extreme political tension and unrest. It was a bloody time in Bel Paese. The country was overrun by real life gangs, crimes, and assassinations boiled into the Italian Consciousness.
Stealing from 60s Italian crime films, popular hits like "The Godfather" and "Dirty Harry," the prevalence of exploitation films, as well as the violent climate in Italy at the time, the poliziotteschi genre changed crime films forever. The genre was characterized by over the top violence, shootouts, motorcycles chases, heists, and social commentary on Italy's corruption. Although another Italian take on a popular genre (the spaghetti western), seems to have somewhat seared itself into the mainstream consciousness, the poliziotteschi genre appears to be forgotten, although they filled the space that spaghetti westerns left in their decline."
