Adolfo Lastretti Movies

This late-period entry into the cycle of Italian crime films is a prototypical example of the form. Italian action star Luc Merenda stars as Dario Mauri, a Milanese cop who is transferred to Naples. He immediately sets his sights on bringing down crime boss Laurenzi (Claudio Gora), with begrudging assistance from his wisecracking new partner, Capece (Enzo Cannavale). Laurenzi also has other problems to deal with: one of his drug shipments has been stolen and attempts to get it back reveal traitors in his midst. A Man Called Magnum is unique in the Italian crime subgenre for two reasons. The first is that it was directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini, who dabbled in action but was better known for directing sex comedies. The other reason is that mixes in a surprising amount of comedy, usually involving the character of Capece, for this usually grim subgenre. This unusual blend of action and humor was given a domestic release on DVD by NoShame Films in 2005. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide

Directed by Umberto Lenzi, Spasmo centers on a discovery made by Christian (Robert Hoffman) and his girlfriend on what was meant to be a romantic stroll. At first, the couple happens on what appears to be a corpse, but upon further inspection, they see that the woman is still alive. As luck would have it, Christian meets the strange woman (Suzy Kendall) on a yacht party several days later, and quickly finds himself tangled in an affair. During a hotel room tryst, another man breaks in and savagely beats Christian. Quite accidentally, Christian ends up shooting the intruder with his own gun. In what is perhaps the most bizarre twist of events thus far, the body disappears, leaving Christian in the middle of yet another mystery. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

In the third and last in the original Shaft (1971) series of action-packed "blaxploitation" pictures, private eye John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) travels to the "motherland," where he breaks up a modern slavery ring. Shaft is hired by a diplomat, Emir Ramila (Cy Grant), to infiltrate the criminal empire of the evil Vincent Amafi (Frank Finlay), who is kidnapping poor Africans and shipping them to Europe as slave laborers. Amafi murdered Ramila's son when he attempted to expose the illegal operation, and Ramila, now aware that his investigation of Amafi has been compromised, needs an unfamiliar to face to help bring the ring leader down. After undergoing some training at the hands of a comely tutor so that he'll be able to pass muster as an African, Shaft travels to Ethiopia and allows himself to be shanghaied by Amafi's men. However, the high-ranking Wassa (Debebe Eshetu) is the traitor in Ramila's ranks, and he has betrayed Shaft. As the tough private eye attempts to free the slaves being held captive in a former Nazi prison below a French chateau and bed any beautiful women who crosses his path, he must also dodge a series of assassination attempts by Ramila's men. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

A mild-mannered police commissioner (Martin Balsam) is frustrated at every attempt to capture a political crimelord with legal means, so he is forced to turn to vigilante justice to get his man. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide