Luca il contrabbandiere (1980)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Lucio Fulci

Writers:

Gianni De Chiara (screenplay)
Gianni De Chiara (story)

Release Date:

8 August 1980 (Italy)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Cigarette smugglers in Naples run into problems with cocaine operations being set up by a rival smuggler...

Plot Keywords:

Smuggler | Italy | Rape | Blow Torch | Cigarette Smuggler

Cast

Fabio Testi	...	Luca Di Angelo
Ivana Monti	...	Adele Di Angelo
Guido Alberti	...	Don Morrone
Enrico Maisto	...	Micky Di Angelo
Daniele Dublino	...	Assistant Prosecutor
Giordano Falzoni	...	Charlie, the doctor
Giulio Farnese	...	Alfredo
Fabrizio Jovine	...	Chief of Police
Ofelia Meyer	...	Ingrid
Ferdinando Murolo	...	Scherino
Tommaso Palladino	...	Capece
Venantino Venantini	...	Captain Tarantino
Ajita Wilson	...	Luisa, "Little Nepolitan"
Marcel Bozzuffi	...	François Jacois, the Marsigliese
Saverio Marconi	...	Luigi Perlante

Also Known As:

The Smuggler (International: English title) (UK) (video title)
Contraband (USA)
Luca the Smuggler (literal English title)
The Naples Connection (UK) (video title)

Runtime:

97 min | UK:88 min (25 fps) (cut version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:(Banned) | Norway:15 (uncut) (2007) (DVD) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Sweden:15 (2007, DVD version) | Italy:VM14 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:(Banned) | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Finland:K-18 | Australia:R (DVD release) (2005) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Naples, Campania, Italy

Goofs:

Continuity: The police arrested a woman with a blue pullover - when they later catch all the men and the wives are crying this woman is not arrested.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Alenbi Romance (2005)

A vendetta of blood and guts.

Here's another one outside the horror genre for director Lucio Fulci. He crafts a brutally biting, if disjointed Italian crime melodrama that serves to make you squirm in it gratuitous acts of extremely depraved violence and sleaziness. Fulci definitely left his calling card on this one, with many unforgettably unflinching nasty moments (like an uncomfortable face-melting scene). The superfluous gore and mean-spirited nature is great, but a lack of any real tension-building does hurt it. The twisty story is frank and unspectacular even with its shifty chain of bleak events and the script is weakly penned (the unsuitable humour when included falling flat), but being broken up by its impulsively vivid action stunts (nice use of slow-motion too) and gorgeous Naples' backdrop, leaves quite a hypnotic imprint. Sergio Salvati's brashly sharp and tight camera-work, interlocks with Fulci's kinetic visual bursts and rounding it off nicely is composer Fabio Frizzi's ever-changing, saucy music score that doesn't lye down. Performances are workably tailored. There's a humanely chiselled and honest performance by Fabio Testi. Marcel Bozuffi makes for a great smarmy, calculating French Mafia Don trying to take over Testi's character's turf. Ivana Monti, Ferdinand Murolo, Saverio Marconi and Guido Alberti provide able support. Quite an edgy, blunt and vicious crime joint that basically gets it kicks off its effectively rousing, if scandalous violence than anything more.