From Wikipedia
Poliziotteschi is a sub-genre of crime and action film that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and became popular in the 1970s. Poliziotteschi films are also known as poliziottesco, Italo-crime, Euro-crime or simply Italian crime films. Poliziesco on the other hand is the 'proper' Italian adjective for police-related dramas, ranging from Ed McBain's police procedural novels to CSI forensic investigations. 'Poliziesco' is used generally to indicate every fiction production where police forces (Italian or foreign) are the main protagonists, 'poliziottesco', on the other hand with the '-esco' desinence (akin to the English '-esque') suggesting a low-key derivative imprint is only ever used to indicate 70s-era Italian produced 'tough cop' and 'crime' movies. Recurring elements in poliziotteschi films include graphic and brutal violence, organized crime, car chases, vigilantism, heists, gun fights and corruption up to the highest level.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PoliziotteschiYes, most would dismiss them as cheap cash-ins of more well-known American flicks, but to us, they're so much more. Stars such as Franco Nero, Maurizio Merli, Tomas Milian, Fabio Testi and Luc Merenda made these contemporary spaghetti westerns eminently likeable. So what are your favourites?
Here are some of mine:
High Crime (1973, Enzo G Castellari)
Anonymous Avenger (1974, Enzo G Castellari)
The Big Racket (1976, Enzo G Castellari)
Violent Rome (1975, Marino Girolami)
Special Cop In Action (1976, Marino Girolami)
Violent Naples (1976, Umberto Lenzi)
Tough Ones (1976, Umberto Lenzi)
Calibre 9 (1972, Fernando di Leo)
Manhunt (1974, Fernando di Leo)