''Cut and Run'' ( it, Inferno in diretta) is a 1985 Italian

exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour ** Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery ** Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploi ...

thriller film directed by

Ruggero Deodato Ruggero Deodato (born 7 May 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and sometime actor. His career has spanned a wide-range of genres including peplum, comedy, drama, poliziottesco and science fiction, yet he is perhaps best known f ...

, written by Cesare Frugoni and

Dardano Sacchetti Dardano Sacchetti (born 1944 ) is an Italian screenwriter who often worked with Italian directors Lamberto Bava and Lucio Fulci. Screenwriting Sacchetti was born in 1944,in Italy. His first screen credit was for Dario Argento's film ''The Cat o' Ni ...

, and starring

Lisa Blount Lisa Suzanne Blount (July 1, 1957 – October 27, 2010) was an American film and television actress, and Academy Award-winning producer. Early life Blount was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Margaret Louise Martin and Glen Roscoe Blount, ...

Leonard Mann Leonard Mann (15 November 1895 – 29 April 1981) was an Australian poet, and novelist. Life He served in the Australian Imperial Force during World War I, and with the Department of Aircraft Production in World War II. He was, in Septembe ...

Willie Aames Willie Aames, also credited as Willie Ames, (born Albert William Upton, July 15, 1960) is an American actor, film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing Tommy Bradford, one of the children of ...

Richard Lynch Richard Lynch (February 12, 1940 – June 19, 2012) was an American actor best known for portraying villains in films and television. His film credits included ''The Sword and the Sorcerer'', '' Invasion USA'', ''The Seven-Ups'', ''Scarecr ...

and Michael Berryman.

Plot

The film follows a reporter (

) and her cameraman investigating a war in the jungles of South America between drug cartels and the cult-like cannibal army of Colonel Brian Horne (

), a follower of

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

Cast

as Fran Hudson *

as Mark Ludman *

as Tommy Allo *

as Colonel Brian Horne * Richard Bright as Bob Allo * Michael Berryman as Quecho *

Eriq La Salle Erik Ki La Salle (born July 23, 1962), professionally known as Eriq La Salle, is an American actor, director, writer and producer. La Salle is best known for his performance in the film ''Coming to America'' (1988) and especially as Dr. Pete ...

as Fargas *Valentina Forte as Ana *

John Steiner John Steiner (7 January 1941 – 31 July 2022) was an English actor. Tall, thin and gaunt, he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed on-stage for the Royal Shakespeare Company, but was best known to audiences for his roles i ...

as Vlado *

Karen Black Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portrayi ...

as Karin * Gabriele Tinti as Manuel **

Ted Rusoff Ted Rusoff (May 20, 1939 – September 28, 2013) was a Canadian voiceover artist, actor, vocal coach, and translator specializing in the adaptation and translation from and into various languages of synchronized dialogue for the dubbing of fil ...

as Manuel's voice ''(uncredited)'' *

Barbara Magnolfi Barbara Magnolfi (born 16 April 1955) is a Franco-Italian actress. She appeared in more than sixteen films since 1969. Selected filmography References External links * * 1955 births Living people Actors from Rennes Italian film ...

as Rita * Luca Barbareschi as Bud

Production

''Cut and Run'' was originally slated to be directed by

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

with the working title ''Marimba''. It was initially going to star

Tim McIntire Timothy John McIntire (July 19, 1944 – April 15, 1986) was an American character actor, probably best known for his starring roles as Alan Freed in the film ''American Hot Wax'' (1978), as singer George Jones in the television movie ''Stand ...

, Dirk Benedict and

Christopher Mitchum Christopher Mitchum (born October 16, 1943) is an American film actor, screenwriter, and businessman. He was born in Los Angeles, California, the second son of film star Robert Mitchum and Dorothy Mitchum. He is the younger brother of actor Jam ...

. The film was produced in two separate versions, a "softer" R-rated cut intended for the North American market, and a "harder" version for theatrical release in Europe. The latter features additional, graphic kill scenes and gore not present in the former. Several key sequences were shot twice, once with a "soft" take, and a second time with a "harder" take.

Release

''Cut and Run'' was released in Italy 8 August 1985. It was released in the United States by

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 19 ...

on 2 May 1986. After being absent on home video for many years, the film was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

by Code Red, with a new 2K restoration of both the R-rated and Unrated cuts.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* *

External links

* * {{Ruggero Deodato 1985 films 1985 horror films Italian thriller films English-language Italian films Films directed by Ruggero Deodato Films scored by Claudio Simonetti Films set in Venezuela Films shot in Venezuela 1985 thriller films Cannibal-boom films 1980s English-language films 1980s Italian films