The Eurocrime film, or poliziottesco, went through many of the same phases as other trends in Italian cinema. By virtue of necessity, stretching its boundaries or tooling with the genre was inevitable. Perhaps equally inevitably, given the sheer number of films produced, quite a few fell through the cracks over time. Three rare, distinct features late in the genre’s cycle, each retaining the big names associated with it, are collected here.
IL GIORNO DEL COBRA (THE DAY OF THE COBRA) – Larry Stanziani is a bottom-of-the-barrel private eye in San Francisco, quietly scraping by to make ends meet. But in a former life, Stanziani (Franco Nero) was The Cobra, one of the most capable and deadly secret agents the world had ever seen. Called back into action in Italy after a narcotics agent is killed, Larry uncovers a syndicate that’ll attempt every dirty trick in the book to finish him off. But they don’t know that The Cobra always stays one step ahead of any double-cross ever invented. Directed by Italo-action legend Enzo G. Castellari (The Big Racket) as a showcase for Nero’s range, this cheeky Eurocrime/gumshoe hybrid also stars Sybil Danning (Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf), Mario Maranzana (Behind Convent Walls), Mickey Knox (Cemetery Man), and Romano Puppo (The Big Gundown).
LA BANDA DEL TRUCIDO (THE RASCAL’S GANG aka DIRTY GANG) – Naples is being crippled by crime, and now an important police leader has been assassinated. The grizzled Commissario Ghini (Luc Merenda) is tough enough to tackle the crime wave and is the only one to fill his shoes. Meanwhile, Monnezza (Tomas Milian) has his hands full, too: he’s running his cheeky trattoria while also teaching a new batch of hapless schemers at his low-rent school for thieves. Balancing Milian’s popular comedic chops as a loveable rogue and Merenda’s hard-as-nails, stunt-driven performance, director Stelvio Massi (Arabella: Black Angel) pulls out all the stops for this wildly entertaining ride. Also starring Elio Zamuto (Violent Naples), Katia Christine (Designated Victim), and Massimo Vanni (1990: The Bronx Warriors).
IL COMMISSARIO DI FERRO (THE IRON COMMISSIONER) – Commissario Mariani (Maurizio Merli) has been taking down crooks for years, and these days the weight of it shows. He’s divorced, his son thinks of him more as a friend than a father, his superiors are critical of him, and even the children of people he put away are coming after him. But he’s not the Iron Commissioner for nothing, and however seasoned, he’s not afraid to knock around a few hoods to get the job done. When a kidnapping occurs too close to home, Mariani doesn’t hesitate to spring into action. A remarkably efficient and realistic feature from technical journeyman Stelvio Massi (Five Women for the Killer), showing plenty of tricks up his sleeve, it also stars Janet Agren (Bakterion), Ettore Mani (A.A.A. Masseuse, Good-Looking, Offers Her Services), and Chris Avram (Obscene Desire).
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Video Quality
The three films in the Eurocrime Rarities: Volume 1 set make their domestic Blu-Ray debut thanks to Vinegar Syndrome with brand new 1080p masters in their original aspect ratios. Each of these films has been restored in 2K from its original camera negatives. By and large, these three releases are very similar to one another and will be discussed as a group with any meaningful differences pointed out. While all of these transfers look really nice for the most part, it is clear that there was some irreparable damage to the original elements that could not be completely eliminated. For those who are fans of the genre, the quality is quite high, and we should be grateful to have these films widely available once again.
The gritty photography, which captures the turbulent late-70s era of Italy, shines in high definition with natural grain intact and nicely resolved. There is an exquisite amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing and within the backgrounds. The new transfers show off a strong amount of depth and enhanced detail, but admittedly, the close-up shots hold up better than the long shots. Certain elements look quite striking in their clarity. Black levels are deep with no semblance of black crush or compression artifacts. Some minor color temperature fluctuations give certain darker scenes a more milky appearance, but this is noticed more in some damaged daytime stretches of The Iron Commissioner and Dirty Gang. Very little serious print damage is found in The Day of the Cobra, but the other two are more obvious in their shortcomings. While the damaged portions are distracting, it is obvious that efforts were put forth to make these films look as good as possible. Kudos to Vinegar Syndrome.
Audio Quality
These three films come with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mono track in the original Italian, with an additional English language option for The Day of the Cobra and Dirty Gang. Each of these tracks represents these worlds in a pretty noble way sonically. Most of these films have their dialogue post-looped, which results in some loose sync instances that may be annoying to some, but it is a product of this period in filmmaking. These tales mostly take place in cities, which creates a din of sound that creeps through to provide some effective ambient details.
All of the various sounds in the mix seem deftly rendered so that nothing ever feels askew. The dialogue itself comes through clearly without being trounced by the sound effects or score. There are intermittent moments of gunshots that shake you out of complacency without becoming a muddled mess in the fallout. The impeccable music throughout these films brings a very distinct mood to the proceedings that is represented well in the mix. Everything is presented with favorable fidelity with only the occasional instance of sound presenting as a bit thin or boxy. This presentation is free of any major hiss or other age-related wear-and-tear. Vinegar Syndrome has accomplished something special here.
Special Features
The Day of the Cobra
- Audio Commentary: Film historians Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth, and Nathaniel Thompson provide a commentary track in which they discuss whether this movies qualifies as a poliziottesco, how this character fits into the career of Franco Nero, the work of director Enzo G. Castellari, the film’s legacy, and more.
- The Director Who Looked Like A Stuntman – An Interview with Director/Writer Enzo G. Castellari: A 24-minute conversation with the legend in which he discusses the production of the film, conversations had with stuntmen, collaborations with other filmmakers, his feelings about the film, and more.
- Henchman with a Heart of Gold – An Interview with Actor/Stuntman Massimo Vanni: A 22-minute piece with the performer in which he discusses his background, getting involved with The Day of the Cobra, the most complicated moments to film, his memories of Enzo G. Castellari, and more.
The Rascal’s Gang (aka Dirty Gang)
- Audio Commentary: Film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth provide a commentary track in which they discuss the scarcity of the movie in the United States, the behind-the-scenes players who claim credit for various aspects of the film, the work of director Stelvio Massi, and more.
- The Nonviolent Professional – An Interview with Actor Luc Merenda: A new 20-minute interview with the actor in which he discusses his desire to be known for a range of films, the differences between various roles, working with Stelvio Massi, and more.
- A Beautiful Ugly Face – An Interview with Actor Corrado Solari: A 24-minute new interview with the performer in which he discusses his early career, collaborations with various iconic creative figures, other roles he was considered to play, his approach to DIrty Gang, and more.
The Iron Commissioner
- Audio Commentary: Film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Nanni Cobretti provide a commentary track in which they discuss the background of the movie, the ideas behind the narrative, the work of director Stelvio Massi, the place of this genre at the time of release, and more.
- Free Hand For a Tough DOP – An Interview with Cinematographer Sergio Rubini: A new 24-minute interview with the director of photography in which he discusses his background, working with Stelvio Massi, his approach to various moments, and more.
- The Purest Form of Poliziesco – An Interview with Assistant Director Danilo Massi: A new 20-minute interview with the AD in which he discusses his early career, what he learned from various projects, his father’s place in the business, working on The Iron Commissioner, and more.
Final Thoughts
Eurocrime Rarities: Volume 1 delivers three hard-boiled gems to eager fans of the poliziottesco subgenre. Throughout this journey, you get to scrap with legends such as Franco Nero and Luc Merenda as they try to take down dastardly criminals who prove how ruthless they are again and again. While these stories are not reinventing the genre, they do stand out as very well-crafted entries that hook you early and keep you anchored to the screen. If you are a fan of crime films, you will have a great time digging into this set. Vinegar Syndrome has delivered a Blu-Ray set featuring a respectable A/V presentation and a valuable array of special features. Highly Recommended
Eurocrime Rarities: Volume 1 is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Vinegar Syndrome has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
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Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
