Digi-Schlock: THE TOUGH ONES (Grindhouse Releasing 2 Blu-Ray/1 CD Set)
If there's a label in the cult movie video world thatrepresents the concept of quality over quantity, it's definitely GrindhouseReleasing. Their catalog is a fraction of the size of its competitors but youcould argue that they are playing the long game, putting their time and effortinto creating definitive presentations for their titles. Plenty of labels create special editions fortheir releases but a Grindhouse Releasing special edition is like a world untoitself, enhancing a strong A/V presentation with hours of special features thatallow you to delve deep into scholarship on multiple fronts for the mainattraction.
The Tough Ones, the company's first release since their impressive blu-ray redux of I Drink Your Blood, maintains this approach in high style. The transfer offers a gorgeous 4K restoration of the film in its original, uncut version: it retains the appropriate celluloid grit of a run-and-gun production but delivers unimagined levels of color, depth and detail that show how skillfully shot the film is. Both Italian and English tracks are included, with subtitles translating the former track. Each option offers an impressive presentation of a vintage track, minimizing distortion and other age-related quirks.
Even better, this release offers a bonanza of extrasspread across the main feature disc and second bonus features-only disc, addingup to several hours of viewing and listening for the film's fans. Here's adisc-by-disc breakdown of what you can expect:
DISC 1:
Commentary Track: this newly-recorded track was prepared by Mike Malloy, the self-proclaimed "tough guy movie expert" behind the well-liked Eurocrime! documentary. Schlockmania might be a little biased because Malloy is a friend and collaborator but he does a fine job showing off his poliziotteschi expertise here. He delivers an informative, often incisive string of comments from start to finish as he discusses how Italy would bend a popular American film trend to its own needs/interests, his personal history with the genre, plenty of info on the actors and their histories and the tweaks made to the film's U.S. version. He also gets into some interesting analytical territory, like when he discusses the film's use of a "McGuffin" in the plot and how the early scenes are designed to elicit conflicting feelings from the viewer about the film's protagonist and villain.
All Eyes On Lenzi (1:24:04): this is a feature-length documentary from Calum Waddell, original produced for the 88 Films release of Eyeball. It's an affectionate tribute to Umberto Lenzi in which Waddell and several critics/fans make a case for this workhorse director. Participants here include Rachael Nesbit, John Martin and Mikel J. Koven and there a plentiful clips from Lenzi's films. Some titles get extended discussions, most notably Cannibal Ferox and Nightmare City. For Schlockmania, highlights here include a section on the head-butting relationship between Lenzi and Giovanni Lombardo Radice (the latter's comments are memorably tart) and a spirited defense of Nightmare City by American director and genre fanatic Scooter McCrae.
Music For Mayhem (33:12): this is an informal chat between Lenzi and composer Franco Micalizzi from 2010. There's a genuine warmth between the two, with Micalizzi charmingly catering to Lenzi with a display of gratitude that fires up the director to unfurl anecdotes about their work. There are fun tales about how Tomas Milian ended up being called "Rambo" in Syndicate Sadists and a great tale about how a real funeral procession was incorporated into a chase scene in one of Lenzi's action films. A running theme is the improvisational nature of their work together, with both revealing snap decisions that made a difference in the finished work.
Citta Frontale (22:01): what at first seems like itmight be just a video essay on the locations of The Tough Ones quickly becomes much more. In addition to video footage of the locationstoday, you get a running dialogue in narration form about how thepoliziotteschi genre creates a dialogue with its locations as well as the realcrime and political troubles that dogged Italy during the '70s. In doing so,the featurette's producers forge a link between it and neorealism as important,documentary-minded traditions of Italy's post-WWII legacy (believe it or not,this works in its own quirky, intellectual "film studies" way.).
Grindhouse Releasing Previews: this is a staple of allthe company's releases, offering 16 previews for past and future home videorelease. They're all fun to watch but be sure to take note of the trailers forto-be-released titles: there are kinetic, gritty spots for The Captive Female and DeathGame that boast spiffy transfers and a spot for The Ice House that appears to be a newly-assembled promo.
Additional Extras: there's a video trailer from a U.S.VHS release that offers a quick hard-sell, a vintage international trailer thatplays like a highlights reel set to Micalizzi's funky/jazzy score and a funintro to the film that Sybil Danning recorded for her Adventure Videos releaseof The Tough Ones. The latter is amacho-camp delight, with Danning snarling her way through purple-prosenarration to set up the film.
DISC 2:
Umberto (55:31): an engaging chat with Lenzi in hisoffice. He tells the story of how he became a film director with great detailand pointed humor. His comments take usfrom his beginnings running a high school film club through all the phases ofhis career. Highlights include a section on his love for making war films, hiscomplex working relationship with Milian, techniques used in staging car chasesand a frank assessment of Merli's skills as an actor. He's not afraid to be brutallyhonest about his choices - he admits he made his cannibal films to pay off atax bill - and shows he as is insightful as he is witty when he breaks down whythe Italian genre film mill faded away. Lenzi passed away in 2017 so fans willbe happy to have this autobiographical piece.
Brutal City (14:12): this is a sitdown with MariaRosaria Riuzzi, who discusses her role in this film as a rape victim (and itsphysical challenges) in the context of her overall career. She offers a funnymemory of how Merli's perfectionism extended to the appearance of his hair oncamera and discusses her fondness for Milian. In an interesting touch, shewatches her big scene from the film and offers comments as she looks on.
The Rebel Within (1:28:50): this is an epic, career-spanninginterview with Milian, conducted by Eric Zaldivar and produced by Malloy. Theactor reflects on his turbulent but colorful life as an actor, telling hisstory in an sharp and often poetic voice. As he lays out his tale, he discusseshis tormented relationship with his parents, the complex path he took to theActors Studio, the different phases in his career (intellectual films,spaghetti westerns, poliziotteschi) and what prompted the shifts from one phaseto the next. Noteworthy moments include a tale about his battle of wills withOrson Welles on the set of Tepepaand great insights into his famous "Il Gobbo" and"Monnezza" characterizations. He displays a rich mixture of humanityand wit throughout the piece and it's well worth the time investment for anyonecurious about his career.
The Rebel And The Bourgeois (19:05): in this piece,actress and costume designer Sandra Cardini offers her memories of thefilm. She reveals how the title of thispiece applies to Lenzi and Milian respectively as she discusses the chanceencounter that got her involved in the film, She offers a very detailedportrait of Milian's habits and personal behavior along with quick portraits ofother actors. At the end, she discusses her costuming work a bit, with a nicetribute to the modern hit Gomorrah.
The Merli Connection (44:39): What begins as a piece onMaurizio Merli quickly becomes a broad discussion of the poliziotteschi and itsplace in Italian cinema. Both topics are covered well by a mixture of Italiancritics and film professionals, most notably the directors Enzo G. Castellariand Ruggero Deodato plus Merli's son, Maurizio Merli Jr. The participants reveal how Merli was set upto be a clone of Franco Nero but ultimately became the genre's figureheadthrough a mixture of charisma and hard work. Castellari has fascinatingcomments here, as it was his Nero vehicle that was cashed in on to introduceMerli as an action star, and there's an interesting section where he revealswhy he and Merli never made a film together despite being friends. You also getsome interesting thoughts on the personal nature of the genre for Italians.
Vodka Cigarettes And Burroughs (39:31): Dardano Sacchettihas become one of the best interview subjects on Italian film discs in recentyears and he doesn't disappoint here. He credits Lenzi with making him into aprofessional screenwriter, praising his skills as a director who could writeand someone who brought him into the family style of filmmaking. He's critical enough to reveal the quirksthat he feels held Lenzi back from becoming critically acclaimed but he showsgreat fondness as he discusses their working relationship. He also reveals some interesting details on The Tough Ones, like how it was writtenin a weekend(!) and the influence of Warhol and William Burroughs on his work.
Back Story (5:54): a quick bonus chat with Milian from2011. It's brief but offers a nice focus on his work in The Tough Ones. He discusses how he devised his characterizationand the character's twisted physicality. He also fondly reveals how Lenzi's enthusiasm influenced his wild,experimental approach.
The Godather Of Rhythm (36:14): an engaging gab sessionwith composer Franco Micalizzi, who lays out his biography as a musician andhow Lenzi factored into his success as a soundtrack composer. He covers all hispoliziotteschi collaborations with the director, breaking down the combinationsof instruments and styles he created for TheTough Ones soundtrack and his theory of film composing. He also reveals howhe successfully revived his scores as a concert attraction in Italy. The result is entertaining and fans willappreciate the deference he shows to Lenzi in his comments.
Beauty And The Beasts (29:31): actress Maria RosariaOmaggio, who made her debut as a teen in TheTough Ones, discusses the film and how it set up her subsequent career inthe business. She freely admits beingmiscast but fondly discusses how Lenzi was a gruff but affectionate mentor whotaught her the basics of film acting technique. She gets into the rigors of participating in action scenes, the vastpersonality differences between Merli and Milian and even shares some memoriesof her later work with Lenzi on NightmareCity. She reveals herself to beartistically savvy, including some interesting commentary on Lenzi's choices inshooting and editing the film.
Corrado Armed To The Teeth (45:17): an expansiveinterview with actor Corrado Solari, who kick-started his career on this filmafter a chance meeting with Lenzi and became a fixture of the director's actionfilms for a while. He's very complimentary of Lenzi's skill for preciselystaging scenes with speed and goes into great detail about his professionalrelationship with Milian, who was challenging but rewarding to work with. He also reveals how personal circumstances inhis life forced him to stop working with Lenzi, much to both men's dismay, andthere's a touching, funny anecdote about a late-in-life reunion withMilian. This is a pleasure to watchbecause Solari is charmingly humble and witty in his storytelling.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL:
Soundtrack CD: You get a cardboard sleeve CD edition ofthe Micalizzi score for the film, with 17 cues representing the fullsoundtrack. Everything is handsomely remastered and anyone into the funk-jazzstyle of composition that dominated '70s cop fare will be in heaven with this.
Liner Notes: a 12-page, full-color booklet with linernotes is included in the case. It boastsan excellent essay by Roberto Curti, a respectedItalian film critic and expert on his country's genre fare. He shows off hisskills to great effect here, placing TheTough Ones in the context of the country's cinema and drawing direct connectionsbetween the film and the influence of real events in the Italian news. It's aquick read but impressively dense with information.
In short, the Grindhouse Releasing set for The Tough Ones is like a labyrinth thatthe genre cinema enthusiast can get lost in (hint: be sure to look forplentiful easter eggs tucked away in the menus for both blu-rays). It doublesas a great tribute to Lenzi and his gifted cast, making it a must for anyoneinterested in the Neapolitan side of cult cinema.
To read Schlockmania's film review of The Tough Ones, click here.