In the coming weeks, I will post news about no less than three upcoming book projects. Let’s start with one some of you may already know about. In 2013 McFarland published my first book in English, ITALIAN CRIME FILMOGRAPHY, 1968-1980. Although I was pleased with the book, I always felt it was not 100% what I had in mind: there were titles I should have included but ultimately left out, while some overly sloppy passages and elements could be safely trimmed. Furthermore, I didn’t have full access to archive information that I would later have. And, on top of that, I was not satisfied with the term “filmography,” which seemed to be more fit for a list of titles and credits rather than for an attempt to discuss the filmic, cultural, and sociological phenomenon of the Italian crime cinema in its most exciting period.
This second edition, hopefully, will correct those faults. I thoroughly revised the text, correcting the odd typo or inaccuracy, adding additional relevant information from new and thorough archive research, avoiding spoilers whenever possible, and sometimes recalibrating my view of the films. I also double-checked release dates, adding or correcting U.S. or British ones in the process and verifying them directly via ministerial and newspaper databases. Then, I added 18 new entries, including previously unavailable titles (sorry, I won’t tell which ones), and devised a wholly new appendix devoted to minoritarian Italian productions with other countries, such as Spain, Germany, and Turkey. Finally, I asked McFarland to change “filmography” into “films,” which they graciously accepted. So, behind that new cover, with Maurizio Merli in all his glorious action, there’s an almost entirely new book, which, I hope, will be an interesting read also for those who already own the previous edition.
Oh, and there are some Easter eggs, too: what about a never-before-unearthed Mario Bava project (not a crime film, but deserving mention)?
Approximate release date: Summer 2025, possibly September. It's already available for preorder on McFarland website and Amazon...
Last edited by dallywhitty; 05-19-2025 at 10:46 PM.
Just got an email from Cineploit. They're shipping One Man Against the Organisation. Yesterday, Shoot First, Die Later arrived as well as the new Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man from Raro / KL. I also splurged on the Lenzi / Milian set. It was nice to retire my old second hand Shameless BDs that I got from CEX. The Severin set is a step up transfer wise snd you get the full Syndicate Sadis cut rather than just the shorter English language one. Also there's a couple of soundtracks in there too. That's how I'm justifying the purchase. Haha
I've been building up a decent little collection of Poliziotteschi. Love this genre.
I definitely plan on pre-ordering that book in September.
Also want to nab Damiano Damiani's Cosa Nostra set and Pasquale Squitieri's Iron Prefect release, both from Radiance.
I really hope more films get released soon since it seems like they're waiting for a first time release or a Region A release. Stuff like Damiano Damiani's Confession of a Police Captain and I Am Afraid, Marino Girolami's Betti Trilogy (Violent Rome, Violent Naples and Special Cop in Action), Sergio Sollima's Revolver and Sergio Grieco's Mad Dog Killer.
Oh man, I am glad I didn't pre-order that new release of Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man.... that's a total disaster!!!!
The new 4k scan from Raro? What's wrong with it, any screenshots anywhere?
EDIT: found the site review, very strange that they botched this one given their general improvement with recent releases. Maybe an eventual Raro UK version will fix the color grading issues?
Last edited by LeDroitDeTuer; 06-01-2025 at 08:27 PM.
I thought I already posted it in this thread, but if you're looking to upgrade or get Contraband, go with the Shameless version. It has a properly graded version with the correct night-for-day filters for the intro, and it looks substantially better overall with no magenta push.
I was pretty happy with the previous release and really didn't think it needed an upgrade.
The previous release was way better than this new 4K scan for sure Duke but Filmart's German release always was and is still the best release of this film due to their reduction in scanner noise but at least the 2020 RARO release has a similar color palette and is a solid release. Not sure why RARO even bothered with this new scan.
Last edited by RiFiFi1955; 06-01-2025 at 09:44 PM.
The new 4k scan from Raro? What's wrong with it, any screenshots anywhere?
EDIT: found the site review, very strange that they botched this one given their general improvement with recent releases. Maybe an eventual Raro UK version will fix the color grading issues?
Such a baffling and disappointing release. It seems like they used a faded 35mm print as a reference for the color grade!
I also hope that we get a Raro UK/Radiance upgrade since the scan itself does seem like an improvement with no more scanner noise.
Yeah I'm kind of bummed out about it. I could have bought the French or German release at a cheaper price but I decided to wait it out for this new restoration. Oh well.