EZC Presents – Eurocrime
Posted in Movie night, News on April 20th, 2010 by admin – Be the first to commentRome Armed To The Teeth (aka Roma a mano armata) – dir. Umberto Lenzi, 1976
Inspector Leonardo Tanzi is a tough detective working the dangerous streets of Rome. His violent method of dealing with criminals is brutal but very effective. He becomes enraged that most of the criminals he catches are released within only a few hours, only to repeat their crimes shortly afterward. Soon Tanzi is taken off the gang-control squad and placed at a desk job by his boss who is not happy with Tanzi’s violent procedures. Consequently, with Tanzi off the streets the gangsters start a wild crime wave, causing widespread corruption and anarchy in the streets. Banks are robbed, children are kidnapped, people are killed, and it’s all up to Tanzi to set things straight. Super charismatic Tomas Milian is stupendous as the wisecracking hunchback psycho villain who occasionally likes to gratuitously machine gun innocent bystanders.
A true Eurocrime classic, Rome Armed To The Teeth delivers everything you could want from this sort of film- endless car chases, brutal violence and moustaches.
Contraband (aka Luca il Contrabbandiere) – dir. Lucio Fulci, 1980
Luca Di Angelo is an idealistic family man and dockside worker whom works for a shady underworld smuggler in hauling illegal merchandise, imported cigarettes and booze, down the coastal waterways of Naples, Italy. Things in his life become complicated when his brother and a number of fellow smugglers are murdered by a rival smuggler from France, known as the Marsigliese, whom is determined to become drug kingpin of Italy and wipe out all competition. Luca must join forces with rival Naples smugglers, a powerful Italian Mafia, as well as the local police to track down the French sadist when he abducts Luca’s wife.
What marks Contraband out from other films in the genre is its level of violence and gore. Like any good 70s crime flick, there are countless bullet wounds, bloody beatings and funky fistfights but Fulci ratchets the action up to an almost absurd level. Bullets rip out throats, shower the street with guts, punch big holes in peoples’ faces, and send brains rocketing out the back of skulls. It takes its time to get going, but once it does, there’s no let up, right up until the final, blood soaked shoot out.
Wednesday 28th April, Banshee Labyrinth, 29-35 Niddrie St, Edinburgh. Doors 7pm, first film starts 7.30pm. NOTE NEW VENUE!
