Gang War in Milan was Umberto Lenzi's first entry in the crime genre after making several spy and action films in the 1960s.[1] Lenzi stated in an interview that both the film's story and script were by Franco Enna, a giallo novelist who lived in Switzerland and that the credited writer Ombretta Lanza was a daughter of one of the producers who attributed to the story.[1] Lenzi than later claimed that he completely re-wrote the script as it was closer to a 1930s crime film than a film noir.[1]
It was filmed at Icet - De Paolis Studios in Milan and on location in Milan.[1]
Release
Gang War in Milan was released theatrically in Italy on 23 February 1973 where it was distributed by Variety Film.[1] The film grossed a total of 631.702 million Italian lira on its release.[1]
Reception
Director Umberto Lenzi later felt that the film's story had "a basic error on the behalf of the producers [...]. We shouldn't have made the protagonist a pimp. You can have a pickpocket, a drug dealer, or a killer, but not a pimp, because the viewer doesn't sympathize with him. He's a dirty soundrel with whom you can't identify"[5]
