Der Mafiaboss – Der Eisenfresser (1972)

Der Mafiaboss – Der Eisenfresser: Directed by Fernando Di Leo. With Mario Adorf, Henry Silva, Woody Strode, Adolfo Celi. A Milanese pimp is pursued by – and then pursues – a pair of New York hitmen and the gangsters who framed him for stealing a shipment of heroin.

“Two vicious hit men (Henry Silva and Woody Strode) are sent by the New York mob to Milan, Italy to u0026quot;make an exampleu0026quot; of a small-time pimp (Mario Adolph) who is believed to be responsible for a missing shipment of heroin. The two hit-man have the support of the local Milan mafia don (Adolf Celli), who may know more than heu0026#39;s telling about the missing heroin, but their target turns out to be much more wily and dangerous than they could have possibly anticipated.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlthough this Ferdinand de Leo crime thriller is regarded as a minor masterpiece of the genre, it has only been released in America so far on a crappy VHS tape which really hampers the enjoyment. Itu0026#39;s full-frame, horribly cropped with the kind of muddy, off-color transfer that gives third generation bootlegs a not-so-bad name. The dubbing could charitably be described as indifferent–itu0026#39;s like they pulled random English speakers off the street and had them read from cue cards. The women in these movies are typically just sex objects, but still you would think that an actress of Femi Benussiu0026#39;s stature in Italian exploitation films (maybe a rung below Edwige Fenech and Barbara Bouchet) would at least get CREDIT for the important role of the protagonistu0026#39;s ill-fated, former prostitute girlfriend. (And her patented long, butt-naked nude scene would probably be a little more enjoyable if the ample skin she shows wasnu0026#39;t bluish-gray due to the lousy transfer). Perhaps most ridiculous though, the whole thing is presented as a u0026quot;blaxploitationu0026quot; film due to the presence of African-American actor Woody Strode (whou0026#39;s obviously dubbed by a white guy) even though the real protagonist here is a white Italian.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe action scenes are very effective though despite the transfer. Itu0026#39;s also a pretty good basic story. I like these movies where thereu0026#39;s a criminal anti-hero taking on the mob rather than the usual vigilante cop. The Italian crime thrillers certainly have their share of vigilante cops (the genre was largely inspired by u0026quot;Dirty Harryu0026quot; and u0026quot;The French Connectionu0026quot;), but even these films at least acknowledge that that thereu0026#39;s moral ambiguity in the world and that violence isnu0026#39;t always a clean solution for every problem. Overall, I would recommend this, but if youu0026#39;re going to get it at all, it probably would be worth seeking out a widescreen Italian version with English subtitles. Avoid the laughable u0026quot;Black Kingpinu0026quot; version.”