Italian action director Umberto Lenzi worked in just about every genre of his country's exploitation cinema. "Gang War in Milan," with Antonio Sabato and Philip Leroy, marked Lenzi's debut in the Eurocrime genre, and it qualifies as an exciting, no-holds-barred, violent thriller about a war between the chief of a prostitution ring and a French drug dealer. Sicilian-born crime figure Salvatore "Toto" Cangemi (Antonio Sabato of "Grand Prix) runs a thriving produce business, but he also runs a prostitution ring in Milan. French gangster Roger Daverty (Philip Leroy of "La Femme Nikita") has his own thriving narcotics racket. He proposes to Salvatore that Salvatore's prostitute could create a profitable pipeline into his business with sales of heroin to the people who step out with Salvatore's hookers. However, Daverty wants the split to be 70 per cent for him, while Salvatore receives 30 per cent. Salvatore refuses to enter into a partnership with Daverty unless they split everything equally. The intransigence of Daverty to adopt a 50-50 division of the profits ignites a gang war. Daverty's knife-wielding henchmen slash up Salvatore's prostitutes. Meanwhile, Milan Chief Inspector Contalvi (Franco Fantasia of "Adios, Sabata") tries to bust both of these pugnacious crime chieftains with no luck as their war escalates in violence. Lenzi provides a modicum of kinky sex and frontal nudity interspersed with lots of shoot'em up clashes. Ultimately, the name of the game is greed, and greed spawns double-crosses.
Review of Milano rovente
