Undescribable Perfection

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

I enjoyed THE SEVEN-UPS, one of the lesser-known cop thrillers of the 1970s. It's not as good as the big classics of the genre, like THE FRENCH CONNECTION movies or SERPICO, but it is interesting and it has that suitably gritty and realistic look going on. It also has one of the best and most exciting car chases ever put on film, certainly a top ten chase scene, with an incredible bit where a car hides in front of a bus to spring a shotgun-blasting ambush on our hero. Roy Scheider is reliably good as the hero of the hour, a cop on the trail of a kidnapping gang, and the genuinely nasty Richard Lynch has a great role as the chief villain. The film has a low key look which enhances the realism and is generally fast-paced and literate, not needing to spoon feed every little thing to the viewer.

"The Seven Ups" is a slightly under-rated film. It is bound to be compared with the superior "French Connection" but is still worth a few viewings. The above film has some of the same people that were associated with "The French Connection," both in front of and behind the cameras. Roy Scheider is ideally cast as the boss of an unorthodox team of police officers who target the various gangs of New York. He should have been given more leading man roles. Tony LoBianco is very good as a police informant. As before, the film was shot during winter time and it works. The customary car chase is included and it doesn't disappoint. A minor classic.

I watched this film for the first time the other night and was stunned by the similarities between it and the 1968 Steve McQueen film Bullit. Some of the casting was the same, but the real give away was the car chase, right down to the sawed off shotgun blast at the front of Roy Scheider's car. It was a good chase. But the casting with the driver in both cars being the same actor (Bill Hickman). I enjoyed the film but was struck by the similarities between the two films. Roy Scheider wearing dark turtle necks and being his own self contained police department was a flashback to Bullit also. There are enough differences in the plot line to allow both films to stand on their own as good movies.

From the man who brought cinema-goers 1968 "Bullit" and 1971 "The French Connection", Philip D'Antoni goes on to produce, but also make his directorial debut with the realistic, tough-as-nails crime thriller "The Seven-Ups" starring an unwavering Roy Scheider as the leader of a secret squad of the New York police who got their name from the minimum sentence of their targeted gangsters. Things go pear shape when their own is killed in action and the men seek their own justice. While this urban cop formula might be overworked, it's rather well-done for its type with exciting passages like the scorchingly intense high- speed car chase. It's masterful in its execution and camera positional work. D'Antoni resourcefully keeps a fast pace, where tension is sustained through good writing, elaborate plotting (where it does show its cards early), vivid performances and well-timed thrills and spills with smooth editing. Really it's quite minimal on the action leaning towards the investigative digging, but when it occurs it's explosive and raw. Just the way the 70s loved it. One thing that did catch my attention was Don Ellis' dangerously impulsive music score. Very unhinged, but it did suit the film's dark, relentless tone. The story is very much character based and the performances are assured across the board. Victor Arnold, Jerry Leon and Ken Kercheval make-up the rest of "The Seven-ups". Tony Lo Bianco magnificently holds up alongside Scheider as his go-to-man for information. Then there's Larry Haines as one the head mobsters. However in the bad guy roles it was Bill Hickman and especially the striking Richard Lynch who stood out. Lynch was terrifically menacing. Also in a minor part is genre actor Joe Spinell. Compelling, lean and mean 70's cop drama.