In Shoot First, Die Later, Luc Merenda (Torso) stars as Police Commissioner Domenico Malacarne, a young rising star in the force who is also taking bribes from the mob. A routine complaint comes through to a local station in which a lowly officer, Malacarne's father, takes the statement. Unbeknownst to Malacarne, the complaint implicates someone who the mob wishes to remain hidden, putting Malacarne in a difficult position with his father, who begins to suspect his son isn’t the law-abiding…

In the free-for-all chaos after World War II, black marketeer Ueda (Hiroki Matsukata, Cops vs Thugs) is robbed of a pound of morphine. He takes his brutal revenge, but is arrested for murder and sentenced to 20 years. He escapes and is caught, but no matter where they send him, Ueda won’t let prison walls stop him. Directed by a master of the genre and based on the real exploits of a seven-time prison escapee, this ranks as one of…

Pietro Germi (The Facts of Murder) directs and stars in this deeply affecting drama about a train driver. Living modestly with his wife Sara (Luisa Della Noce), Andrea Marcocci’s life is thrown into turmoil when he witnesses a suicide on the tracks ahead of him. Tenderly narrated from the perspective of his young son Sandro (Edoardo Nevola), the incident has repercussions on Andrea and his extended family - including his unemployed son Marcello (Renato Speziali) and pregnant daughter Giulia (Sylva…

Living at home with his mother, bachelor house painter Themroc (Michel Piccoli, Belle de Jour) leads a dull life. One day, after an unearned run-in with his boss, the usually docile Themroc rebels and dismantles his myopic world. Made on a shoestring budget with no intelligible dialogue, Claude Faraldo’s cult taboo-busting satire about a French blue-collar worker-turned-urban caveman anarchically eviscerates mid-century labour and gender politics. Never released on home video in the UK, Themroc may be familiar to British audiences…

Police inspector Matteo Rolandi (Claudio Cassinelli) witnesses a massacre in a hotel when a bomb explodes and kills dozens of civilians. The prime suspect, a young political activist (Bruno Zanin), is shot dead soon after, despite being under the protection of General Attorney Di Federico (Arthur Kennedy). As Inspector Rolandi continues his investigation, he soon discovers a terrifying conspiracy behind the act of brutal terrorism. Based on the notorious 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing, Killer Cop is a gritty poliziottesco from…

Returning home with her travelling theatre troupe, actress Camille (Jeanne Balibar) finds the affections of her director lover Ugo (Sergio Castellitto) have waned after he takes an interest in Dominique (Hélène de Fougerolles), a vivacious student helping him search for an infamous missing play. In a bid to make him jealous, Camille reunites with her former lover Pierre (Jacques Bonnaffé), now happily married to Sonia (Marianne Basler), and a farce-like series of love triangles ensue. Theatrically exploring attraction, jealousy, and…

In a run-down small-town between Miami and the Everglades, Cozy (Lisa Bowman), a dissatisfied housewife, longs for an adventure. One night, at a nearby bar, she meets Lee Ray (Larry Fessenden), an equally disaffected handyman who’s never left home. As sparks fly between them, a gun accidentally goes off. Thinking they have committed murder, the pair decide to flee, but their naive natures and limited bank balances mean they don't get very far. Cleverly playing on procedural drama tropes, Kelly…

Aida (Claudia Cardinale, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Day of the Owl) has fallen for a rich playboy and arrives at his door to find it firmly shut and herself ignored. His younger, more sensitive brother, Lorenzo (Jacques Perrin, Cinema Paradiso) helps her and finds himself quickly besotted. Cardinale gives one of her most tender and vulnerable performances in Girl with a Suitcase, an unsentimental coming-of-age story that deals as much with adolescence as class. A vital…