The bloodiest carnival of murder in the history of American crime
Eureka Entertainment is to release THE DON IS DEAD, an explosively violent 70s gangster flick starring Anthony Quinn, Frederic Forrest and Robert Forster, on Blu-ray as a part of the Eureka Classics range from 18 January 2021.
A criminally underrated and explosively violent gangster saga from director Richard Fleischer, The Don Is Dead features one of the all-time great casts of tough guy actors: legendary multiple Oscar-winner Anthony Quinn, Robert Forster, and Frederic Forrest are joined by Al Lettieri, Joe Santos, Abe Vigoda, Vic Tayback, Victor Argo, and Sid Haig. Riddled with as many double crosses as bullet hits, The Don Is Dead is like a gritty 70s pulp paperback come to bloody life.
After his Vegas crime family don father dies, Frank Regalbuto now places his loyalties with Don Angelo DiMorra, but a rival family wants to trigger a gang war and destroy the DiMorra clan. They make Frank think that his girlfriend Ruby is locked in an affair with Don Angelo, hoping Frank will take revenge. Enlisting the Fargo brothers hit men, Tony and Vince — who have some nasty sibling rivalry issues of their own — Frank is determined to rise to the top and wreak vengeance, no matter the body count that results.
Fleischer directed The Don Is Dead just after his science fiction classic from the same year, Soylent Green, and this just demonstrates the eclectic filmmaker’s versatility. Also responsible for everything from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and Fantastic Voyage (1966) to Doctor Dolittle (1967) and Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Fleischer could clearly do it all, but he was at his best with riveting thrillers like The Boston Strangler (1968), Compulsion (1959), and the noir classic The Narrow Margin (1952). The Don Is Dead fits in with those suspenseful shockers, and is ripe for rediscovery
SPECIAL BLU-RAY EDITION CONTAINS
- 1080p presentation on Blu-ray
- Uncompressed LPCM audio (original mono presentation)
- Optional English SDH subtitles
- Brand new feature length audio commentary by author Scott Harrison
- Theatrical trailer
- PLUS: A collector’s booklet featuring an extensive essay on the crime films of director Richard Fleischer by film writer and journalist Barry Forshaw
