Think you've seen every classic mafia movie? Think again...

This month Grindhouse Releasing brought two lost gangster cult classics to the masses via BD/DVD with Massacre Mafia Style & Gone With the Pope. Both films were written, produced, directed, and starring Duke Mitchell an Italian-American 1960/70s era club-singer/actor "could've been" who obviously had to do things his way.

Both films were made in the mid 1970s where you could make a decent flick for a hundred grand or less.

Massacre Mafia Style is a violent over-the-top film about an exiled Godfathers son returning to America to take back the bookmaking & prostitute game in LA. After finding an adventure-thirsty childhood friend he becomes an out of control assassin who can't stop killing no matter where the order comes from. It has an awesome trailer.

Gone With the Pope has a really interesting backstory as post-production was never completed & when Grindhouse Releasing found it there was even missing reels. Bob Murawski, co-founder of GR & editor of films like Spider-man & Hurt Locker spent 15 years putting it together from where he first pulled it from a storage locker (where they had been stored for the previous 15 years since Duke Mitchell's death in 1981) in an LA garage.

This one is about a wise guy who is recently released from prison and asked to do one last job as a hitman. He uses the money from the job to give his also recently released buddies from prison a trip on a private yacht trip to Rome to relax and find their roots.

What he reveals when they arrive at the boot is that he has an alternative plan to kidnap the pope & hold him for ransom - one dollar from every Catholic in the world. Amazing right? It also has some over-the-top violence but is a much different film than MMS. Duke had illusions of grandeur when he made these flicks - it's almost like he resented Copolla and thought a real Italian-American who rubbed shoulders with real wise guys could tell a better story. This film is in many ways powerful there is a lot of spiritual struggle and anti-Catholicism views that feel very real. I loved this movie. It's a classic. Check the trailer - if the MMS trailer is a 10/10 then GWP's trailer is a 9.8 out of 10.

A couple of things about these films. Like I said Duke was a very talented artist who had illusions of grandeur - sometimes they surpass his vision, sometimes they're right on, and sometimes they fall short. There are unintentional laughs and intentional laughs. But there is also blood sweat & tears & balls in both as well. Speaking of balls - both films, aside from being overly violent, have lots of offensive language. Most offensive is the N word without the "a" ending. So be prepared for that if you think this is your cup of tea. I don't think Duke was racist, I just think he was real.

He wasn't a wise guy, he was a performer. But he definitely rubbed shoulders with as many wise guys as he did stars.

Props to Grindhouse Releasing for giving these flicks a new life.