Director Enzo G. Castellari (The Inglorious Bastards) helmed some of the most infamous of all the gritty, action-packed crime films that proliferated in Italy throughout the 70s and Arrow Video are to release two of the best onto Blu-ray.
In 1976’s The Big Racket, Inspector Nico Palmieri (Fabio Testi) is hot on the heels of a gang of ruthless racketeers. Realising he’s not getting anywhere within the law’s confines, Nico recruits a crack squad of civilians to dole out their brand of justice.
Then, in 1977’s The Heroin Busters, rule-flouting cop Fabio (Testi) goes deep undercover, chasing a globe-trotting ring of drug smugglers suspected to be operating out of Rome. But can he and Mike Hamilton (David Hemmings), an Interpol agent with a hair-trigger temper, stay one step ahead of the criminals long enough to bring them down from the inside?
these two films represent the best of the Italian crime thriller, both in stunning restorations and packed with bonus features.
2-DISC SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS –
- 2K restorations of both films from the original 35mm camera negatives by Arrow Films
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations
- Original Italian and English front and end titles
- Restored original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
- Optional English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks
- Audio commentaries on both films by critics Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
- Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch
DISC 1 – THE BIG RACKET
- The Years of Racketeering, a video interview with co-writer/director Enzo G. Castellari
- Violent Times, a video interview with actor Fabio Testi
- Angel Face for a Tough Guy, a video interview with actor Massimo Vanni
- King of Movieola, a video interview with editor Gianfranco Amicucci
- The Great Racket, an appreciation and career retrospective of composers Guido and Maurizio De Angelis by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon
- Theatrical trailer
- Image Gallery
DISC 2 – THE HEROIN BUSTERS
- Endless Pursuit, a video interview with co-writer/director Enzo G. Castellari
- Drug Squad, a video interview with actor Fabio Testi
- The Drug Dealer, a video interview with actor Massimo Vanni
- How They Killed Italian Cinema, a video interview with editor Gianfranco Amicucci
- A Cop on the Set, a video interview with retired poliziotto and criminologist Nicola Longo
- The Eardrum Busters, an appreciation and career retrospective of composers Goblin by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon
- Theatrical trailer
- Image Gallery
