Il giorno del Cobra (1980)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Enzo G. Castellari

Writers:

Aldo Lado (story)
Fabio Carpi (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 December 1981 (West Germany)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Plot:

An American narcotics agent is murdered in Italy. The head of the department decides to hire Larry Stanziani...

Plot Keywords:

Agent | Italy | Private Detective | Murder | Transsexual

Cast

Franco Nero	...	Larry Stanziani
Sybil Danning	...	Brenda
Mario Maranzana	...	Davide
Licinia Lentini	...	Lola Alberti
Ennio Girolami	...	Martino (as Enio Girolami)
Mickey Knox	...	Raul Papasian
Massimo Vanni	...	Beltrame
Sasha D'Arc	...	Blonde Assassin
Romano Puppo	...	Silvestri
Angelo Ragusa	...	Kandinsky's Hitman
Carlo Gabriel Sparanero	...	Tim
William Berger	...	Jack Goldsmith
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rocco Lerro	...	Smith
Franco Ukmar	...	Hitman

Also Known As:

Day of the Cobra

Runtime:

Norway:91 min | Denmark:95 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Laser

Movie Connections:

References 10 (1979)

Castellari/Nero Team Up Again, For A Decent Latter-Day Poliziottesco

Being a Poliziotteschi-buff and a great fan both of director Enzo G. Castellari and leading man Franco Nero, I still only had mediocre expectations for "Il Giorno Del Cobra" aka. "Cobra Day" of 1980. And while "Cobra Day" is certainly no masterpiece of Italian Crime cinema I have to say that my expectations were slightly surpassed, as this is a very entertaining film. Unfortunately, I have not yet had the pleasure to see the two foregoing Poliziotteschi from the director/leading man team Castellari/Nero, "High Crime" (aka. "La Polizia incrimine la legge assolve") of 1973, and the supposedly excellent "Street Law" ("Il Cittadino Si Ribella"/"The Citizen Rebels") of 1974, but I sure intend to. When "Cobra Day" was made in 1980, the heyday of the Italian Poliziottesco was already over, and the film does indeed not bring up anything new. Yet Franco Nero makes up for the lack of originality, and everything is delivered with style, even if some of the 'twists' are more than a bit predictable. Nero plays Larry Stanziani, an Italian private eye in San Francisco, who is sent back to his hometown Genoa by his former employer - the head of the narcotics department. Stanziani, who is nicknamed the 'Cobra', is to detect a homosexual drug dealer and murderer named Kandinski. Not only is Kandinski a ruthless criminal, however, he is also responsible for what earned Stanziani a three-year stay in prison, which makes the whole thing personal... As said before, "Cobra Day" delivers little that is new, but the good old formula is delivered stylishly. Nero fits greatly in his role of the slightly scruffy but tough and super-cool private eye. Sexy Sybil Danning makes a great female lead, and the cast furthermore includes the great late William Berger as the head of the narcotics department. The action sequences and photography are well-done and the film has a very cool and catchy theme song that proclaims: "I don't give a damn I am the Cobra". The teaming of Nero and Castellari sure has brought better films than this one (the awesome Spaghetti Western "Keoma" is just one of them), but this is not to say that "Cobra Day" is not an entertaining film itself. In case the expectations are not too high, this is a worthwhile and entertaining film, which I recommend to my fellow fans of Italian Crime flicks.