MCBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM: February 2023

VIOLENT STREETS: THE UMBERTO LENZI / TOMAS MILIAN COLLECTION (1974-1978)

Synopsis: Italian director Umberto Lenzi had recently completed a landmark string of kinky gialli with Hollywood outcast Carroll Baker. Cuban-born/Actor’s Studio-trained Tomas Milian had become one of Spaghetti Westerns’ most popular stars. But when these two notoriously mercurial talents came together for a series of shocking Poliziotteschi – reactionary crime films that reflected the political and sociocultural violence of 1970s Italy – they grabbed audiences by the throat, gunned down the conventions of the genre and changed the emotional velocity of action cinema forever. This collection presents Lenzi & Milian’s five greatest collaborations, now restored uncut and uncensored from the original negatives for the first time ever.

ALMOST HUMAN (1974)

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: A

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 99 Minutes 20 Seconds

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono, Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Director: Umberto Lenzi

Cast: Tomas Milan, Anita Strindberg, Ray Lovelock, Henry Silva, Laura Belli, Gino Santercole

In Lenzi's first team-up with Milan, Almost Human (1974), Tomas Milan (The Big Gundown) plays getaway driver Giulio Sacchi, who after botching a bank robbery by needlessly shooting a cop gets a beatdown from his criminal cohorts, and is kicked out of the crime gang. After nursing his injuries with the help of his girlfriend Iona (Anita Strindberg, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) the degenerate thug then teams-up with a new pair of crooks, Vittorio (Gino Santercole) and Carmine (Ray Lovelock, Queens of Evil), with Giulio taking lead in the new enterprise. They hatch a plan to kidnap and hold ransom the attractive Mary Lou (Laura Belli), the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. They snatch her while she's making out in the woods with her boyfriend and hole her away on a barge, while Inspector Walter Grandi (Henry Silva, Escape from the Bronx) is on the case. Almost Human is a demented and sadistic Italian crime thriller featuring Milan as a David Hess-esque do-anything killer whose prone to sexual violence and blowing away pretty much everyone, he leaves a wake of dead bodies that includes young child, an old whore, even sending his own girlfriends off a cliff to her watery death, as well as gunning down quite a few innocents and not-so innocents along the way. He's a despicable, charismatic

creep and Milian's sleazy charm pull you right in the thick of it. Silva is also quite good as the investigating detective, the high-profile causes pressure to mount on him, and with Giulio seemingly always one-step ahead he ends up resorting to some surprising vigilante tactics to see that he's brought down. This was the first collaboration between director Umberto Lenzi and Tomas Milian and it remains a high point, the mean-spirited tale of a small time crook turned depraved psycho-killer is tough stuff and is easily one of my favorite Italian crime films.

Audio/Video: Severin Films bring Almost Human (1974) to Region A locked Blu-ray in 1080p HD widescreen (2.35:1) canned uncut from the original negative with The Executioner title card. It looks appropriately gritty and fine grained, textures are strong throughout and colors look great. There's a tiny bit of fade and staining in a few scenes but overall the source is in fantastic shape. Audio comes by way of English and Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles. I preferred the English track, dialogue sounded good throughout and the score from Ennio Morricone is outstanding.

Extras kick-off with a pair of commentaries, first up is an Audio Commentary With Screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, then an second Audio Commentary With Mondo Digital's Nathaniel Thompson And Troy Howarth, Author Of Make Them Die Slowly: The Kinetic Cinema of Umberto Lenzi. Interviews come next, we get the 29-min Violent Milan – Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi wherein the director talks about the violence of the era in Italy, how it was he came to collaborate with star Milian. Next up is the 30-min Milian Unleashed – Interview With Actor Tomas Milian who is always a terrific interview, the storied actor comes of an quite a character as he discusses creating the character for his various roles in these Italian crime films. The 38-min

- A History Of Violence – Interview With Ernesto Gastaldi features Gastaldi reflecting on the true-crime inspiration for story. The last of interview is the 6-min Italian American Gangster – Interview With Actor Henry Silva. The late star who talks about how working in Italy during this time helped him keep things fresh, touching on his various contributions to the Italian crime films. A 3-min Trailer rounds out the extras on the Blu-ray, though we do get a bonus CD Soundtrack containing the Ennio Morricone score for the film, spanning 12 Tracks and running 47-min in length.

Special Features:

- Audio Commentary With Screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi

- Audio Commentary With Mondo Digital's Nathaniel Thompson And Troy Howarth, Author Of Make Them Die Slowly: The Kinetic Cinema of Umberto Lenzi

- Violent Milan – Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi (29 min)

- Milian Unleashed – Interview With Actor Tomas Milian (30 min)

- A History Of Violence – Interview With Ernesto Gastaldi (38 min)

- Italian American Gangster – Interview With Actor Henry Silva (6 min)

- Trailer (3 min)

- BONUS DISC: Almost Human Score by Ennio Morricone Soundtrack CD (12 Tracks, 47 min)

SYNDICATE SADISTS (1975)

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 93 Minutes 20 Seconds

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono, Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Director: Umberto Lenzi

Cast: Tomas Milan, Joseph Cotten, Mario Piave, Maria Fiore, Luciano Catenacci, Femi Benussi

In his second collaboration with Lenzi star Tomas Milian stars as a cool counter-culture biker wearing a bucket-hat named Rambo who arrives in Milan to reunite with pal Pino (Mario Piave, Brothers Till We Die) who has become a cop. Pino attempts to recruit the loner into the force, but despite being a skilled marksman and a potent fighter the lone wolf isn't the sort to enlist. Nonetheless, Rambo aids Pino in apprehending a few criminals but when Pino starts sleuthing a kidnap case wherein a young boy is being held for ransom he is killed, with the loyal Rambo vowing to avenge his death. Rambo is no stranger to the feuding crime families that run the city, and he uses those connections to turn the waring crime families run by mob bosses Paternò (Joseph Cotton, The Third Man) and Conti (Luciano Catenacci, Short Night of the Glass Dolls) against each other as he attempts to free the kid.

This is another fast-paced gritty crime thriller with a fun turn from Milian as the protaganist, a counter-culture biker vigilante who is effortlessly cool and a total bad-ass when it comes to out-smarting, evading and fighting pretty much everyone. Additionally we get some great vehicle and motorcycle chases, lots of action, bullets are flying everywhere, and it still manages to squeeze in a heartfelt subplot of Rambo looking after his fallen pal's wife and kid without being too saccharine about it, and he has time to make it with his gal Femi Benussi (Strip Nude For Your Killer). This is top-notch stuff that's plenty gritty, chock full of action, and features Milian as an effortlessly cool but flawed vigilante, plus we get a fun late in the game turn from Joseph Cotten with a fun little twist at the end, plus Adolfo Lastretti (Shaft In Africa) as Conti's second-in-command son is a fun sadistic presence.

Audio/Video: Severin's region-free Blu-ray of Syndicate Sadists is framed in 2.35:1 widescreen in 1080p HD uncut from the original negative. Grain and texturing looks great, colors and skin tones look accurate, and the source is in pretty great shape. As with all the films on this set audio comes by way of English or Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles, things sound well-balanced and the action has some nice depth and volume to it. No Morricone score for this one but we do get a tasty accompaniment from Franco Micalizzi.

No commentaries here but we do get some solid interviews. First up is the 8-min First Blood – Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi in which he addresses the cast, what it was like working with Joseph Cotten, the score, and how working with Milian was at times problematic. The 17-min Family Affair – Interview With Actress Ida Galli, who appears in a pretty small role, talks about working with Lenzi and the troublesome Milian. The 27-min Kidnapped – Interview With Actor Alessandro Cocco talks about what it was like acting in the film as a kid, while the 24-min Interview With The Fascist – Interview With Actor Bruno Di Luia who talks about his career, how he came up through the ranks in various capacities, his thoughts on the political themes in the film as well as his own far-right political views. The Blu-ray is buttoned-up with a 3-min Trailer for the film under the alternate title One Just Man. We also get a bonus CD Soundtrack containing the scores for both Syndicate Sadists and Brothers Till We Die by Micalizza Soundtrack, which runs 34 Tracks and about 71 minutes in length.

Special Features:

- First Blood – Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi (8 min)

- Family Affair – Interview With Actress Ida Galli (17 min)

- Kidnapped – Interview With Actor Alessandro Cocco (27 min)

- Interview With The Fascist – Interview With Actor Bruno Di Luia (24 min)

- Trailer (4 min)

- BONUS DISC: Till We Die / Syndicate Sadists Score by Franco Micalizza Soundtrack CD (34 Tracks, 71 min)

FREE HAND FOR A TOUGH COP (1976)

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: A

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 91 Minutes 49 Seconds

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono, Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Director: Umberto Lenzi

Cast: Tomas Milan, Claudio Cassinelli, Henry Silva, Robert Hundar, Nicoletta Machiavelli,

Free Hand for a Tough Cop (1975) is the fourth collaboration between director Lenzi and star Milian – which introduced the recurring bearded, afro'd and eyelinered character of ‘Monnezza’. In it Milan's Monezza, or "Garbage Can" in the English dubbed version I watched, is an imprisoned convict watching a spaghetti western in the prison community room. He leaves for a piss break he finds himself unexpectedly sprung from the joint after being knocked-out and snuck off site by cop Antonio Sarti (Claudio Cassinelli, What Have They Done To Your Daughters?). It seems that Monnezza’s former crime partner Brescianelli (Henry Silva, Probability Zero) has kidnapped a critically ill child, and at his wits end the good cop has resorted to breaking the crook out of prison in hopes that he can help find the crime boss before the kid dies. Adding to the insanity is that Brescianelli has had plastic surgery so that he is unrecognizable. Milan and Cassinelli form an uneasy alliance, neither fully trusting the other which not only adds tension but quite a bit of humor tp the mix, especially from the comic looking and exaggerated persona of the Monnezza character, Milian is clearly having a ball with this one, making this yet another superior Lenzi/Milian poliziotteschi entry.

Audio/Video: Free Hand for a Tough Cop is presented on Region A locked Blu-ray from Severin Film in 1080p HD framed in 2.35:1 widescreen, scanned in 2K from the original negative. A solid presentation that is a tad soft in spots but the source is in great shape. Audio comes by way of English or Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles.

Extras start off with another Lenzi interview, the very brief 4-min In The Asphalt Jungle – Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi in which he discusses the producer, working with Milian again and critical reception of his films. Up next is the 39-min Tough Guy Corrado – A Look At The Career Of Corrado Solari in which the actor covers his entire career, including this production. The Father Of Monnezza – Interview With Screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti runs 34-minutes with the screenwriter discussing the creation of the Monezza character, what Milian brought to the character, and the uncredited influence of the film on 48 Hours - what, an American film stealing from an Italian movie!?!

The 16-min Hand-Held Camera For A Tough Cinematographer -Interview With Cinematographer Nino Celeste gets into Celeste's recollection of working with Milian on a number of films and what it's like working with Lenzi, botht he good and the bad. The 12-min Making Movies – Interview With Producer Ugo Tucci digs into the producer cashing in on the crime film craze of the era, the star power of Silva, and his collaborations with Lenzi. The disc is tidied up with a 3-min Extended Bank Robbery Scene Sourced From The Original Negative and a 3-min Trailer for the film.

Special Features:

- In The Asphalt Jungle – Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi (4 min)

- Tough Guy Corrado – A Look At The Career Of Corrado Solari (39 min)

- The Father Of Monnezza – Interview With Screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti (34 min)

- Hand-Held Camera For A Tough Cinematographer -Interview With Cinematographer Nino Celeste (16 min)

- Making Movies – Interview With Producer Ugo Tucci (12 min)

- Extended Bank Robbery Scene Sourced From The Original Negative (3 min)

- Trailer (3 min)

THE CYNIC, THE RAT AND THE FIST (1977)

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 99 Minutes 12 Seconds

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono, Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Director: Umberto Lenzi

Cast: Tomas Milan, Maurizio Merli, Renzo Palmer, Gabriella Lepori, John Saxon

One of my favorites from the set features Maurizio Merli reprising his role as the rogue cop Leo Tanzi from Lenzi's The Tough Ones. He's fed up with the the brass riding his ass over his strong-handed tactics and has turned in his badge. However, Luigi 'Chinaman' Maietto (Tomas Milian), a crook he put behind bars, has recently escapes prison and marks the former cop for death with a unique calling card. A hit is made and Tanzi survives it, but the cops allow the public to believe that he's been killed. They attempt to get him out of the city till things cool down but badass Tanzi uses the element of surprise to his advantage and begins taking out criminals around town in his effort to get to The Chinaman and the rising crime boss DiMaggio (John Saxon, Cannibal Apocalypse). A terrifically entertaining entry in the sub-genre featuring a trio of Eurocult stars at the top of their game, it's also quite brutal with Tanzi tearing through the criminal underworld with no shortage of impactful violence, We get acid thrown in the face, a dog attack, golf ball torture, porno girls hooked on heroin, and Tanzo just beating the snot out of every scumbag he comes across. Nero, Milian and Saxon under the direction of Lenzi, nothing more needs be said, this is terrific stuff. I did get a chuckle from certain heist elements of the film with Tanzi and a cohort breaking into a secure building and having to evade a laser motion detector, they wear colored lenses to see the invisible beams, but you can tell that it's just a red tinted scene with not a web of lasers but thin wooded rods mounted at angles in a hallway - it's a cheap and not that great looking effect but I sort of love that DIY aesthetic, they really go for it.

Audio/Video: Presented on region-Free Blu-ray in 1080p HD framed in 2.35:1 widescreen the film looks terrific, scanned in 2K uncut from the original negative it's well-textured and the colors looks accurate and are well-saturated. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono with optional English subtitles, with no issues, and the Micalizzi score sounds quite nice.

Extras start with a trio of Lenzi interviews, we have the 4-min Merli vs. Milian – Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi, then onto the 10-min A Man Of Action – Interview With Umberto Lenzi, the 20-min Me, Milian And Merli – Interview With Umberto Lenzi On His Iconic Characters - these all dig into dealing with his co-stars who didn;t care for each other as well as other actors he's worked with over the years. The 32-min The Writer, The Director And The Actor – Interview With Screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti talks about reprising the Marli character in a different film, and in the 9-min Here Comes The Fist – Interview With Actor John Saxon the actor discusses this period of making films in Italy, the crime that was rampant, and some tales about the stars. We also have a 4-min Trailer, and a bonus CD Soundtrack featuring the fantastic Franco Micalizza score, containing 18 tracks and running about 46-min.

Special Features:

- Merli vs. Milian – Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi (4 min)

- A Man Of Action – Interview With Umberto Lenzi (10 min)

- Me, Milian And Merli – Interview With Umberto Lenzi On His Iconic Characters (20 min)

- The Writer, The Director And The Actor – Interview With Screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti (32 min)

- Here Comes The Fist – Interview With Actor John Saxon (9 min)

- Trailer (4 min)

- BONUS DISC: The Cynics, The Rat and The Fist Score by Franco Micalizza Soundtrack CD (18 Tracks, 46 min)

BROTHERS TILL WE DIE (1978)

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 99 Minutes 34 Seconds

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono, Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Director: Umberto Lenzi

Cast: Tomas Milan, Isa Danieli, Guido Leontini, Solvi Stubing, Pino Colizzi, Isa Danieli, Sal Borgese

In what was their swansong team-up, Umberto Lenzi directs Tomas Milian in a deliciously fun dual-role with Milian not only bringing back the Monnezza character from Free Hand for a Tough Cop, but also his twin brother, the hunchbacked sociopath Vincenzo ‘Humpo’ Marazzi from The Tough Ones. It opens with Humpo being double-crossed by his gang; after they rob an armored truck they shoot him and leave him for dead, but unbeknownst to them he survives after crawling into the sewer. Afterward he shacks up with a hooker with a heart of gold named Maria (Isa Danieli, Cinema Paradiso) and plans his revenge against the double-crossers with the help of his brother and the hooker. It's a well-made flick with Milian in a tasty dual role, we have the bearded, afro'd wig and eyeliner of Monnezza and the French beret and military surplus jacketed Hump, he's chewing up the scenery left and right and totally pulling it off thanks to some convincing editing and body-doubling that sells the scenes with the actor appearing seemingly side by side with himself. The flick is also action packed with pre-requisite car chases and violence and it's well-paced, plus we get another propulsive Micalizzi score. The supporting cast is also great, we have Luciano Catenacci (Almost Human), and Solvi Stubing (Strip Nude for Your Killer) is smaller role luring the double-crosser Albanese (Sal Borgese, Death Rage) to his death. It's a pretty quirky entry with a police line-up of hunchbacks, Monnezza eating cigarettes and hallucinating Jesus, a bizarre psychiatric hospital detour, and Hump performing an unhinged and heavily armed stand-up/political diatribe at a discotheque, plus a great action-packed siege on Humpo's gang's lair during the finale with a bit of an oddball end for the character.

Audio/Video: Brothers Till We Die (1978) looks great on Blu-ray, presented here uncut and scanned in 2K for the OCN in 1080p HD widescreen (2.35:1) the source has few stray blemishes like very fain vertical lines but overall looks quite nice, detail and textures are abundant and the colors look great. Audio comes by way of English or Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono.

Extras on this disc include the 12-min Tomas And Tomas – Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi, in which Lenzi discusses writing the script for this and having a hand in most of the scripts he directed to a degree, how Milan wrote a lot of his own dialogue, and how they achieved the dual-role on screen in the film. He also touches on issues that he had with Miliian during filming that lead to not working with him again. In the 19-min He Called Me 'The Tamer' – Interview With Editor Eugenio Alabiso, the editor discusses how he met and came to work with Lenzi, how he earned the nickname The Tamer, and also getting into editing the film in a way that showed the two Milian character side by side. We also get the 20-min Music And Bullets – Interview With Composer Franco Micalizzi who gets into composing the score, his thoughts on Milian, and the 19-min Heart Of Rome – Interview With Composer Antonello Venditti who talks about his contribution to the soundtracks, plus a 4-min Trailer under The Unforgettable Gang title.

Special Features:

- Tomas And Tomas – Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi (12 min)

- He Called Me 'The Tamer' – Interview With Editor Eugenio Alabiso (19 min)

- Music And Bullets – Interview With Composer Franco Micalizzi (20 min)

- Heart Of Rome – Interview With Composer Antonello Venditti (19 min)

- Trailer (4 min)

The 8-disc (5 Blu-ray + 3 CD) set arrives in a top-loading hardbox similar other Severin box sets like The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee and the Lenzi/Baker set. I love the artwork on the box, it's got some serious shelf appeal and is quite sturdy. It has a semi-flat finish with a set of glossy tire tracks that goes along all four sides of the top half of the box. Inside the films are each presented in their own Viva Elite black keepcases with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated movie poster artwork. The Blu-ray discs feature the same artwork as the wraps and the CD soundtracks feature their own unique artwork. The accompanying CD soundtracks are housed in the black keepcases on their own hub, and with them we get a postcard sized insert that contains artwork and the CD track list with run times for the songs.

This is a kick-ass set of Poliziotteschi flicks, and very much the same way that Severin opened by eyes to the Umberto Lenzi/Carol Baker flicks with their excellent The Complete Lenzi/Baker Giallo Collection, they've done the same for these gritty Italian crime thrillers that teamed-up up Lenzi with Thomas Milian, these are terrific. This is a gorgeous set and the flicks are all well-made and entertaining, seeing the many shades of Milian as he transforms from scumbag killer, a likable crook to counter-culture vigilante is absolutely entertaining, and Lenzi's direction on all five films is action-packed and top-notch - this set comes highly recommended, there's not a bad flick in the bunch.

Screenshots from the Severin Films Blu-ray:

ALMOST HUMAN