The Great Kidnapping – Cineploit (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1973
Director: Roberto Infascelli
Writers: Augusto Caminito, Marcello D'Amico, Roberto Infascelli
Cast: Enrico Maria Salerno, Lee J. Cobb, Jean Sorel, Luciana Paluzzi, Claudio Gora, Laura Belli, Giambattista Salerno

Release Date: February 4th 2022
Approximate Running Time: 96 Minutes 25 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono German
Subtitles: English, German
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: 24,90 EUR

"A completely new dimension of organized crime is shaking Milan to its foundations. Criminal gangs that have discovered kidnapping and hostage-taking for themselves. The line of the judicial authority contributes its part to the success of this crime dimension by also summarily fulfilling the demands of the hostage takers to protect the victims who are in danger of death. Children of rich parents are chosen as victims, who try to leave the police out of it at all costs and willingly pay behind their backs. When one day Inspector Jovine (Lee J. Cobb) unexpectedly resigns from his job, he is replaced by Inspector Cardone (Enrico María Salerno), who is considered uncompromising and tough as nails. Cardone is considered a hardliner in his field, who is completely resistant to any demands from criminal subjects and thus deliberately puts the life of the kidnap victim at risk. An excellent kidnapping spectacle with an inexorable outcome." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

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

The Great Kidnapping comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 32.6 GB

Feature: 27.8 GB

The source used for this transfer is in very good shape and any print-related debris is minimal. Colors look very good, details generally look crisp, and though black levels fare well, there are a few darker scenes where image clarity is not as strong.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian), 3.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

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 Italian language track is in great shape; the dialog comes through clearly and everything sounds balanced. The English language track when compared to its Italian language counterpart sounds boxy, and there are also sibilance related issues. That said, the dialog comes through clearly enough to follow. Included with this release are removable English and German subtitles for the Italian language track. It should be noted that when watching with the English language track during the opening credits, there’s dialog in Italian that is not subtitled. When viewed with the Italian language track, the same scene has English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (23 images – posters/home video art/lobby cards), a featurette about actor Lee J. Cobb with Mike Malloy, Eurocrime: the Italian Cop & Gangster Films that ruled the 70s (17 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable German subtitles), an option to listen to Stelvio Cipriani’s eight song score, a double-sided Poster with the two Italian locandias and a media book packaging that contains a twenty-eight-page booklet with director Roberto Infascelli biography (text in German & English), an essay titled Do The Police Only Watch or Do They React Too? written by Udo Rotenberg (text in German & English) and images from the film (lobby cards/posters).

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

Summary:

The Great Kidnapping is a ripped from the headlines story about kidnappings, which were prevalent in Italy at that time, and violent criminals who used the system to thwart being brought to justice. The narrative revolves around a police commissioner named Cardone, who refuses to bend to the criminals' demands; instead, he’s hell-bent on coming at them head-on.

Though The Great Kidnapping has all the elements that are synonymous with Poliziotteschi cinema, the result is a film more police procedural than the all-out action extravaganzas that became prominent in the latter half of the 1970’s.

At the heart of The Great Kidnapping is a tale about holding onto one's principles when faced with adversity that forces your hand to reevaluate said principles. With police commissioner Cardone’s moral compass being put to the test when his son is kidnapped.

The cast are all very good in their respective roles, especially Enrico Maria Salerno's (Execution Squad) portrayal of police commissioner Cardone. He delivers a superb performance as a man whose determination to bring down the kidnappers forces him to make a choice between his principles and saving his son. Cast in the role of Cardone’s son is Enrico Maria Salerno’s son, Giambattista Salerno.

From a production standpoint, the premise is well-executed, and the narrative does a great job of building tension. The narrative reaches a boiling point when police commissioner Cardone’s son is kidnapped. Also, composer Stelvio Cipriani’s solid score features music cues that will give you déjà vu. Ultimately, The Great Kidnapping is an exemplary example of Poliziotteschi's cinema.

The Great Kidnapping makes its way to Blu-ray via a strong audio/video presentation from Cineploit and a good selection of extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer