The seamy Jewish underworld of Odessa is the setting for Isaac Babel's story based on the life of gangster king Mishka Yaponchik ("Mike the Jap") Vinnitsky. Murder is a way of life for Benya Krik and his gang. They profit from their criminal activities until the Russian Revolution, when the local commissar sets them up as a "revolutionary" regiment, complete with tattooed Red stars. Complete with gritty details of life in Jewish Odessa, it is not only a fascinating look into a past, the remnants of which can still be seen in the city today, but a rather disturbing one, at times. Had the Germans shown this film in their movie houses instead of Der Ewige Jude to demonstrate the dangers of Ostjuden and Bolshevism, Bennie the Howl would probably had been just as effective as a propaganda piece! The stereotypical Jewish looks, the offensive behaviors, the poverty, and the slickness and sly overtones assigned to many of the characters would make any assimilating, westernized Jew squirm uncomfortably.

DVD-r has Russian intertitles with switchable English subtitles. Approx. 102 mins. See film sample for audio and video quality!