Beatrice Cenci – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1969
Director: Lucio Fulci
Writers: Lucio Fulci, Roberto Gianviti
Cast: Tomas Milian, Adrienne Larussa, Georges Wilson, Mavie, Antonio Casagrande, Ignazio Spalla

Release Date: October 21st, 2019
Approximate running time: 93 Minutes 42 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £14.99 (UK)

"Tomas Milian (Syndicate Sadists), Adrienne Laurussa (The Man Who Fell to Earth) and Georges Wilson (Don’t Torture a Duckling) co-star in this brutal re-telling of the Cenci Family. The film depicts the horrific events that led to the demise of one of Italy’s most prestigious families, through two timelines we establish how, and why, this much-loved family were sent to the guillotine in 1599. Based on the tragic true story, Beatrice Cenci (A.K.A The Conspiracy of Torture) shook Italy to its very core upon release in 1969 thanks to its strong condemnation of the Catholic church and set Lucio Fulci on a collision course with the graphic violence that would become synonymous with his most popular works." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand New 2K Scan from The Original 35mm Negatives. Extensive Cleanup and Colour Correction Carried out in the UK."

Beatrice Cenci comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.2 GB

Feature: 27.4 GB

The source used for this transfer is in great shape. Flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, black and contrast remain strong throughout, details generally look crisp, and there are no issues with compression. When compared to previous home video releases, this transfer is a marked improvement.

Audio: 4.25/5 (LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Italian and a LPCM mono mix in English. Both audio mixes are in very good shape; dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. There are two subtitle options for this release. There are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track and removable English SDH subtitles for the English language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an interview with Stephen Thrower author of Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci titled A Most Violent Year (33 minutes, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Antonio Casagrande titled A Jack of All Trades (28 minutes 52 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with removable English subtitles)an audio commentary with Troy Howarth author of Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films, reversible cover art, and a slipcover (limited to first pressing).

Summary:

The year was 1969, and though Lucio Fulci had directed films for a decade, he had yet to make a film that made any breakthrough with audiences outside of his native Italy. Earlier in the year, he achieved his first international success with the thriller One on Top of the Other, and he would follow that up with the very skillful period drama Beatrice Cenci. Despite his success, this time in his life would mark one of the greatest tragedies of his life: the suicide of his wife.

Beatrice Cenci would mark the height of Lucio Fulci’s creative powers, as he would create a film unlike anything he had made before or would ever come close to creating again. Every film that followed Beatrice Cenci would see the level of violence increase while the budgets continued to shrink, putting a strain on Lucio Fulci's creativity. That is not to say that there are not a few nasty scenes in Beatrice Cenci, like a scene where a man gets eaten alive by dogs and this film’s center piece, a grueling torture scene that highlights Lucio Fulci’s sadistic side.

Beatrice Cenci’s screenplay is flawless. There’s not a single moment of composition wasted in this film. It is a visual delight that is only further raised by Lucio Fulci’s distinctive style. Lucio Fulci also does an admirable job holding back and not overusing or exploiting violence to make up for whatever else the production might be lacking, like he would do on so many of his later films.

Also, like many of Lucio Fulci’s best films, one must not forget his collaborators and Beatrice Cenci’s beautiful visuals, shot by cinematographer Erico Menczer, whose other work includes The Cat O' Nine Tails and Professional Killer. Beatrice Cenci’s sparse score has a few motifs that are spellbinding and evocative.

Beatrice Cenci features one of Lucio Fulci's best performances to date. Tomas Milian, who would work with Lucio Fulci a few more times, gives another mesmerizing performance as Olimpo, the seduced lover turned murderer. Adrienne Larussa is surprisingly good in the title role of Beatrice Cenci, and considering this is one of her first films, the result exceeds all expectations. And George Wilson plays the role of the incestuous father Francesco Cenci with the right amount of sleaze and sadism.

Once again, we have another film in which the Catholic Church is not shown in a good light, and Lucio Fulci does a solid job showing the corruption not only within the church but also in society during this time period. Beatrice Cenci's bleak narrative has no redeeming characters; not even the protagonist manages to evoke any sympathy since her plight is due to her own choices.

It’s too bad that Lucio Fulci’s career didn’t feature more films like Beatrice Cenci. Throughout his career, he had a knack for creating some of cinema’s most unforgettable moments out of nothing. And yet, though his reputation as a filmmaker has grown over the years, far too many critics and fans of Italian cinema don’t hold him in the same regard as many of his contemporaries, most notably Dario Argento. Despite being overshadowed by Dario Argento, there’s plenty of evidence that Lucio Fucli, on many levels, is the more talented filmmaker of the two. That being said, Lucio Fulci is not merely a genre filmmaker; he’s without a doubt one of Italy’s greatest filmmakers.

88 Films gives Beatrice Cenci its best home video release to date, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer