Plot of Fear (Magnum 45) – Cineploit (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1976
Director: Paola Cavara
Writers: Paolo Cavara, Enrico Oldoini, Bernardino Zapponi
Cast: Michele Placido, Corinne Clery, Tom Skerritt, John Steiner, Eli Wallach

Release Date: June 28th, 2019
Approximate Running Time: 95 Minutes 1 second
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono German, DTS-HD Mono French
Subtitles: English, German
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: 24,90 EUR

"A series of murders is terrorizing Rom and the Killer is leaving cards of the Struwwelpeter children book on the victims. It´s Police Inspector Lomenzo´s (Michele Placido) case but also the private investigation bureau of Riccio (Eli Wallach) is on it. The beautiful Jeanne (Corinne Clery), who knows about bizarre happenings at the Villa Hoffmann, is getting the Inspector on a possible right path. Hoffmann (John Steiner) and his strange Flora & Fauna Club seem to be connected and there lies probably the key to the murder…." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "English 2K Blu-Ray Premiere".

Plot of Fear (Magnum 45) comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.4 GB

Feature: 19.2 GB

The source used for this transfer is in excellent shape, colors look correct, details look crisp and black levels look strong throughout. This transfer is a massive upgrade, when compared to this film’s previous home video releases.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian and a DTS-HD mono mix in German. The English and Italian audio mixes are in great shape, dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced and ambient sounds are well-represented. Range wise the Italian language track sounds more robust than the English language track. This release comes with two subtitle options, English and German and the English subtitles are for the Italian language track. Though subtitles are removable, you can only disable them via the setup menu.

Extras:

Extras for this release include two image galleries: advertising (7 images-posters) and releases (5-imageshome video art), Italian language trailer for Plot of Fear (Magnum 45) (3 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian, no subtitles), English language trailer for Plot of Fear (Magnum 45) (3 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an option to the listen to Plot of Fear’s main theme (3 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo), a featurette with Corinne Clery (19 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English and German subtitles), a double-sided poster with Italian locandia and manifesto art and a media book packaging that contains a twenty-eight-page booklet with bio for composer Daniele Patucchi (text in German and English), an essay about the film written by Udo Rotenberg (text in German and English) and images from the film (lobby cards/posters).

Also, this release also comes with multilingual menus, English and German.

Summary:

Though often billed as an Italian thriller, Plot of Fear is anything but your run of the mill Italian thriller. Sure the film employs one of that genres most ride and true staples, the killers POV. And yet the result is something closer to the Poliziotteschi genre. In fact by the time this film release, the Italian thriller genre had already been eclipsed Poliziotteschi genre, which was nearing its apex in popularity.

From a production stand point there is not a single area in which this film is lacking. The visuals are top-notch, especially the film’s murder set pieces. Also, pacing is never as the plot gives just enough time for each new revelation to set in, before unveiling a new shocking twist. Another area that this film delivers and then some, is in its heaping helpings of sleaze.

Performance wise, the entire are superb in their respective roles. The cast has a lot familiar faces that fans of foreign and cult cinema are sure to quickly recognize like Tom Skerritt (Alien) in the role of the chief inspector in charge of the murder investigations, John Steiner (Tenebrae) in the role of a man named Hoffman (his death plays an integral part in the mystery at the heart of the film), Corinne Cléry (Hitch Hike) in the role of this film’s protagonists love interest and Eli Wallach (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) in the role of Pietro Riccio, an underworld crime boss. Of course when talking about this first-rate one must not overlook or underestimate Michele Placido (La Orca) in the role of Inspector Gaspare Lomenzo. Performance wise, he finds a good balance between being charming and humorous.

Ultimately, Plot of Fear is a satisfying mix of two of Italian cinema’s most popular genres of the 1970’s And though the film often goes against the grain when it comes to these two genres staples, the result is a thrilling ride that fans of Italian thrillers and Poliziotteschi films should thoroughly enjoy.

Plot of Fear (Magnum 45) makes its way to Blu-ray via a strong audio/video presentation from Cineploit that comes with an insightful interview, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer