Blu-ray Film Review | Radiance

Killer Cop (1975) Limited Edition Blu-ray [Radiance] — gripping politically-charged poliziotteschi

In a crowded hotel in downtown Milan a bomb has been planted, and a drug-squad cop discovers it by accident…

The current popularity of the Italian giallo has rekindled interest in the poliziotteschi because the same cast, writers, and directors were often involved. In fact, any jobbing director working in 1970s Italian pulp cinema would’ve found both genres just as difficult to avoid as the spaghetti western. Luciano Ercoli is no exception but seemed able to innovate any genre he turned his hand to. As producer, he changed the tone of westerns with the seminal Ringo duology (1965). With his directorial debut, The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (1970), he templated the slow-burn erotic giallo, and with Killer Cop he toys with established tropes to refresh the poliziotteschi. So, it’s great that Radiance Films are making his penultimate film as director available, freshly restored in high definition and presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.