Initially entitled Ordini dall’altro mondo, Manhunt is the second chapter of the Milieu Trilogy directed by Fernando di Leo at the beginning of the seventies. The genetic relationship with Giorgio Scerbanenco’s works is, in this case, more evident than in Milan Calibre 9
In fact, from the novel Milan by calibre 9, which gave the title to the previous film, di Leo takes inspiration for the main situation of the plot where a small-time gangster, Luca Canali, ends up through no fault of his own, in the web of a settlement of scores between the main men of the Organization and is forced to fight against two killers from New York who were sent to Italy to eliminate him.
At first, Mario Petri had been considered for the role of the main character (he had worked in the peplum genre and had gone on to become an opera singer), but the final choice was Mario Adorf, who had already been applauded for his interpretation of a big-mouthed and hot-tempered gangster.
Luca Canali’s character presents once more, aspects of the earlier Rocco Musco on a formal level, but Adorf’s ethos in this film becomes more complex and the progression with which di Leo makes the chapter evolve, from a victim bewildered by the events to a ruthless executioner driven by despair.
Manhunt marks the entrance into the di Leo structure of two actors who later often appear in subsequent di Leo films. Henry Silva and Woody Stroode, are perfect as a pair of killers working for the extremely powerful Mr. Corso. This current digital version of the film appears for the first time in the uncut version with around ten minutes of extra footage in comparison to all other previously released home-video versions.
- Import DVD
- PAL All Region
- Anamorphic Widescreen
- English and Italian Audio
- English subtitles on Italian Track
- Documentary Alle origini della Mala (in Italian only)
- Biography and Filmography of Fernando Di Leo
- Photo Gallery
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