The Italian Connection

In the 1970s the crime film flourished in Italy as the country went through years of political and social unrest, the so-called ‘Years of Lead’. Italian movie producers would capitalise on these times by producing cheap, violent movies about national organised crime and corruption, establishing the genre of the poliziotteschi. One of the most celebrated poliziottesco directors was Fernando Di Leo, a director as concerned with telling entertaining stories as he was with creating socially relevant backdrops. In Di Leo’s The Italian Connection, the New York mob dispatch two hitmen (Henry Silva, The Boss and Woody Strode, Once Upon a Time in the West) to apprehend pimp Luca Canali (Mario Adorf, Milano Calibro 9), who they believe to have stolen a shipment of heroin. The local mob also join the hunt, but despite being outnumbered Luca refuses to go quietly and fights back against his pursuers, leading a thrilling series of chases and shootouts, and a trail of bloody destruction. A noted influence on Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, this is the poliziottesco at its most entertaining and action-packed. 

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• 2020 4K restoration of the original negative, presented with Italian and English audio, on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• ...And a Tiny Bullet for a Tiny Kitten: A new visual essay by Howard S. Berger on Di Leo’s use of deadpan farce and absurdism in his social critiques of post-war Italy in his milieu trilogy 
• Archival documentary The Roots of the Mafia (26 mins)
• Reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• Limited edition booklet with new writing by Italian crime expert Austin Fisher and extracts of an archival interview with Di Leo
• Limited edition of 3000 copies