The Iron Prefect is a crime drama directed by Pasquale Squitieri (Gli Invisibili, L’Arma and Claretta) in 1977. The film stars Giuliano Gemma (Tenebre, The Leopard and Day of Anger), Claudia Cardinale (Once Upon A Time in the West, Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ and The Pink Panther), Stefano Satta Flores (Salon Kitty, The Girl with a Pistol and Four Flies on Grey Velvet), and Massimo Mollica (No Alla Violenza, Napoli, Palermo, New York – Il Triangolo della Camorra and Joe Petrosino). " />

The Iron Prefect is a crime drama directed by Pasquale Squitieri (Gli Invisibili, L’Arma and Claretta) in 1977. The film stars Giuliano Gemma (Tenebre, The Leopard and Day of Anger), Claudia Cardinale (Once Upon A Time in the West, Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ and The Pink Panther), Stefano Satta Flores (Salon Kitty, The Girl with a Pistol and Four Flies on Grey Velvet), and Massimo Mollica (No Alla Violenza, Napoli, Palermo, New York – Il Triangolo della Camorra and Joe Petrosino).

The Iron Prefect is an Italian biopic of Cesare Mori (Giuliano Gemma), the man employed by Benito Mussolini as the prefect (the regional representative of the central government) for Palermo in 1925. Mori was entrusted with special powers to wage war against the mafia in Sicily. Mussolini was concerned about how much power the mafia could command in the region and believed Mori was the man to put an end to their control. Alongside his sidekick, police officer, Francesco Spanò, (Flores) he set out to crush the mafia in the region. After visiting the home of mob boss Antonio Capecelatro, Spanò murders him with a gunshot to the head. This is merely the beginning as the pair go about their business of trying to wipe out the mafiosa throughout Sicily. 

The Iron Prefect is a gritty, high-quality crime thriller that sits head and shoulders above most other films in this subgenre. The cast is excellent, especially Giuliano Gemma as Cesare Mori and the wonderful Claudia Cardinale as Anna Torisi. The film itself is a well-executed, slow burn of a movie that never drags or feels bloated, however Squitieri did suffer some criticism for playing down Mori’s fascistic leanings. This new limited edition Blu-ray from Radiance films features a brand new 2k restoration of the movie from the original negatives, with both Italian and English language options, as well as archival interviews with director Squitieri and star Giuliano Gemma, and an appreciation of Giuliano Gemma by Alex Cox. It comes with a rather tasty booklet featuring a brilliant essay from Guido Bonsaver, as well as an archival article about the real Cesare Mori. The film comes complete with a nice reversible sleeve.

It's fantastic to see the work being done with such underrated movies as this one by Radiance films, who seem to be the company to watch at the moment. Like Arrow before them, they are taking forgotten gems, cleaning them up and presenting them to the world in pristine new prints. The Iron Prefect is another huge success for this company, if you love a good mafia thriller, in fact, if you simply enjoy good quality cinema in general then this Blu-ray release is definitely worth your time.