The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist – LFG (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1977
Director: Umberto Lenzi
Writers: Sauro Scavolini, Ernesto Gastaldi, Dardano Sacchetti, Umberto Lenzi
Cast: Maurizio Merli, John Saxon, Renzo Palmer, Gabriella Lepori, Robert Hundar, Bruno Corazzari, Gabriella Giorgelli, Tomas Milian, Riccardo Garrone, Claudio Nicastro, Salvatore Billa

Release Date: January 9th, 2020
Approximate Running Time: 99 Minutes 10 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono German
Subtitles: English, German
Region Coding: Region Free/Region 0 PAL
Retail Price: 18,49 EUR

"Luigi Maietto, alias "The Chinese", has escaped from prison. Leonardo Tanzi, responsible for the prison sentence of the Chinese, should go into hiding as soon as possible. Since Tanzi has long been a thorn in the side of his superiors because of his gruff methods, Maietto's escape comes as called for the officials to make him disappear from the scene. While Tanzi avoids the public, the Chinese ally himself with the local mafioso Frank Di Maggio, with the ulterior motive of taking over the ongoing trade in drugs and protection money himself. Through the press and his superiors, Tanzi gets wind of the Chinese man's plans and sadistic actions. He wants to pursue the matter himself in order to make the Chinese disappear from the scene for good. An unplanned incident causes events to roll over. On the orders of Di Maggio, Tanzi's uncle is shot dead in the street by the chinese people. Tanzi sees red... any means is right for him to play off his enemies against each other." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

There is no information provided about this transfer’s source.

The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.6 GB

Feature: 20.2 GB

The source used for this transfer is in great shape, colors look correct, the image looks crisp, black levels look strong throughout. That said, there’s still room for improvement.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono Italian)

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 language tracks are in great shape, dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced and range wise ambient sounds/the score are well-presented. This release comes with two subtitle options, English and German.

Extras:

Extras for this release include reversible cover art, a trailer for The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist (3 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian, no subtitles), two image galleries: six lobby cards and seven stills, an interview with Prof. Dr. Marcus Stiglegger (11 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with film historian Pelle Felsch, in German, no subtitles.

Also, included with this release is a DVD that mirrors its Blu-ray counterpart.

Summary:

Though there are a handful of directors who become synonymous with Poliziotteschi cinema. Pound for pound, Umberto Lenzi’s contributions to Poliziotteschi cinema are second to none.

By the time that Umberto Lenzi directed The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist, he had already directed six Poliziotteschi films. And unlike many of his contemporaries working in Poliziotteschi cinema, the thing that sets him apart from the rest of the pack is how he was able to bring new things to the table instead of relying heavily on established Poliziotteschi cinema elements.

That said, intense openings are one constant that’s present in all of Umberto Lenzi’s Poliziotteschi films. And with The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist, he once again comes out of the gate swinging with in your face opening that perfectly sets the tone for the events that unfold.

Content wise, though The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist uses many of the hallmarks of Poliziotteschi cinema’s to great effect. Ultimately, it’s new elements like an elaborate heist sequence that showcase Umberto Lenzi’s ability to work outside of the box.

Performance wise the cast are all very good in their respective roles, especially Tomas Milian (The Big Gundown, Don’t Torture a Duckling) in the role of Luigi ‘The Chinaman’ Maietto. He delivers yet another captivating performance that’s inline with psychotic characters that’s most known for portraying. That said, though his character has limited screen time, his performance is a text-book example of how an actor that dominates every scene that he’s in.

Other notable cast members include, Maurizio Merli (Convoy Busters, Fear in the City) in the role of Inspector Leonardo Tanzi and John Saxon (The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Black Christmas) in the role of a sadistic mob boss named Frank Di Maggio.

From a production standpoint, there’s not an area where The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist does not deliver and then some. The briskly paced narrative does a superb job maintaining intensity, Franco Micalizzi’s score perfectly reinforces the mood and there are an ample amount of well-executed action set pieces.

Standout moments include, a scene where hit-men sent by the ‘Chinaman’ surprise Inspector Tanzi who narrowly escapes with his life, a scene where Tanzi helps a friend whose sister who’s caught up in a prostitution ring that’s being run by a photographer and an elaborate heist sequence where Tanzi arrives before the real thieves and disarms the alarms for them. Ultimately, The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist is an intense film that fans of Poliziotteschi cinema should thoroughly enjoy.

The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist makes its way to Blu-ray via a strong audio/video presentation, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer