Eurocrime Rarities: Volume 2

Details

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This special limited edition 3-Disc Blu-ray set comes with a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Robert Sammelin), includes a 40-page perfect bound book, and is limited to 4,000 units. It is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.

Welcome Vinegar Syndrome Labs (VSL) to the VS Sub-Label family! As with each of our sub-labels we are hoping to expand and defy expectations with the diversity of films we restore and release. As the name implies, VSL will serve as a kind of testing area for releasing genres and eras of film that one might not immediately expect to come from VS. The ultimate objective of VSL will be to see if these types of films will find an audience, and if so, pursue and release more of them…and even if not, still serve as a means of restoring more of the weird, rare, and unusual movies you might not expect from Vinegar Syndrome.

As the 70s progressed and the poliziottesco field grew more crowded, some directors sought new frontiers and different spaces, growing the genre into unusual locales and sometimes even shooting films abroad. In this second volume, we bring you a trio of Italian crime rarities which made creative use of atypical settings.

BLUE NUDE
Rocco has come to New York City from Italy, confident that as long as he hangs in there, he’ll one day make it in showbiz. In between wandering Times Square dazzled by its glitzy signage, a friend ropes him into acting in a hardcore film where he encounters Lilly, an established female porn actor. Barely scraping by, he finds himself taken advantage of by managers, young women, and crooked cops, all eager for a wide-eyed immigrant to abuse or extort. He hopes for a future with Lilly, but when harsh violence enters into Rocco's life, nothing can stop him from lashing out in this sordid world in which he's ended up. A one-of-a-kind document of late 70s street level Manhattan (and actual period sex film sets) from writer/director Luigi Scattini (Witchcraft 70), it stars Gerardo Amato (Sweets for a Stranger) as Rocco, Susan McBain (Barbara Broadcast), Renato Romano (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), Robert Kerman (Debbie Does Dallas), and director/actor Carter Stevens (The Passions of Carol).

directed by: Luigi Scattini
starring: Gerardo Amato, Susan McBain, Renato Romano, Wade Nichols, Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Robert Kerman, Carter Stevens
1978 / 97 min / 1.85:1 / Italian Mono

Additional info:

• Region Free Blu-ray
• Newly scanned and restored in 2K from its 35mm original negative
• Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani & Troy Howarth
• "Peeping Luigi" (28 min) - an interview with film historian Franco Grattarola
• Newly translated English subtitles 

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NO ALLA VIOLENZA (NO TO VIOLENCE aka DEATH HUNT)
In the picturesque Sicilian port city of Messina, Inspector Ettore Manetti (Al Cliver) is beginning to crumble. Violent crime is rampant, bikers have just beaten and killed a police officer, and now he’s now been handed the job of catching three dangerous prison escapees. As the trio begins a series of kidnappings, they run down a little girl while narrowly evading capture. Tano, the girl’s father, begins his own vigilante crusade as he ferociously strikes down anyone in his path in search of the men responsible. Exceedingly, violence is no longer limited to just the criminals. Ostensibly a passion project from prolific Messina-born actor Tano Cimarosa (Reflections in Black), who's credited with writing, directing, and playing the vigilante role, this regional film liberally showcases both scenic locations and shocking brutality. Also starring Paola Quattrini (The Case of the Bloody Iris), Ninetto Davoli (The Decameron), and Federico Boido (I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death).

directed by: Tano Cimarosa
starring: Al Cliver, Tano Cimarosa, Paola Quattrini, Ninetto Davoli, Zaira Zoccheddu, Federico Boido, Massimo Mollica, Guia Lauri Filzi
1977 / 95 min / 2.35:1 / Italian & English Mono

Additional info:

• Region Free Blu-ray
• Newly scanned and restored in 4K from its 35mm original negative
• Presented in its original Italian soundtrack with newly translated English subtitles and its English dub soundtrack
• Commentary track with film historian & critic Rachael Nisbet
• "Mr. Cimarosa, I Presume?" (12 min) - an archival audio interview with writer/director/actor Tano Cimarosa
• "Respect for Don Tano" (14 min) - an interview with film scholar Giacomo Di Nicolò
• Newly translated English subtitles 

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POLIZIA SELVAGGIA (SAVAGE POLICE) aka CANI (MURDERER)
Ahmet toils away in Istanbul’s lowest rung of petty crime, berated even by other thieves who call him the Leech. Stalking the streets for any potential score, he snatches a man’s briefcase and steals his car, accidentally killing a detective in the process. When a manhunt ensues, Ahmet strains to flee the country, emboldened by the fact that the briefcase was packed with cash. Murat (Turkish star Tarık Akan), partner of the dead detective, sets out on his own path of vengeance while Ahmet’s cruel desperation forces him into taking hostages in order to evade the police. This ambitious Turkish-Italian co-production written and directed by Guido Zurli (Black Deep Throat) heaps on psychotic sleaze and a truly vicious, depraved antagonist in Ahmet. Also starring Karin Well (Burial Ground), Edilio Kim (A White Dress for Marialé), and George Ardisson (The Long Hair of Death).

directed by: Guido Zurli
starring: Tarık Akan, Piero Fabiani, George Ardisson, Karin Well, Edilio Kim, Colette Descombes, Ihsan Gedik, Süheyl Egriboz
1977 / 91 min / 2.35:1 / Italian Mono

Additional info:

• Region Free Blu-ray
• Newly scanned and restored in 2K from its 35mm original negative
• Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani & Troy Howarth
• "Irony Before All" (18 min) - an archival audio interview with director/co-writer Guido Zurli
• "Once a Hero" (19 min) - an archival interview with actor Giorgio Ardisson
• "The Italo-Turkish Disconnection" (24 min) - an interview with film historian Luca Rea
• Alternate Turkish version of POLIZIA SELVAGGIA aka CANI (MURDERER) in standard definition (95 min)
• 40-page perfect bound book (limited edition only) with essays from film historians: Zach Lewis, Ethan Vestby, Edward Averill
• Newly translated English subtitles