''Savage Attack'' ( it, Brothers in Blood) is a war film directed by Tonino Valerii. It was written by

Roberto Leoni Roberto Leoni is an Italian screenwriter and film director best known for such films as ''Santa Sangre'' signed on Empire magazine's 2008 list of th500 Greatest Movies Of All Time '' The Master Touch'' starring Kirk Douglas, '' Street People'' st ...

after the success of several films based around veterans of the Vietnam War. The film starred

Bo Svenson Bo Svenson (born Bo Ragnar Svensson; 13 February 1941) is a Swedish-American actor, film director, film producer, published author and award winning screenwriter, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s. He has appea ...

and

Peter Hooten John Peter Hooten (born November 29, 1950) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the television film '' Dr. Strange'' (1978). Career Hooten started acting in 1968 at the age of 17. He appeared as an uncredited ...

and was shot primarily in the Dominican Republic. It did not receive a theatrical release in Italy and was released on home video in West Germany as ''Brothers in Blood'' in 1987.

Background and production

In the mid-1980s, the Italian film industry was losing its audiences dramatically with the number of filmgoers in 1980 being 241.8 million to 123.1 million in 1985. This led to smaller Italian producers making films that imitated English pictures for less demanding markets such as Central America and the home video audience. ''Savage Attack'' was part of this trend, being made after the popular success of the film ''

Uncommon Valor ''Uncommon Valor'' is a 1983 American action war film directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring Gene Hackman, Fred Ward, Reb Brown, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Robert Stack, Patrick Swayze, Harold Sylvester and Tim Thomerson. Hackman plays a former U.S. Mar ...

'' (1983), though

said the script was written before the success of that film. ''Brothers in Blood'' starred

, who had been a re-occurring actor in Italian cinema since the mid-to-late 1970s. Along with Svenson was

who had starred alongside the actor in several 1980s films including '' The Inglorious Bastards'' (1978). Initially, Leoni was working on a script for

Enzo G. Castellari Enzo Girolami Castellari (born 29 July 1938) is an Italian director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Early life Castellari was born in Rome into a family of filmmakers. His father was a boxer turned film maker Marino Girolami. His uncle ...

but after the budget was found to be too high he wrote the script that would become ''Savage Attack''. Castellari was less interested and was committed to other projects, leading to the producer asking Tonino Valerii to direct the film. Filming began in late 1985. Filming predominantly took place in the Dominican Republic with some scenes shot in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In Langdon Hammer's book on James Merill, Hooten's partner from 1983 until his death, Hammer noted that Hooten had been trying to find film work for about two years and was initially "thrilled" at the chance to work but puzzled later when he found himself being paid with satchels of Italian lire on the spot. Hooten later proclaimed in an interview with Italian film critic and historian Roberto Curti that he enjoyed working with Valerii on the film, but that it was an off-an-on again production.

Release

''Savage Attack'' was never released theatrically in Italy. It was released in West Germany on home video as ''Brothers in Blood'' in October 1987. It was released on video in the United States as ''Savage Attack''. According to Svenson, as of 2015 he owns the American rights to the film.

References

Sources

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External links

* {{Tonino Valerii 1987 direct-to-video films Films scored by Riz Ortolani Italian war drama films Films directed by Tonino Valerii Films shot in the Dominican Republic Films shot in New York (state) Vietnam War films 1980s Italian films