Search - The Heroin Busters on DVD

Try It, But You Won't Get Hooked

Stanley Runk | Camp North Pines | 07/04/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Heroin Busters is one of a few recent Enzo Castellari action flicks put out by Blue Underground...and it's not so hot. It's not bad exactly, it's just kinda boring. I watched it all the way through, and it has it's moments, but for the mostpart it's just kinda flat. Italian action star/prettyboy Fabio Testi is an undercover cop in the middle of a sting in the international heroin underworld. The immortal David Hemmings is his partner, and the only cop who knows that Testi's undercover. The whole film is pretty much a step by step drug dealing sting with no real excitement or drama. Like I said, it's not terrible, but you begin to wonder when something cool's gonna happen. Things do pick up a bit in the last act when Testi's cover's blown and he's on the run from the dealers who want revenge, but by that time it's too little too late. The film ends with probably the most boring plane chase ever put on film. Testi's fun to watch as usual. Hemmings is good, but ultimately his role is kinda...not pointless exactly, but he just doesn't really have much to do. Castellari has definitely made better. Street Law is a good example."

Eurofilm, with outstanding results based on budget and techn

Pork Chop | Lisbon, Portugal | 03/22/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"HEROIN BUSTERS, or translated literally from the Italian, "The

Drug Avenue" (la Via della Droga), is a fascinating,

action-packed movie, pulling all the stops for thrills and

action, not excluding plenty of gun-shooting, in a race between

the criminal element and law enforcement. There's motorcycle,

airplane and car chases around Italy on land, foot and air.



The action is dubbed in English, in an extremely fluent,

understandable manner.



The success of this movie, is that it is outstanding in its

quality considering the "technology" that was at the director's

disposal at the time. Obviously, the Hollywood studios, with

100's of millions of USD greater budgets, and with technology 20

years newer than at the time the film was made, create products

these days that are measurably different. But are they really

that much better ? Some things never change, such as the human

species, emotion, and the cultural, economic and social aspects

of a country, whether it by Italy, USA, etc.



Having been filmed in Europe, in 1977, anyone with memories of

hat era, will judge as occasionally comical the immediately

recognizable FIAT vehicle models of the time, and others (such

as Citroen 2 Horse Power, FIAT, small compact Fords, etc.), the

presentation of outdoor and indoor cafes, pinball machines,

cobble stone roads, and overall landscape scenes from the

Italian countryside, that are almost identical to those found in

Spain, and Portugal.



The soundtrack is extremely well chosen, as well, with a few

repetitive riffs, reminiscent of the 70's heavy metal scene,

such as Yngwie Malmsteen's style or Black Sabbath, or Jean Luc

Ponty's more fusion jazz elements.



The opener is somewhat provocative to perhaps those residing

outside the major agglomerations, by depicting the red light

district major metropolises around the world, such as those of

Tokyo, Amsterdam, Thailand or Hong Kong, New York, London, and

from there, progresses to show a certain marginal element of

society. These are outside of the mainstream, consuming and

trafficking at times heroin, visibly. The marketing aspect is

also touched upon, by a character admitting that free drugs were

supplied to school kids to get them hooked from an early age

into the substances, not unlike major American and multinational

corporations give away free comic books, DVD's, breakfast cereal

with other propaganda, to impart in their minds a brand loyalty

that will pay off bigtime when the kids become breadwinners and

adults.



Considering the outstanding results the director obtained with

the budget and technology available in 1977, the cast can be

proud of the results, as it's cool enough for the DVD to be

pulled out a few times again, considering the extremely sharp

digital filming, stimulating story. As a bonus, there's a

director commentary in the extras."