The Wild Eye – Scorpion Releasing (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1967
Director: Paolo Cavara
Writers: Paolo Cavara, Fabio Carpi, Ugo Pirro, Tonino Guerra, Alberto Moravia
Cast: Philippe Leroy, Delia Boccardo, Gabriele Tinti, Giorgio Gargiullo, Luciana Angiolillo, Lars Bloch, Gianni Bongioanni, Tullio Marini

Release Date: November 9th, 2015
Approximate Running Time: 97 Minutes 15 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: OOP

"Paolo (Philippe Leroy, The Night Porter) is a documentarian on a mission to see the world and present human nature in its truest, rawest form, even if it means depriving his crew of water in the desert or infiltrating deadly, war-torn regions of Vietnam to find new violent extremes for his next production." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, “Brand new 2K scan".

The Wild Eye comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.2 GB

Feature: 21.1 GB

Though the bulk of the transfer is in excellent shape, there are some minor instances of print debris. That said, flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity is solid, black levels and compression are very good, and grain remains intact.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian), 3.5/5 (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. The Italian-language track is the stronger of the two audio tracks; its sound is clean, clear, balanced, and robust when it should be. Unfortunately, the English subtitles included with this release do not translate the Italian language track; they are a direct translation of the English language track. Dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced on the English language track. Unfortunately, there are about a dozen instances of pops, crackling, or other audio imperfections.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and an interview with actor Lars Bloch (13 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Summary:

Directed by Paolo Cavara, who first rose to prominence directing mondo films like Mondo Cane and Women of the World. Other notable films he directed are Black Belly of the Tarantula and Plot of Fear.

The narrative revolves around Paolo (this is also the director of this film’s first name), a documentary filmmaker obsessed with filming the most depraved moments captured on film.

Though The Wild Eye mirrors the elements that are synonymous with the mondo film genre, it is the first film where Paolo Cavara works with a feature film narrative structure. Also, this is a transitional film for Paolo Cavara that can be seen as a goodbye to a film genre; he was one of the key individuals.

The Wild Eye quickly dives into the process of putting together a mondo film with a bleak opening sequence in the desert. When their jeep breaks down and it is discovered that they are also out of water, they have no choice but to walk and hope someone comes along to save them. In this opening sequence, it becomes clear what kind of man Paolo is and that nothing matters to him more than capturing moments of depravity on film.

When it comes to the performances, the cast is very good in their roles, especially Philippe Leroy in the role of Paolo. He delivers a phenomenal performance that perfectly captures his character's lack of regard for and cruelty towards others. Another notable performance is by Gabriele Tinti (Death Occurred Last Night) in the role of Paolo's cameraman.

From a production standpoint, The Wild Eye achieves its goals. The premise is superbly executed, and the narrative does a good job building towards a brutal finale in which Paolo’s actions end in a tragedy that finally affects him emotionally. Another strength is the beautifully photographed scenic locations. Also, despite Paolo always running towards danger and carnage, the mondo moments in The Wild Eye are nowhere near the gut punch that some mondo films are known for. Ultimately, The Wild Eye is a biting critic of the mondo film genre.

The Wild Eye gets a first-rate release from Scorpion Releasing that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and an informative interview, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer