I recently picked up the DVD which sure as heck looked a thousand times better than my cruddy old foreign videotape. While this film is not nearly as boring as I'd remembered, it's still one of the lesser crime films (despite 3 or 4 awesome moments like when they shoot a guy just minding his own business reading the paper).

The total lack of suspense, immediacy, or likable characters ruins it... there is virtually no plot and not enough random crime to keep it interesting. The film relies too heavily on the nonexistent charisma of its two leads, who both look good but don't really say or do much except act cocky and shoot people.

Usually I really like Ubaldo Continiello's work, but his music here is a real letdown and virtually missing-in-action except for the theme song (sung by Ray Lovelock)... which is one of the worst songs ever! It's almost comically bad! Pay attention during the opening credits of the shot where Lovelock is riding with Porel on a motorcycle - watch how Lovelock is trying to get his face on camera, but Porel keeps blocking the way - Lovelock gradually becomes visibly angrier and angrier. It's completely hilarious.

Highlights of the film, typical of any Deodato movie, are the well-directed and inspired moments of violence and sleaze. Nothing near the level of his cannibal masterpieces, but still pretty heavy for the genre. Such scenes include a savage beating of a woman overly protective of her purse, a hit-man getting smushed between two cars, and an amusing bit where several bank robbers are killed one-by-one by the "heroes" before they even commit their crime. Also unique is the heroes' brazenly irresponsible attitude toward gun safety (such as when they target practice in the quarry) and totally politically incorrect womanizing. The ironic atmosphere and dark humor helps a little, but not enough.

Within this genre, you're much better off with Castellari and Lenzi's numerous offerings. Fulci's CONTRABAND is similarly dull and unengaging but much more violent and mean-spirited, and an overall better way for fans of this stuff to spend their time and money.

This is one of Deodato's earlier films. Deodato is best known as the director of the notorious film "Cannibal Holocaust". With a script by Di Leo and masterful direction by Deodato, you get a film that is violent, ruthless and exciting. One can easily see the influence on contemporary directors like Tarantino (a huge Di Leo fan). This film also has a lot in common with movies like Dirty Harry, where a cop uses extreme measures to deliver justice and always has his boss coming down on him for being too violent in doing so. Except in this film it is two guys who team up to clean the streets. The viewer will be surprised at the amount of violence in this film when considering the year it was made. If you can locate this film, its worth watching.

"Uomini Si Nasce Poliziotti Si Muore" ("Live Like A Cop, Die Like a Man") of 1976 comes from two of the most brilliant minds in Italian Exploitation/Cult-Cinema. Written by Fernando Di Leo, whose brilliant Milieu-Trilogy ("Milano Calibro 9" of 1972, "La Mala Ordina" of 1972, and "Il Boss" of 1973) ranges among the greatest achievements crime-cinema has ever brought forth, and directed by Ruggero Deodato, whose gruesome 1980 masterpiece "Cannibal Holocaust" is one of the grittiest, most controversial and most brilliant Exploitation films of all-time, this film raises high expectation with Italian crime fans. These high expectations make it even more disappointing that this film is actually one of the least entertaining Poliziotteschi out there. In spite of a well-known cast - Ray Lovelock ("Almost Human", "Violent Rome", "Autopsy", "Living Dead at Manchester Morgue",...) and Marc Porel ("Don't Torture A Duckling", "Seven Notes in Black") in the leads, Adolfo Celi ("Diabolik", "Thunderball") and Marino Masé ("The Red Queen Kills 7 Times", "Il Boss") in supporting roles and the sexy sisters Silvia and Sofia Dionisio in the female support - this flick has little to offer.

Porel and Lovelock play Fred and Tony, two special forces policemen whose unorthodox methods include executing criminals on the spot and blowing up cars and illegal casinos... I am a huge fan of the 'unorthodox cop' premise and the politically incorrect messages of Italian 70s Poliziotteschi in general. Cops like those played by Henry Silva in Umberto Lenzi's masterpiece "Milano Odia: La Polizia Non Può Sparare" ("Almost Human", 1974), or Maurizio Merli (in any of his Police flicks) would relentlessly bend the law and treat criminals brutally, but at least the sadistic thugs in these films had it coming. Murdering wounded criminals for stealing handbags, as Fred and Tony do here, seems a little extreme, even for unorthodox Poliziotteschi standards. Generally, the two protagonists are total dirtbags whose deeds are actually a lot worse than those of the criminals they pursue. Besides that, they are cocky and annoying, and constantly crack painful jokes. Are we supposed to sympathize with these scumbags? The two sleazy and sadistic protagonists are actually what makes this worth watching, however, as it is astonishing how these guys can be portrayed as heroes. The film has several terrific action sequences, and is furthermore worth watching for several ultra-violent outbursts. However, the story is incoherent and uninteresting, and the lack of a truly evil villain makes the whole thing seem pointless. The score is very below par and unmemorable for genre-standards (usually, Italian 70s Crime flicks are known for their great scores). Overall, there's a lot better to watch in Italian Cime cinema, such as Di Leo's brilliant trilogy, any film by Umberto Lenzi (especially "Milano Odia..." and "Roma A Mano Armata"), any film by Damiano Damiani, or Enzo Castellari's "Il Grande Racket", just to mention a few highlights. "Uomini Si Nasce..." may be seen for its grit and violence, but can easily be skipped.