Brothers Till We Die/Review

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< Brothers Till We Die
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Brothers Till We Die aka La Banda Del Gobbo is staged far less rapidly than most polizio movies, because Umberto Lenzi doesn’t count on as much violence and action here as usual. Of course it contains all these indispensable elements of the police film but we have seen it all more savagely, bloodier and more exaggerated before. Nevertheless this flic is a very fine genre representative whose strengths are clearly due to the acting of Tomas Milian. Milian shines in a double role in which he represents the twin brothers Vincenzo "The Hunchback of Rome" and Sergio "Monezza" Marazzi. The story revolves mainly around the hunchback (which we already met in ​​The Tough Ones) on his vendetta, while "Monezza" (known from "Il trucido e lo sbirro") serves more or less as a minor character who helps his brother out now and then. But he also has some great moments that contribute to the great overall impression of the film. In addition, the other actors such as Sal Borgese, Luciano Catenacci, Nello Pazzafini and Pino Colizzi are quite impressive, but in comparison to the fantastic acting Tomas Milian their performances fade a little bit. As mentioned above "Brothers till we die" belongs to the quieter police films and in comparison to its strong competitors (eg The Death Dealer aka Almost Human) somewhat seems a bit tame, but for friends of the police and gangster film it should be a real feast. The film suggests, particularly in the disco scene with Vincenzo, a strong philosophical and socially critical tone. Although "La Banda Del Gobbo" doesn’t offer much action the movie knows how to entertain. It counts more on dialogue and social critique than on exaggerated violence. Although Franco Micalizzi’s music repeats itself a little often, it fits the movie perfectly.


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DVD Review

The image is presented in the (anamorphic) 2.35:1 format and really looks good. While in the aspects of sharpness, color and contrast it is not perfect, you can see that it still is nicely restored, as well as image damage is almost completely removed. You probably won’t be able to watch the movie in better shape. In the area of ​​audio (DD 1.0 mono) the release really knows how to shine, because three audio tracks (Italian, German and English) are offered. All three synchronizations are very well done in my opinion. The soundtrack slightly crackles in all three tracks, but this is easy to get over, and can’t detract from the overall great impression. Furthermore, German and English subtitles are selectable. Extras are a featurette "A Conversation with Franco Micalizzi" Part 2, the original English trailer, a trailer show of other films released by filmArt and a pretty interesting and nicely designed booklet "The trace of the toad" by Marcus Stiglegger and Ivo Ritzer. The DVD is limited to 1000 pieces and comes with a very attractively laid-out cardboard sleeve. About the interior design of the DVD one certainly can argue but what the heck, the release is simply top class.

FilmArt succeeds with yet another very fine release in the field of the police and gangster film. The movie features outstanding acting by Tomas Milian, while the rest of the cast also does well. For there is great competition in this genre for "Brothers…" and certainly other representatives are staged more rapidly, fans must have it. This DVD was provided by FilmArt.

Reviewed by Daevid Binzel

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