Italian Connection, The (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Jan 14, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Fernando Di LeoRelease Date(s)
1972 (November 5, 2024)Studio(s)
Cineproduzioni Daunia 70-Hermes Synchron/Alpherat (Raro Video/Kino Lorber)- Film/Program Grade: B+
- Video Grade: A-
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B+
Review
Broad stereotypes bordering on cartoonish notwithstanding, Fernando Di Leo’s The Italian Connection (La mala ordina, “Mob Orders”) is an entertaining crime thriller, the second-third of Di Leo’s “Millieu” trilogy, preceded by Caliber 9 (also 1972) and followed by The Boss (1973).
New York City-based mafioso Corso (Cyril Cusack) orders elite hitmen Dave Catania (Henry Silva) and Frank Webster (Woody Strode) to fly to Milan, find and kill Luca Canali (Mario Adorf), a low-level pimp believed to have stolen a mob heroin shipment. The two hitmen are met there by Eva Lalli (Luciana Paluzzi) who uneasily aids them, with psychotic, unpredictable Dave being especially hard to handle.
Meanwhile, local Don Vito Tressoldi (Adolfo Celi) is upset by the arrival of the two Americans on his turf, offering to pick up Canali on their behalf, though Dave would rather take care of the job himself. When Canali proves elusive, more than able to dispense Tressoldi’s goons, the Don tries forcing him out of hiding by bumping off Canali’s estranged wife (Sylva Koscina) and beloved daughter (Lara Wendel, daughter of football player Walt “Piggy” Barnes), which only prompts a violent rampage of revenge by the desperate pimp against the two hitmen and Tressoldi’s mafia army.
The Italian Connection isn’t much more than pure escapism, but succeeds well enough on that level. When Dave and Frank are brought before Tressoldi, they pass a room full of goons so exaggerated they’re like something out of Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy comic strip; the doorman, played by an actor with acromegaly, is like a mafioso Rondo Hatton. The film is violent yet surprisingly bloodless, especially compared to Coppola’s The Godfather, released almost simultaneously. There’s more nudity than blood here. Even Paluzzi wears a see-through blouse.
Adorf (b. 1930), born to German and Italian parents, has been active in films since the mid-1950s and, like contemporary Clint Eastwood, has worked almost constantly, a highly-respected character actor in primarily Italian and German films, but also the occasional English-language production, even turning down roles in The Wild Bunch and The Godfather. Coarse and stocky, his primarily appeal seems to be playing working-class stiffs, in this case, a crude pimp yet doting father (how he landed the beautiful Koscina for a wife is anyone’s guess), and Adorf is certainly a fine actor more than capable here.
More entertaining, though, is Henry Silva. The late, eccentric actor had one trick up his sleeve—a glowering yet almost placid menace—and spent a career in great (The Manchurian Candidate) and terrible (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) films, playing variations of the same part again and again. In The Italian Connection, however, Silva is unusually expressive, flirting with hookers and as much out to have a good time as murder Canali. He and Woody Strode, his character more business-like, stoic yet rational, make a good team, Strode still impressively athletic though already in his late 50s.
The rest of the international cast of this Italian-West German co-production is also fun. Adolfo Celi, his trademark close-cropped white hair dyed a wispy brown, here amusingly resembles AIP founder Samuel Z. Arkoff. Luciana Paluzzi is intriguing to watch as a kind of mafia maître d’, all smiles even when Dave crudely suggests sex in his hotel suite. Irish actor Cusack looks anything but Italian, but is such a fine actor he’s almost believable.
Raro Video’s Region-Free Blu-ray sources good film elements for this 1920x1080p presentation, in 1.85:1 widescreen and reportedly remastered in 4K in Italy. The film defaults to an Italian track, in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono, but an English track is also offered. I watched the film with the latter audio, since the real voices of Silva, Strode, and possibly Adorf are heard on that soundtrack, though Celi and Paluzzi are obviously dubbed. The English subtitles accompanying the Italian track are optional.
Supplements consist of a new audio commentary by film historian Samm Deighan, along with a 21-minute archival documentary, Roots of the Mafia, and a trailer.
Lightweight but populated with interesting characters and directed with gusto and decent pacing by Di Leo, The Italian Connection is recommended.
- Stuart Galbraith IV