This ain't the Soprano's here folks!

Sandwiched right in between some of his most popular horror outings (Zombie AKA Zombie 2, City of the Living Dead, The Beyond and House by the Cemetery) director Lucio Fulci hit fans hard with a most unexpected twist...a gritty crime drama called Contraband. The weird thing here is that unexpectedly...it's an extremely entertaining and well-made flick! Making only one prior DVD appearance in a passable yet lackluster import, Blue Underground steps up to the plate with Contraband's latest venture onto the DVD format...let's see how they did.

Fabio Testi (Four of the Apocalypse) stars as Luca D'Angelo part of the "blue motorboat" smuggling ring. Operating in Naples, these fellas don't deal with drugs though, strictly smuggling cigarettes. When Luca's brother is brutally slaughtered right before his very eyes (he also happens to take an extremely impressive and realistic tumble down the side of a cliff as well), for lack of a better term, Luca flips out. The death of his brother remains just one of Luca's many problems to deal with though. There's a suspected traitor in the midst and the Don of a rival gang wants Luca to cross over to the dark side (that means drugs baby). Things only go from bad to worse when Luca's wife is kidnapped and at this point, the shit really hits the fan. This isn't your typical crime drama, it's gritty, grimy, gooey and just down right sickening, good times all around! Don't forget to dig that groovey technology baby!

The real beauty of Contraband isn't just that it's a cool flick to look at or it's great because of all of the gratuitous gore and blood splatter. I mean, sure all of these things are true and they certainly don't hurt the proceedings at hand, but Contraband actually winds up being so much more. Contraband really works as a well-executed film, and at the same time, quite a risky undertaking for Fulci. Give the man major props, because he manages to pull it off with virtual ease.

Now, Contraband is far from a perfect flick and it's most certainly not without its problems. That said, the sheer entertainment value that this flick offers severely outweighs any production or technical limitations that the film may exhibit. You'll find yourself questioning if sects of the mob really operate like this and some plot devices are purely a matter of cinematic convenience (how 'bout the informant that's stabbed literally moments after the person he informs walks away?). No worries though, because Fulci delivers the goods not only in the ever loved department of filth, but also in some detailed character development and expertly crafted set pieces. Contraband features some truly classy and "unFulci-like" camera sweeps and neatly executed action set pieces.

Ok, let's talk gooey and gross stuff, because that's always fun to watch in a Fulci flick, right? Well, yes and no. The violence and depravity in Contraband, is most certainly NOT fun and at times is even hard to watch. It's all very gritty and dirty and presented in such a manner that is most unpleasant. There are plenty of gunshot deaths, many of which result in exploding chests, backs, heads and in one exceptionally gruesome scene and exploding throat and face. Another extremely difficult scene to watch happens after Luca's wife is kidnapped and she is brutally beaten and raped. This is one particularly gruesome, disturbing scene that is anything but pretty.

Blue Underground presents Contraband on DVD in an extremely impressive anamorphic transfer. No doubt that this is the best that Contraband has ever looked (throw away those bootlegs, now!). There are only a few scenes that exhibit the slightest amount of grain and print damage is virtually non-existent (really limited to some slight speckling on occasion). Colors are as vibrant as the original source material will allow. Anyone who has seen Contraband before knows that much of the film was shot outdoors on extremely drab and overcast days. Any scenes that exhibit muted colors or low-key color schemes are evidence of the films original budgetary limitations or shooting environments and not this DVD transfer. Some of the darker scenes are inherently dark because of poor lighting situations and there are a few moments of the film that suffer from that dreaded soft focus look. For what it's worth Contraband looks incredibly stunning, Fulci would be proud. Just check out that disco scene with the mind numbing strobe effect. Man, those moments in between each strobe have never looked so good. Not to mention each exploding orifice...nice.

Audio is presented in a solid mono mix with virtually no complications. Dialogue is crisp and clear with no evidence of any kind of distortion. As is the case with many of these European dub jobs, the English dub is well, sometimes laughable. With classic lines like "Since when is it against the law to take a shit?" or moments when the police exhibit "lack of proof!" ummm, don't you mean evidence? Getting past the dub is just par for the course with a flick like this, take it with a grain of salt. Oh, and of course it wouldn't be a Fulci flick if there wasn't a creepily dubbed child actor...yeah, we got one of those here too!

Extras are limited to a theatrical trailer and well written talent bios for both Fulci and Testi (which also feature a few stills along the way).

Blue Underground hits another homer with an outstanding presentation of an uncut Fulci classic. Fans should be very excited to have Contraband on DVD finally looking the way that it does here. In the world of Monsters at Play and their favorite cinematic wonders and oddities, Blue Underground's DVD of Contraband tops the list and comes highly recommended.

Be sure to check out Blue Underground online, by clicking here!