Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Our Hero knocks off his girl friend almost immediately as he is promoted to Police Commissioner. But it was not to celebrate his promotion - he is trying to see if he can get caught, or if he is now, in fact, above suspicion. Hedging his bets, he spends a great deal of time covering his tracks in his effort to get caught/not get caught.Gian Maria Volonte gives a hypnotic performance as the Ego Cop. Strutting and preening, he is in nearly every scene as he barks at subordinates and, in flashbacks, engages in sex with his soon-to-be-dead girlfriend, who, by the way, is a knockout. Seemed like a terrible waste of feminine pulchritude, to borrow a phrase from W.C. Fields.The pacing is good and director Elio Petri keeps the action moving at a good clip. Speaking for myself, I thought the picture hit a few false notes in the character makeup of its hero. For a man convinced he is in the clear he turns cowardly and abject when confronted by the only one who could be a witness against him - this, from a macho Alpha male? I also thought it was interesting to note the counterpoint and the hypocrisy in the theme of Democracy as an ideal, as opposed to its practical application throughout the story. Do as we say, not as we do.Good picture, but as I often think, another foreign film that has been overrated by critics and audiences trying not to appear unsophisticated, and that has now achieved cult status after winning an Oscar.

"Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto" is one the best films of Elio Petri. This great director used to make films with a strong social content. This movie, which won an Oscar for the best foreign language film in 1970, stars Gian Maria Volonté -one of Petri's favorite actors.The story is about a fascist police boss, who accidentally kills his mistress during an erotic game. Fate wants him to lead the inquiry for this death. The policeman spreads everywhere clues for his guilt (!). He doesn't do that for justice, he only does this for proving to himself that he's untouchable.Gian Maria Volonté performance is memorable -as usual... He was a big actor, he could change from one role to the other like an extraordinary chameleon. The film has a solid structure, it is satirical and cynical. The sarcasm towards the police boss is also supported by an excellent musical score by Ennio Morricone.We miss films like this one, it's one of the examples of Italian masterpieces which aren't produced any more.

When the movie starts, a man meets with his lover, and while they begin to have sex, he slits her throat. After washing in the bathroom, he's careful to leave his foot and fingerprints in conspicuous places, and places a thread from his tie under his victim's fingernails.We then learn that he is the chief of homicide, who's been promoted to a job in political intelligence. The questions remain, why did he murder her, and why did he leave clues implicating himself?Through flashbacks, we get some idea of what his relationship with the woman was. We also see that some other people become suspects. However, he is in charge of the investigation, and periodically presents even more evidence pointing to himself.An unusual story. I'm not sure I understood the ending. The video I watched was dubbed in English, and subtitled in Dutch. Perhaps if there is a release of a copy in Italian with new English subtitles, it will be possible to understand the story better.

Saw this film in New York at a revival. The tale of power and of right-wing/fascist politics corrupting is shockingly timely even today, in this time of global conflict, with enemies branded "unpatriotic."The movie portrays the moral corruption of Italian police and politics in the 1970's, with totalitarian tactics wrapped in patriotism. The movie's lead policeman is swept up in the power of position. Sadly, it's only too easy for me to believe his ability to use his position and power to manipulate people and place himself above "the law".The movie "looks" Italian and 1970's, with stark concrete and flat colors, which appealed to me. The story builds well, jumping backwards to fill in details, to climax in an alternate possible ending, very believable. I highly recommend it.