 The prevalence of "Poliziottesco" over "Poliziesco all'Italiana" closely follows the success of the term "Spaghetti Western" over "Western all'Italiana", being shorter and more vivid – though in both instances the term that has come to be used more frequently by English-speaking fans of the genre (poliziotteschi, Spaghetti Westerns) was originally used pejoratively by critics, to denigrate the films themselves and their makers.Although the subgenre has its roots in Italian heist films of the late 1960s, such as "Bandits in Milan" ("Banditi a Milano", 1968) by Carlo Lizzani, it was also strongly influenced by such rough-edged American police thrillers of the late 1960s and early 1970s as "Bullitt", "Dirty Harry", "The French Connection", "Magnum Force", and "Serpico"; the 1970s wave of American vigilante films, including 1974's "Death Wish"; the increase of cynicism and violence in French crime films; the resurgence of mob films in the wake of "The Godfather"; French and American noir and neo-noir films; and the rise of exploitation films in the late 1960s and 1970s.More generally, the genre was also heavily influenced by real-life crime and unrest in 1970s Italy during the period known as the "anni di piombo" (political violence, kidnappings, assassinations, bank robberies, political militant terrorism, impending oil crisis, political corruption, organized crime-related violence, and recession).