Savage Three (Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973–1977) – Arrow Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1975
Director: Vittorio Salerno
Writers: Ernesto Gastaldi, Vittorio Salerno
Cast: Joe Dallesandro, Gianfranco De Grassi, Guido De Carli, Carmen Scarpitta, Martine Brochard, Enrico Maria Salerno

Release Date: June 21st, 2021 (UK), June 22nd, 2021 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 84 Minutes 36 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 18 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £59.99 (UK), $99.95 (USA)

"random acts of violence committed by vicious young sociopaths threaten the fragile fabric of respectable society." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "The HD master was created and supplied by Intramovies. Additional color grading was completed by Arrow Films at R3Store Studios, London."

Here's info about playing this disc in region B, "Following advice from the British Board of Film Classification, certain scenes in this film depicting mice fighting have been censored in accordance with UK anti-cruelty laws."

Savage Three comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46 GB

Feature Arrow: 14 GB

Feature Camera Obscura: 26.8 GB

Though Arrow Video gave No, the Case is Happily Resolved it’s own disc. The other four films in the Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973–1977 box set are two films on a disc. Arrow Video pairs Savage Three with Like Rabid Dogs.

For this release Arrow Video uses the same master used for Camera Obscura’s Blu-ray. And though Camera Obscura’s Savage Three Blu-ray devotes almost twice the amount of GB’s that Arrow Video does for this release. The result is a solid transfer who’s encode looks very good.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian and included with this release are removable English subtitles. The audio is in great shape, dialog comes through clearly and everything sounds balanced. This audio track is on par with the Italian language track that Camera Obscura used for their Blu-ray release.

Extras:

Extras for Savage Three include reversible cover art for Like Rabid Dogs, a poster for Savage Three, an archival interview with actor Joe Dallesandro titled The Savage One (40 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an archival interview with director/screenwriter Vittorio Salerno titled Rat Eat Rat (40 minutes 49 second, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with English subtitles).

Savage Three is part of Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973–1977 a box set released by Arrow Video. The other films in this box set are No, the Case is Happily Resolved, Like Rabid Dogs, Colt 38 Special Squad and Highway Racer. This box set comes with a sixty-page booklet that comes with cast & crew information for each film, an essay titled Don’t Trust The Man: No, the Case is Happily Resolved and Italian Genre Cinema Written by Troy Howarth, an essay titled Animal Instinct: Savage Three and the Ideology of Violence written by Michael Mackenzie, an essay titled Fighting Fire with a Colt 38: Law and Order in Colt 38 Special Squad written by Rachael Nisbet, an essay titled Like Rabid Dogs: Class, Privilege, and Sadeian Women written by Kat Ellinger, an essay titled The Car’s the Star: Highway Racer, Tribute Elegy and a Whole Lot of Burning Rubber written by James Oliver and information about the transfers.

Extras from Camera Obscura’s Blu-ray release not carried over for Arrow Video’s Blu-ray release include an audio commentary with film experts Pelle Felsch and Christian KeBler (in German with English subtitles) and a sixteen-page booklet with an essay titled With Sticky Fingers in Hot Mud written by Robert Zion. This essay is presented in dual text, English and German.

Summary:

Are we a victim of are circumstances or is people predisposed to commit acts of violence? These questions and so much more get explored in this extraordinary melodrama about the human condition.

This film’s narrative revolves around three young men who through a series of events become more enraged by the world which they live in. And though they feel a spark from the first event which sets their downward spiral into motion. Their point of no return arrives during a road rage incident where these three young men murder a truck driver. And from this moment on, all that they become more primal in their interactions with everyone who crosses their paths.

From a production stand point, there is not an area where this film does not deliver and then some. With its opening setup superbly setting the foundation for the events that are about the unfold. And when it comes to its depiction of violence, this film portrays said violence an utterly realistic fashion that makes it all the more disturbing.

The main characters are well-defined and the cast are all very good in their respective roles. With this film’s standout performance being Enrico Maria Salerno (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, No, the Case Is Happily Resolved) of a disgraced detective, who need for redemption puts him in the cross-hairs with the savage three. This film’s narrative does a great job tying in this character’s back-story with the events that are unfolding.

Other standout performances include, Joe Dallesandro (Heat, Madness) in the role of Ovidio, the ringleader of the trio of psychopath’s who are wreaking havoc on everyone who crosses their path and Martine Brochard (Story of a Cloistered Nun, Eyeball) in the role of Ovidio’s career obsessed wife, who is having an affair with the man who can advance her career as a doctor.

And not too be overlooked are this film’s striking visuals which do a pitch perfect job of reinforcing the savage three’s state of mind. Standout moments visually include, the moment where the savage three murder a truck driver. And this scene’s use of slow-motion enhances their actions. Other standout moments include, a scene where the savage three abducted two women and rape them before they sadistically dispose of them and the film’s cathartic finale which serves up a very satisfying conclusion to the events that have just unfolded.

Though four of the five films included as part of Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973–1977 have already had solid English friendly Blu-ray releases. This collection from Arrow Video is a solid release that gives anyone who missed out of Camera Obscura’s releases a chance to get them in a very affordable collection, highly recommended.

Note: The top screenshots are Arrow Video and the bottom screenshots are Camera Obscura.

Written by Michael Den Boer