Overview: 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!

Blu-ray Verdict: When a powerful gang of extortionists forces the businessmen of an Italian city to pay for their protection, the tough Inspector Nico Palmieri (Fabio Testi) investigates the case; however he is surprised by the racketeers and ends up seriously injured.

When he is discharged from the hospital, he joins the victims of extortion trying to find a witness to testify in court since the mobsters are always released by the Attorney Giovanni Giuni (Antonio Marsina). Only the restaurant owner Luigi Giulti (Renzo Palmer) accepts the burden, but his daughter is brutally raped by the gangsters and commits suicide later.

Nico is pressed by his superiors to drop the case but he invites his friend Pepe (Vincent Gardenia) to help him using illegal methods believing that the end justifies the means. There is a war between the criminals and the police with tragic consequences, and Nico is fired from the police department.

Nico decides to join forces with Pepe, a marksman that saw his wife being raped and burned alive, and the owner of a nightclub that will now have to wear a brace for the rest of his life, and a felon that wants a passport, to set out as one and destroy the gang in a battle that becomes complete bloodshed between vigilantes and criminals!

The Big Racket (aka Il Grande Racket) is a great, non-stop action movie, with a violent story of racketeering and revenge à la Charles Bronson layered throughout and even brings forth a conclusion à la all the best Spaghetti Westerns of the day!

There were a lot of good Dirty Harry-inspired cop films made in Italy during the seventies, and while The Heroin Busters isn’t one of the best of them - it’s still a damn fine example of this sort of film!

By far the best thing about Italian Dirty Harry rip-offs is the entertainment value, and The Heroin Busters delivers that in spades! Granted, it’s a bit slow to start (though never boring), but once the film kicks into action properly, it comes thick and fast and the film includes one of the best action sequences I’ve seen in a film like this!

One in particular would be where Fabio Testi is being chased through a construction site, but I will let you discover that gem (and a whole host of others) for yourselves.

As the title suggests, this is a film that bases its plot around drugs. Apparently, drugs are being trafficked around the world from Rome, and police chief Mike Hamilton decides to do something about it by having Fabio go undercover as a drug dealer.

This requires him to immerse himself in the criminal underworld, with the intention being to get close to the lower level criminals, so that he can eventually catch the big guns at the top.

The film features a great pair of central performances from David Hemmings and Fabio Testi. This is undoubtedly one of the best things about the film, as both of their performances are excellent; and they offset each other brilliantly.

Testi is great in the action hero role, as he fits the bill perfectly and does a great job with the action scenes also. Hemmings is at the other end of the spectrum with his role as the police chief, but he does just great also and it’s great seeing these two together.

The music comes courtesy of Dario Argento’s house band Goblin, and while their work on this film doesn’t rival the stuff they did for Argento, The Heroin Busters certainly isn’t lacking in the music department.

The film is directed by Enzo G. Castellari, who directed a couple of well revered crime flicks before this one, including the excellent, and aforementioned The Big Racket.

In closing, the film features a few big set pieces and the climax, which takes the form of a plane chase, is a more than fitting finale to an audacious crime extravaganza such as this, trust me! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

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 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