Magnum Cop - Raro Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1978
Director: Stelvio Massi
Writers: Fulvio Gicca Palli, Gino Capone, Stelvio Massi, Franz Antel
Cast: Maurizio Merli, Joan Collins, Franco Ressel, Werner Pochath, Annarita Grapputo, Alexander Trojan, Massimo Vanni, Gastone Moschin, Jasmine Maimone

Release Date: September 12th, 2023
Approximate running time: 97 minutes 19 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Magnum Cop (Poliziotto Senza Paura) is a gritty Italian action film with an eye-opening performance by Joan Collins (Dynasty) as decadent seductress Brigitte. Wally Spada (Maurizio Merli) is an ex-cop making ends meet as a private detective who gets mixed up in an investigation of a missing girl. This leads him to Austria's underworld and a prostitution racket run by a sleazy femme fatale (Collins)." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

Magnum Cop comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 21.5 GB

Feature: 21.2 GB

No information has been provided about the source used for this transfer. That said, the source is in great shape. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is very good, and though the grain remains intact, in some moments it looks noticeably thicker.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian), 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Though both tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, the Italian-language track is noticeably more robust. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian-language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release are limited to an audio commentary with film critics Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson, and Eugenio Ercolani.

Summary:

Director Stelvio Massi is most known for his work within the poliziotteschi genre. Notable films that he directed are Emergency Squad, Cross Shot, The Last Round, Highway Racer, and Convoy Busters.

The narrative revolves around an Italian private investigator who uncovers a teenage prostitution ring while investigating a kidnapping.

When discussing an actor like Maurizio Merli, it's hard to look past his limitations. His looks bear more than a passing resemblance to Franco Nero’s character from High Crime. And though there are a few films where Maurizio Merli ventures outside of the persona he’s most known for, even these rare instances of him going outside of his comfort zone show how limited his range was as an actor. Fortunately, most of the films that he appeared in were more about physical presence, and in this regard, he delivers.

Besides Maurizio Merli, Magnum Cop has a strong supporting cast that includes Joan Collins (Tales from the Crypt) in the role of a stripper named Brigette, Werner Pochath (Bloodlust) in the role of Strauss, a henchman connected to the prostitution ring, and Gastone Moschin (Milano Calibro 9) in the role of Karl Koper, a private eye who works with Maurizio Merli’s character Walter ‘Wally” Spada. That said, most of the performances are very good.

Bombastic action sequences more than any other area is what poliziotteschi cinema is most remembered for. And nowhere is this clearer than when it comes to car chase sequences. And though Magnum Cop does not have the obligatory car chase sequence, it does have a well-executed foot chase sequence where the protagonist is being chased by two men trying to kill him.

Magnum Cop brings together two of the poliziotteschi genre's most prominent figures, Stelvio Massi and Maurizio Merli. They would collaborate on six films. Out of their six collaborations, Magnum Cop is easily the weakest. Though the premise is ripe with possibilities, the execution of said premise is hampered by a weakly constructed narrative that has too many lulls. That said, things have picked up considerably in the last 30 minutes. Ultimately, Magnum Cop is a by-the-numbers Italian crime film that I can only recommend to die-hard fans of poliziotteschi cinema.

Magnum Cop gets a good release from Raro Video that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and an informative audio commentary.

 Written by Michael Den Boer