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Over a long and wide-ranging career, director Enzo G. Castellari (Keoma, The Inglorious Bastards) helmed some of the most infamous of all the poliziotteschi - the gritty, action-packed crime films that proliferated in Italy throughout the 70s. Buckle up for a heart-stopping thrill ride through the seedy underbelly of Italian society in two of his most celebrated thrillers! In 1976's The Big Racket, Inspector Nico Palmieri (Fabio Testi, What Have You Done to Solange?) is hot on the heels of a gang of ruthless racketeers. Realizing he's not going to get anywhere within the confines of the law, Nico recruits a crack squad of civilians to dole out their own brand of justice. Then, in 1977's The Heroin Busters, rule-flouting cop Fabio (Testi) goes deep undercover, chasing a globe-trotting ring of drug-smugglers suspected to be operating out of Rome. But can he and Mike Hamilton (David Hemmings, Deep Red), an Interpol agent with a hair-trigger temper, stay one step ahead of the criminals long enough to bring them down from the inside? Featuring death-defying stunts, explosive shoot-outs and a pair of addictive, toe-tapping soundtracks courtesy of the De Angelis brothers (Torso) and legendary prog rock group Goblin (Suspiria), these two films represent the crème de la crème of the Italian crime thriller, both making their high definition debuts with stunning new restorations in this feature-packed box set from Arrow!

Media

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Bonus Materials

• 2-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original 35mm camera negatives by Arrow Films
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations
• Original Italian and English front and end titles
• Restored original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
• Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks
• New audio commentaries on both films by critics Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Roberto Curti and Barry Forshaw
• Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch
• Twelve double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards
• DISC 1 – THE BIG RACKET
• The Years of Racketeering, a new video interview with co-writer/director Enzo G. Castellari
• Violent Times, a new video interview with actor Fabio Testi
• Angel Face for a Tough Guy, a new video interview with actor Massimo Vanni
• King of Movieola, a new video interview with editor Gianfranco Amicucci
• The Great Racket, a new appreciation and career retrospective of composers Guido and Maurizio De Angelis by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
• DISC 2 – THE HEROIN BUSTERS
• Endless Pursuit, a new video interview with co-writer/director Enzo G. Castellari
• Drug Squad, a new video interview with actor Fabio Testi
• The Drug Dealer, a new video interview with actor Massimo Vanni
• How They Killed Italian Cinema, a new video interview with editor Gianfranco Amicucci
• A Cop on the Set, a new video interview with retired poliziotto and criminologist Nicola Longo
• The Eardrum Busters, a new appreciation and career retrospective of composers Goblin by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

Press Quotes

If you love these kind of no-nonsense action flicks, 'The Big Racket' is one of the best I've seen

     —City on Fire

Italian crime thrillers have a reputation for being tough, but The Big Racket truly lives up to that description. Enzo Castellari directs the film with his trademark kinetic sense of style

     —All Movie Guide

As intelligent as they are violent, unrepentantly daring in execution, cynically ruthless in their depiction of dirty angels and even dirtier devils, the crime films of Enzo G. Castellari are anything but tame or predictable

     —DVD Drive-In

A superior example of the 70s Italian crime film

     —Rock! Shock! Pop!

As the Giallo was losing steam in Italian cinema, producers and distributors were looking for the next genre to catch heat. After a genre where nobody wanted to call the cops, Poliziotteschi arrived in the mid-70s with waving badges and plenty of bullets. Rogue Cops And Racketeers: Two Crime Thriller From Enzo G. Castellari gives us film that cover the themes of both of the influential movies.

     —Joe Corey, Inside Pulse

rrow Video’s two-disc special edition Blu-ray set arrives sporting new 2K restorations that look as good as anything released today. The all-new slat of extras includes commentary tracks, interviews, video appreciations and limited-edition packaging with lobby card reproductions. Absolutely essential stuff!

     —Movie Line Online

Over a long and wide-ranging career, director Enzo G. Castellari (Keoma, The Inglorious Bastards) helmed some of the most infamous of all the poliziotteschi – the gritty, action-packed crime films that proliferated in Italy throughout the 70s. Buckle up for a heart-stopping thrill ride through the seedy underbelly of Italian society in two of his most celebrated thrillers!

     —Tom Stockman, We Are Movie Geeks

Rogue Cops and Racketeers is another really appealing release from Arrow, and while my hunch is most fans will probably think The Big Racket is the more consistently involving feature in this set, The Heroin Busters has its own seedy energy. As usual with Arrow releases, the supplements are very well done and the packaging and non disc swag like the insert booklet and art cards will offer added interest for some fans. Recommended.

     —Jeffrey Kauffman, Blu-ray.com

These two films are a perfect time capsule of those 70s Italian thrillers. Action and adventure personified. Fabio Testi stars in this double feature. I think what makes this a great little double feature is we get to see him play two different kind of cops. He’s deep cover in The Heroin Busters and gone vigilante in The Big Racket. Very Cool!

     —Jason Lockard, Classic Cinema Magazine

Rogue Cops And Racketeers: Two Crime Thrillers By Enzo G. Castellari is another exemplary release from Arrow Video that comes with solid audio/video presentations and a wealth of insightful extras, highly recommended.

     —Michael Den Boer, 10K Bullets