Just as American police films , American crime thrillers , and American vigilante films of the time focused on the crime waves and urban decline in the United States of the 1960s and 1970s , '' poliziotteschi '' were set in the context of , or directly addressed , the sociopolitical tumult and violence of Italy 's '' anni di piombo '' , or the " Years of Lead , " a period of widespread social unrest , political upheaval , labor unrest , rising crime , political violence , and political terrorism from the 1960s to 1980s . During this period , paramilitary and militant political terrorist groups , both on the far left ( e.g. the Red Brigades ) and far right ( e.g. the neo-fascist Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari ) engaged in kidnappings , assassinations , and bombings ( such as the Piazza Fontana bombing and 1980 Bologna train station bombing ) . At the same time , there was a period of especially violent conflict and disorder within the Sicilian Mafia , kicked off with the " First Mafia War " of the 1960s and culminating in the " Second Mafia War " of the early 1980s . Italian organized crime groups such as the Sicilian Mafia , the Camorra , and especially the Roman Banda della Magliana were actively involved in both criminal and political activities during this time , carrying out bombings and kidnappings , making deals with corrupt politicians , and forming strong ties to extreme far right groups and neo-fascist terrorist organizations . Accordingly , '' poliziotteschi '' films such as '' Execution Squad '' ( 1972 ) often featured political extremists and paramilitary or terrorist groups alongside or in addition to the more commonly featured apolitical '' mafiosi '' and gangster criminal elements found in Italian crime films
Piazza Fontana bombing
Piazza Fontana bombing
Poliziotteschi