Watch The Italian Connection For Free

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Too many fans seem to be blown away

Better Late Then Never

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Another violence-fueled gangster film from the great Fernando Di Leo. A New York mafioso (Cyril Cusack!) sends hit men Henry Silva & Woody Strode to Milan to kill small-time pimp Mario Adorf. Adorf, a not so bright low-level crook, is baffled by the pursuit and even more perplexed as to why local mafia don Adolfo Celi is after him as well. Everything falls into place in this absurd potboiler with Adorf giving another hammy, albeit highly entertaining, performance. Di Leo keeps this one moving at such a fast pace, it's impossible to not enjoy it. One car chase, between Adorf and one of Celi's goons, it as bizarre as it is breathtaking. Silva and Strode have little to do but roam around looking scary. They're helped by good girl Luicana Paluzzi and get trouble from bad girl Francesca Romana Coluzzi. Classy Sylva Koscina appears briefly as Adorf's angry ex-wife.

Hearty, but tough and resourceful small-time pimp Luca Canali (an excellent performance by Mario Adorf) gets framed as a fall guy by the flinty, ruthless Don Vito Tressoldi (superbly played by Adolfo Celi) for the disappearance of a shipment of heroin. Tressoldi hires volatile hit-man Dave Catania (a splendidly slimy Henry Silva) and his more low-key partner Frank Webster (the always formidable Woody Strode) to rub Luca out, but Luca proves to be a surprisingly worthy adversary who vows revenge on the mob after they kill his wife and daughter. Director/co-writer Fernando Di Leo delivers an exceptionally fierce, gripping, and stirring crime yarn that benefits substantially from a hard, gritty, no-nonsense tone, shocking outbursts of ugly and savage violence, a constant snappy pace, a generous sprinkling of tasty female nudity, and a positively ferocious take-no-prisoners attitude. Better still, there's no needless filler or silly humor to detract from the jolting harshness of the taut and arresting narrative. The uniformly sound acting from a top-drawer cast rates as another major asset: Adorf makes for a likable anti-hero and redoubtable brute force of nature as Luca, Celi totally oozes as the treacherous Don Vito, Silva and Strode as utterly convincing as a pair of very dangerous and threatening dudes, Luciana Paluzzi adds class as elegant escort Eva Lalli, and Femi Benussi acquits herself well in a sizable supporting part as whiny hooker Nana. Franco Villa's polished cinematography makes nice occasional use of tilted camera angles and whiplash pans. Armando Trovajoli's funky, jazzy, syncopated score likewise hits the spot. The climactic shoot-out in a junkyard is simply fantastic. Well worth seeing.

The other two comments I've seen here are completely accurate. I only want to implore you to see this some more. So far, I've yet to see Henry Silva in a better role. His role in the more recent Ghost Dog was super, but here he is even better. He's great in this as a wild, tough, and sleazy hit-man. The way he skulks around like a bad asp is totally cool. This movie also boasts some righteous potty mouth dialog, worthy of a Sopranos episode. The only possible drawback to this movie is the dated special effects (of people punching each other or getting shot) that come off as being pretty silly at times- but honestly, the pluses far outweigh the minuses. This is right up there with Street Law as a classic of 70's Italian-made violence. See it!

When a shipment of heroin disappears enroute from Milan to New York a small time pimp named Luca Canali(excellent Mario Adorf)is fingered by the mafia for execution.There is only one problem...he is the wrong man!Unable to prove his innocence he is caught in a life and death struggle with the New York boss' hit men(Henry Silva and Woody Strode)."Hit Men"/"La Mala Ordina" is a typical Italian crime/drama with plenty of violence and sleaze.The acting is pretty good,the action almost never lets up and the ending is very exciting.Highly recommended if you are a fan of Italian cult cinema.