Directed by:
Fernando Di LeoCinematography:
Franco VillaComposer:
Armando TrovajoliCast:
Mario Adorf, Henry Silva, Woody Strode, Adolfo Celi, Peter Berling, Luciana Paluzzi, Franco Fabrizi, Francesca Romana Coluzzi, Cyril Cusack, Sylva Koscina (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
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) to apprehend pimp Luca Canali (Mario Adorf), 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. (Radiance Films)
(more)Cast
Mario Adorf
Switzerland
Best movies:
Winnetou (1963)
The Devil Strikes at Night (1957)
Marco Polo (1982) (series)
Henry Silva
USA
Best movies:
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
The Jayhawkers (1959)
Woody Strode
USA
Best movies:
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Spartacus (1960)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Adolfo Celi
Italy
Best movies:
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
Grand Prix (1966)
Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)
Peter Berling
German Empire
Best movies:
Sátántangó (1994)
The Name of the Rose (1986)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Luciana Paluzzi
Italy
Best movies:
The Reluctant Saint (1962)
Thunderball (1965)
Manhunt (1972)
Franco Fabrizi
Italy
Best movies:
Witness in the City (1959)
Nights of Cabiria (1957)
Una questione d'onore (1966)
Francesca Romana Coluzzi
Albania
Best movies:
Manhunt (1972)
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (series)
Themroc (1973)
Cyril Cusack
South Africa
Best movies:
The Day of the Jackal (1973)
My Left Foot (1989)
Harold and Maude (1971)
Sylva Koscina
Yugoslavia
Best movies:
Three Bites of the Apple (1967)
Ninì Tirabusciò: la donna che inventò la mossa (1970)
Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
Jessica Dublin
USA
Best movies:
The Damned (1969)
All the Way Trinity (1972)
Manhunt (1972)
Giuseppe Castellano
Best movies:
Manhunt (1972)
Milano Calibro 9 (1972)
Febbre da cavallo (1976)
Ulli Lommel
German Empire
Best movies:
Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1970)
Satan's Brew (1976)
Chinese Roulette (1976)
Giovanni Cianfriglia
Italy
Best movies:
Watch Out, We're Mad (1974)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Odds and Evens (1978)
Fernando Di Leo
Italy
Best movies:
For a Few Dollars More (1965)
Manhunt (1972)
Milano Calibro 9 (1972)
Enrico Chiappafreddo
Best movies:
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
Life Is Tough, Eh Providence? (1972)
All the Way Trinity (1972)
Lara Wendel
West Germany
Best movies:
The Octopus (1984) (series)
Manhunt (1972)
Intervista (1987)
Sergio Mioni
Italy
Best movies:
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Manhunt (1972)
The Counsellor (1973)
Giuliano Petrelli
Best movies:
Manhunt (1972)
Massacre in Rome (1973)
Femi Benussi
Italy
Best movies:
Manhunt (1972)
Hawks and Sparrows (1966)
Syndicate Sadists (1975)