Luca il contrabbandiere (1980)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Lucio Fulci

Writers:

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

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
Luciano Rossi	...	Marsigliese's Drug Expert
Salvatore Billa	...	Marsigliese's Henchman
Virgilio Daddi	...	Marsigliese's Henchman
Romano Puppo	...	Marsigliese's Assassin
Cintia Lodetti	...	Ursula (as Cinzia Lodetti)
Nello Pazzafini	...	Hitman at the pits (as Giovanni Pazzafini)
Rita Frei	...	Filomenia, Don Morrone's maid
Aldo Massasso	...	Murolo
Antonio Mellino	...	Driver
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Angelo Boscariol	...	Smuggler
Omero Capanna	...	Marsigliese Henchman
Enzo D'Ausilio	...	Smuggler Boss
Marcello Filotico	...	Old Boss Friend
Salvatore Puccinelli	...	Murolo Henchman
Lucio Fulci	...	Don Morrone's Assassin with machine gun (uncredited)
Benito Pacifico	...	Thug at Perlante's (uncredited)
Gregory Snegoff	...	Luca (voice: English version) (uncredited)

Directed by
Lucio Fulci

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Gianni De Chiara		screenplay
Gianni De Chiara		story
Lucio Fulci		writer
Giorgio Mariuzzo		writer
Ettore Sanzò		screenplay
Ettore Sanzò		story

Produced by
Sandro Infascelli	....	producer

Original Music by
Fabio Frizzi

Cinematography by
Sergio Salvati

Film Editing by
Vincenzo Tomassi

Art Direction by
Franco Calabrese

Costume Design by
Massimo Lentini

Makeup Department
Gilda De Guilmi	....	hair stylist (as Ida De Guilmi)
Gilda De Guilmi	....	wig maker
Franco Di Girolamo	....	special makeup effects artist
Antonio Maltempo	....	assistant makeup artist
Fabrizio Sforza	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Vittorio Bucci	....	unit manager
Sergio Iacobis	....	production manager
Giulio Longo	....	unit manager
Nicola Venditti	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Roberto Giandalia	....	assistant director

Art Department
Luciano Targuini	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Ugo Celani	....	sound
Gianni D'Amico	....	sound mixer
Eros Giustini	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Germano Natali	....	special effects
Roberto Pace	....	special effects

Stunts
Omero Capanna	....	stunts
Giuseppe Mattei	....	stunts
Giorgio Ricci	....	stunts
Attilio Severini	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Francesco Bellomo	....	still photographer
Giovanni Brescini	....	assistant camera
Ennio Brizzolari	....	key grip
Franco Bruni	....	camera operator
Daniele Cimini	....	assistant camera
Alfredo Fedeli	....	chief electrician
Alessio Gelsini Torresi	....	camera operator: in sea (as Alessio Gelsini)
Maurizio Lucchini	....	assistant camera
Massimo Pau	....	camera operator: in sea
Roberto Russo	....	studio photographer
Mario Sbrenna	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Berta Betti	....	seamstress

Editorial Department
Armando Pace	....	assistant editor
Giancarlo Tiburzi	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Maurizio Guarini	....	musician: keyboards

Other crew
Nazzareno Cardinali	....	master of arms
Eliana Cipri	....	production secretary
Roberto de Franceschi	....	cashier
Egle Guarino	....	continuity
Matteo Marino	....	production secretary
Danilo Martelli	....	cashier
Roberto Ornaro	....	administrator
Roberto Ornaro	....	cashier
Dina Pallich	....	production secretary
Sergio Sagnotti	....	master of arms
Daniela Tonti	....	continuity

Distributors

• Blue Underground (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Diamond Video (Greece) (VHS)
• Eagle 6 (Netherlands) (VHS) (uncut version)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2000) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Italian Shock (2000) (Netherlands) (DVD) (cut version)
• Stomp Visual (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Walton Video (UK) (VHS) (uncut version)

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.