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Detective Belli – FilmArt (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1969
Director: Romolo Guerrieri
Writers: Franco Verucci, Alberto Silvestri, Massimo D'Avak
Cast: Franco Nero, Florinda Bolkan, Adolfo Celi, Delia Boccardo, Susanna Martinková, Renzo Palmer, Roberto Bisacco, Maurizio Bonuglia, Laura Antonelli, Silvia Dionisio

Release Date: March 31st, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 100 Minutes 54 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono German
Subtitles: English, German
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: €19.99 (Germany)

"Stefano Belli, commissioner of the immigration police, is paid well by lawyer Fontana to deport the British photo model Sandy Bronson as quickly as possible. She made herself unpopular with Fontana because she had approached his son Mino, who intends to marry her. In addition, Belli should check the music producer Romanis, in whose business Fontana's wife Vera wants to invest a larger sum.

A routine task for Belli, but a nasty surprise awaits him when he finds Romanis dead in his apartment. The police are looking for explanations and Belli finds himself in a dangerous game of cat and mouse that ends up turning his head can cost..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Detective Belli comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.7 GB

Feature: 21 GB

Though no information is provided about the source used for this transfer, the source used is in great shape, free of any source-related blemishes. Colors and flesh tones look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and compression is very good. That said, around the sixty-five minute mark, there is a brief moment where the quality drops.

Audio: 4/5 (LPCM Mono Italian)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Italian and a LPCM mono mix in German. For this review, I only listened to the Italian-language track. This track is in great shape; dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced; and range-wise, this track sounds very good. Included are removable English and German subtitles. It should be noted that the English subtitles match up with the Italian track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include Italian theatrical trailer (3 minutes 30 seconds, LPCM mono Italian, no subtitles), German theatrical trailer (2 minutes 30 seconds, LPCM mono German, no subtitles), alternate ending sourced from VHS (1 minute 29 seconds, LPCM mono, no dialog), alternate ending from HD source (1 minute 27 seconds, LPCM mono, no dialog), reversible cover art, and a sixteen page booklet with posters and stills and lobby cards.

Summary:

Detective Belli was directed by Romolo Guerrieri, whose other notable films include The Sweet Body of Deborah, The Double, and Young, Violent, and Dangerous. Detective Belli has been released under the alternate title Ring of Death, and the Italian language title Tracce di rossetto e di droga per un detective roughly translates to Traces of lipstick and drugs for a detective.

Though Detective Belli foreshadows the brutality that would later become synonymous with the Poliziotteschi genre, Content-wise, Detective Belli actually owes a greater debt to the Raymond Chandler detective films of the 1940s.

At the heart of Detective Belli is an amoral detective who is willing to do whatever it takes to solve a case. Of course, this means that he has a disregard for protocol and that he has no boundaries when interrogating someone, with his fists as his main weapon for getting information from said suspects. And while his lack of morality is one of the key ingredients that drives the narrative and defines who he is as a character, it is ultimately his transformation out of the gray area in which he lurks for the majority of Detective Belli that is the film’s most rewarding asset.

The look of Detective Belli is in line with other Italian films from the era. The stylish visuals take full advantage of the metropolitan locations and attractive cast. The narrative moves along at a brisk enough pace, with each new revelation spread out for maximum effect.

Detective Belli features an extraordinary cast, all of whom are exemplary, especially Franco Nero (Django) in the role of the protagonist, Detective Stefano Belli. He brings an intensity to the role that those familiar with his other films are sure to thoroughly enjoy. And while the strengths of his performance are more rooted in his emotional responses, he more than holds his own when it comes to more dialog-driven moments. Another performance of note is that of Florinda Bolkan (A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin), who has been cast as this film’s femme fatale. Adolfo Celi’s (Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man) character is easily the most underused, thus making it one of the most forgettable performances. Ultimately, Detective Belli is a solid example of 1960s Eurocrime cinema.

Detective Belli gets a strong audio/video presentation from FilmArt, recommended.

Note: This release is limited to 1000 copies.