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The Great Kidnapping - Raro Video (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: September 27th, 2022
Approximate running time: 96 minutes 15 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"A small town in Northern Italy lives in terror of a local gang who specialize in the kidnapping of wealthy young men. The gang operates with impunity as parents often pay ransoms immediately, which has lead Police Commissioner Jovine (Lee J. Cobb, 12 Angry Men) to resign in frustration. His incoming replacement Cardone (Enrico Maria Salerno) insists the gangsters must be resisted, declaring he will never give into their demands at any cost. Despite striking back at the gang in several operations, Cardone’s methods are continually challenged as indiscriminately violent by District Attorney Aloisi (Jean Sorel, The Day of the Jackal). Undeterred, further major arrests seem to only prove Cardone correct. But as Cardone continues to brush up against the town’s ruling web of corruption, he risks losing his family, and himself, to his war on crime. When his own son is kidnapped by the gang, Cardone must decide how much he is willing to sacrifice for his principals." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "New HD transfer".

The Great Kidnapping comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.5 GB

Feature: 17.7 GB (Raro Video), 27.8 GB (Cineploit)

Though the source used for Raro Video’s transfer has many of the same qualities that Cineploit’s transfer does. It does not help that Raro Video dedicates ten GB's less space for the main feature than Cineploit did for their release. Also, Raro Video’s transfer has black crush and compression related issues that are more glaring when watching their transfer in motion.

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 sounds clean, clear, and balanced. Range wise, ambient sounds are well-represented, and the score sounds appropriately robust. That said, this audio track is on par with Cineploits Blu-ray’s Italian language track. It should be noted that Cineploit’s release comes with an English language track, which for some reason has not been included with Raro Video’s release.

Extras:

Extras are limited to a featurette about actor Lee J. Cobb with Mike Malloy, Eurocrime: the Italian Cop & Gangster Films that ruled the 70s (17 minutes 20 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles).

Extras on Cineploit’s Blu-ray 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).

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.

After a long delay, Raro Video’s The Great Kidnapping Blu-ray finally arrives. Unfortunately, it comes up short in every way to Cineploit’s English-friendly region-free release that has been widely available for nine months before Raro Video’s release.

Raro Video