During the illustrious career of director Enzo G. Castellari he directed such classics as the original Inglorious Bastards, A few dollars for Django and cult western Keoma. The great folks at Arrow Video released Keoma on deluxe Blu-ray about three years ago you can read our review of that release here.
But now it is time for more Castellari films. So this time Arrow Video has giving us the movie fans a double feature of Poliziotteschi or Italian crime thrillers with the new release Rogue Cops and Racketeers. Let's take a look at what is included in this set.
Our Rating System:
****=Don’t Miss it!
***=Worth a look.
**=An OK way to spend an evening.
*=You haven’t missed anything.
The Big Racket (1976) Nico Palmieri is a police inspector who battles against hoodlums terrorizing a sleepy Italian village, extorting cash from the locals. ***
The Heroin Busters (1977) An Italian policeman goes undercover to break up an international heroin smuggling ring and butts heads with a hot-tempered Interpol agent assigned by his agency to do the same task. ***
These two films are a perfect time capsule of those 70s Italian thrillers. Action and adventure personified. Fabio Testi stars in this double feature. I think what makes this a great little double feature is we get to see him play two different kind of cops. He’s deep cover in The Heroin Busters and gone vigilante in The Big Racket. Very Cool!
Now for these film on Blu-ray. Both films have been restored in 2K from the original 35mm camera negatives. They are presented in 1080p with a 1.66:1 aspect ratio for The Big Racket and 1.85:1 anamorphic aspect ratio for The Heroin Busters. There is also audio optioned for the original Italian audio in DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 or the English dubbed DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0.
These new restorations by Arrow Video are something special. There is no signs of damage! The colors are vibrant and the picture is crisp, yet without eliminating the gritty and grimy feel of these Italian crime thrillers.
In addition there is the original Italian and English front and end titles. Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks and optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks.
DISC 1: THE BIG RACKET
* New audio commentaries on both films by critics Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
* The Years of Racketeering, a new video interview with co-writer/director Enzo G. Castellari
* Violent Times, a new video interview with actor Fabio Testi
* Angel Face for a Tough Guy, a new video interview with actor Massimo Vanni
* King of Movieola, a new video interview with editor Gianfranco Amicucci
* The Great Racket, a new 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
* New audio commentaries on both films by critics Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
* Endless Pursuit, a new video interview with co-writer/director Enzo G. Castellari
* Drug Squad, a new video interview with actor Fabio Testi
* The Drug Dealer, a new video interview with actor Massimo Vanni
* How They Killed Italian Cinema, a new video interview with editor Gianfranco Amicucci
* A Cop on the Set, a new video interview with retired poliziotto and criminologist Nicola Longo
* The Eardrum Busters, a new appreciation and career retrospective of composers Goblin by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon
* Theatrical trailer
* Image gallery
Now as you can see there is a boat load of on disc bonuses in this set, but physical bonuses are included as well. Take a look!
* Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Roberto Curti and Barry Forshaw
* Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch
* Twelve double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards
Watch the Original Trailer of The Big Racket Below:
If you love Italian crime thrillers this new deluxe double feature Blu-ray set Rogue Cops and Racketeers is one set you are going to want to own. Head over to Amazon and order your copy today.
Out of 4 film reels (4 being the best) Arrow Video's Blu-ray release of Rogue Cops and Racketeers receives...
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