World Noir Volume 1: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Italy, 1959 (The Facts of Murder), Japan, 1957 (I Am Waiting), France/Italy, 1959 (Witness in the City)
Directors: Pietro Germi (The Facts of Murder), Koreyoshi Kurahara (I Am Waiting), Édouard Molinaro (Witness in the City)
Cast: Pietro Germi, Claudia Cardinale, Franco Fabrizi, Cristina Gaioni, Claudio Gora, Eleonora Rossi Drago, Saro Urzì, Nino Castelnuovo (The Facts of Murder), Yûjirô Ishihara, Mie Kitahara, Isamu Kosugi, Kenjirô Uemura, Hideaki Nitani, Ken Hatano, Kôjirô Kusanagi (I Am Waiting), Lino Ventura, Sandra Milo, Franco Fabrizi, Jacques Berthier, Daniel Ceccaldi, Robert Dalban, Jacques Jouanneau, Micheline Luccioni, Ginette Pigeon, Janine Darcey, Françoise Brion (Witness in the City)

Release Date: December 18th, 2023
Approximate running times: 114 Minutes 42 Seconds (The Facts of Murder), 90 Minutes 23 Seconds (I Am Waiting), 89 Minutes 28 Seconds (Witness in the City)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (The Facts of Murder, I Am Waiting), 1.66:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Witness in the City)
Rating: 15 (The Facts of Murder), 12 (I Am Waiting, Witness in the City)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian (The Facts of Murder), LPCM Mono Japanese (I Am Waiting), LPCM Mono French (Witness in the City)
Subtitles: English (All Films)
Region Coding: Region A (The Facts of Murder), B (The Facts of Murder, I Am Waiting, Witness in the City)
Retail Price: £44.99 (UK)

"Though widely considered an American filmmaking style, film noir was first applied by French critics to the visual and thematic darkness of the flood of American films in the post-War period. Those films, often by European emigré filmmakers, were influenced by European filmmaking modes, notably French poetic realism and Weimar cinema. The American noirs that flourished in the 1940s and 1950s in turn influenced cinema around the world again. This ongoing box set series attempts to capture the trails of the noir influence across the globe, from the pre-War period to the emergence of neo-noir, expanding our understanding and availability of this rich filmmaking tradition. 

In this first collection, World Noir Vol 1 focuses on the 1950s with three films exhibiting noir traits while still evoking their home genre trends and quirks. From 1957, in Koreyoshi Kurahara’s I Am Waiting a failed boxer and a waitress with a dark past run afoul of an underworld syndicate that seeks to exploit the woman to its own ends. With dreams of escaping to Brazil, he agrees to help. But neither the past nor the future turns out to be exactly what it seems. A foundational film from the pioneering studio of post-war Japanese noir Nikkatsu, I Am Waiting was directed by a master of the genre and stars Yujiro Ishihara and Mie Kitahara, the on-screen and real-life couple that ruled Japanese popular cinema of the 1950s.

In Edouard Molinaro’s 1959 Witness in the City, a wealthy industrialist murders his lover, throwing her from a train to look like suicide. Her husband, Ancelin (Lino Ventura, The Valachi Papers) seeks revenge but his endeavours leave a witness putting him in a cat-and-mouse game, thrillingly shot on the streets of Paris. An adaptation of the novel by celebrated writers Boileau and Narcejac (Vertigo, Les diaboliques) Molinaro wrings every ounce of tension from the narrative, focusing on evocative shadows and Parisian nightlife shot by Henri Decae (Le Samourai). 

Finally, in Pietro Germi’s The Facts of Murder, Inspector Ingravallo has been called to a Roman apartment building to investigate a robbery. Once there he questions the tenants but soon realises something is amiss. As the investigation progresses a simple robbery leads to a murder case… Directed by and starring Germi (The Railroad Man) as the growling Inspector, The Facts of Murder was loosely adapted from celebrated author Carlo Emilio Gadda’s novel and is shot with inky shadows reminiscent of film noir, while the mystery element prefigures the giallo. Featuring a cast of wonderful supporting actors including Claudia Cardinale (The Day of the Owl) and Claudio Gora (Il sorpasso), the film won multiple awards at Italian institutions including the Golden Globe for Best Film." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (The Facts of Murder), 4.5/5 (Witness in the City), 3.75/5 (I Am Waiting)

Here’s the information provided about The Facts of Murder's transfer, “The Facts of Murder was restored in 4K from the original camera negative by Cineteca di Bologna in collaboration with RTI-Mediaset and Infinity+ at L'immagine Ritrovata"

The Facts of Murder comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.1 GB

Feature: 33.2 GB

The source used for this transfer is in excellent shape. Image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Here’s the information provided about I Am Waiting's transfer, “I Am Waiting was transferred in high definition by Nikkatsu. Additional restoration was performed by Radiance Films in 2023."

I Am Waiting comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.6 GB

Feature: 26.5 GB

The source used for this transfer is in good shape; there is some minor print debris. Image clarity is strong, contrast generally looks very good, and compression is solid. That said, despite black levels looking strong most of the time, it should be noted that there are some moments where they are not as convincing as they should be. This transfer is on par with most of Nikkatsu’s transfers for films from the 1950s and 1960s.

Here’s the information provided about Witness in the City's transfer, “Witness in the City was restored by Gaumont in 2K. Additional color correction was performed by Radiance Films in 2023."

Witness in the City comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.5 GB

Feature: 26 GB

The source used for this transfer is in excellent shape. Image clarity and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look. When compared to Kino Lorber’s 2022 Blu-ray release, Radiance's release greatly improves contrast and black levels.

Audio: 4.5/5 (The Facts of Murder, Witness in the City) 3.75/5 (I Am Waiting)

The Facts of Murder comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Italian with removable English subtitles. The audio is in great shape; there are no issues with hiss or distortion. Dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, ambient sounds and the score are well-represented.

I Am Waiting comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. Though the audio is in good shape, there is a faint hiss that can be heard throughout. That said, dialog comes across clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Range-wise, things can sound limited.

Witness in the City comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds excellent. Dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise things sound great.

Extras:

Extras for The Facts of Murder include a video essay titled What's Black and Yellow All Over? All Shades of Italian Film Noir by Paul A. J. Lewis on the presence of noir trends in Italian cinema and the evolution of the genre (18 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a documentary titled The Man With the Cigar in His Mouth about Pietro Germi featuring interviews with his colleagues and collaborators including Mario Monicelli, Claudia Cardinale, Stefania Sandrelli, and Giuseppe Tornatore (38 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with Pietro Germi expert Mario Sesti (46 minutes 36 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and reversible cover art.

Extras for I Am Waiting include a video essay by Mark Schilling titled The Yujiro Effect (12 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival documentary about actor Yujiro Ishihara during location shooting in Europe titled Yujiro in Europe (41 minutes 20 seconds, 2.35:1 aspect ratio, DTS-HD mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp, and reversible cover art. 

Extras for Witness in the City include an archival interview with Philippe Durant, biographer of Lino Ventura (10 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French with removable English subtitles), an interview with film critic and author Ginette Vincendeau who provides an overview of noir in France during the 1950s (22 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an introduction by film critic Tony Rayns (17 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and reversible cover art.

Other extras include a removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings and a 80-page perfect bound booklet with cast & crew information for each film, an essay titled No Boundaries: The Limitless Parameters of World Noir written by Barry Forshaw, an essay titled Out of the Past: The Mean Streets of Post-War Japan written by Hayley Scanlon, an essay titled Tracing the Hidden Lines of Postwar Japanese Film Noir written by William Carroll, an interview from 1985 with director Edouard Molinaro, an essay titled The Facts of Murder and Hybridization in Italian Cinema written by Roberto Curti, an essay titled International Noir of the 1950s written by Sam Wigley, and information about the transfers.

Summary:

The Facts of Murder: Directed by Pietro Germi, whose other notable films are Four Ways Out, The Railroad Man, Divorce Italian Style, and Seduced and Abandoned.

The narrative revolves around a police detective investigating two crimes that happened in two days that are connected.

When one thinks of Italian thrillers, they think of Gialli, directed by Mario Bava and Dario Argento, which gave Italian thrillers a more hard edge with gory kill sequences and stylish visuals that heighten the mood. And though there have been solid examples of thrillers in Italy that predate the films of Mario Bava and Dario Argento, like Luchino Visconti’s Ossessione and Pietro Germi’s The Facts of Murder, these earlier examples of Italian thrillers owe more to American film noir than they do to the giallo.

Every great thriller has a memorable moment that sets the stage for the investigation that follows. Case in point: The Facts of Murder, a film that actually has two such moments that are ultimately tied together. The first of these moments starts off in silence as the camera slowly pulls away from a shot of a hallway, and as it's much its way up the side of the building, silence is disrupted by a gunshot. And when the dust has settled, it is revealed that there has been a robbery, and the thief was shot at as they fled. The other of these moments occurred a day later in the apartment next door to the first crime. And this time around, a woman has been murdered.

When it comes to the performances, I can only think of one word: flawless. The most memorable performance was by Pietro Germi (who also directed this film) in the role of Inspector Ciccio Ingravallo. He delivers a commanding performance of a character who is willing to put the rules to their limit to catch a killer. Another strength of his performance is how his character effortlessly shifts from calm to aggressive. Another performance of note is Claudia Cardinale (Once Upon a Time in the West) in the role of Assuntina, a servant girl who witnessed the first crime, and she also holds the key to unlocking the killer's identity.

From a production standpoint, The Facts of Murder is a film where everything perfectly falls into place. Though most of the narrative is about moments where the police are investigating, that does not mean that the narrative is not overflowing with tension. In fact, the well-constructed narrative does a phenomenal job building the moment toward the moment of truth. Another strength of the narrative is that it uses flashbacks in the final act, which put the missing pieces of the puzzle into perspective. Ultimately, The Facts of Murder is an extraordinary film that serves as a perfect transition film between noir-influenced Italian thrillers and the giallo.

I Am Waiting: Directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara, whose other notable films are Intimidation, The Warped Ones, I Hate But Love, Black Sun, and Thirst for Love.

The narrative revolves around a former boxer whose path crosses with that of a nightclub hostess who's trying to get away from her gangster boss.

Though there are many elements in I Am Waiting that are in line with film noir, notably, characters who are part of underworld crime and a woman who appears in a protagonist's life are on a collision course with danger. The result is a film that is actually as much of a love story as it is a crime story. Even the look of I Am Waiting is not what one would expect from a film noir.

In its opening moments, I Am Waiting does a great job laying the foundation for the story that unfolds. The protagonist comes across a woman who is contemplating suicide, and his intervention saves her life. From there, these two characters form a bond, and just when things seem to be going well for them, enter the person who the woman was trying to escape from.

When it comes to the performances, the cast is very good, especially its two leads, Yûjirô Ishihara (Rusty Knife) in the role of Joji, a former boxer, and Mie Kitahara (Crazed Fruit) in the role of a hostess named Saeko. Their onscreen chemistry is excellent, which is not a surprise as they had already worked on other films, and three years after I Am Waiting, they would marry.

From a production standpoint, there is not an area where I Am Waiting is lacking. The well-executed narrative has solid pacing, flashbacks are effectively employed to fill in backstory, and there is an excellent ending where the protagonist avenges his murdered brother. That said, the first half of the narrative is more character-driven, while the latter half is where the elements of the crime film come into play. Ultimately, I Am Waiting is a strong debut film from Koreyoshi Kurahara.

Witness in the City: Directed by Édouard Molinaro, whose other notable films are Back to the Wall, Oscar, A Pain in the Ass, and La Cage aux Folles.

The narrative revolves around a man who murders the man who killed his wife, and from there, things go awry as he tries to eliminate anyone who can identify him.

Though film noir is most associated with American cinema, there is a strong case that could be made that countries like Germany, notably German expressionist cinema, played a role in the evolution of film noir, specifically when it comes to visuals. Also, when it comes to other European countries' crime films that have a film noir aesthetic, far too often these films are merely categorized as films trying to mimic American film noir. Case in point: Witness in the City, a French crime film that makes a strong case for French film noir’s own identity that is separate from any outside influences.

A sensational sequence opens Witness in the City: a man and a woman are on a train, and in a struggle, the man throws the woman off of the train. That said, despite this murder being the event that sets the story that follows in motion, this actual murder eventually fades into the background when another murder occurs, and from there, more killings happen to cover the second murder.

Witness in the City has a solid cast who all deliver fantastic performances, especially Lino Ventura (Army of Shadows) in the role of Ancelin, a distraught husband who kills his murdered wife. Though his character spends most of his time alone, even when he’s interacting with other characters, he says little. That said, so much of his performance relies on his expressions and body language.

Another performance of note is Franco Fabrizi (I Vitelloni), in the role of Lambert, a taxi driver who unknowingly becomes a witness to a murder. His character mistakes the killer for the person he is waiting to pick up. Other notable cast members are Sandra Milo (Juliet of the Spirits) in the role of Lambert’s girlfriend Lilliane, and Robert Dalban (Diabolique) in the role of Raymond, an older taxi driver and Lambert’s mentor.

Though there are several murders in Witness in the City, what ultimately drives its narrative are the moments where Ancelin stalks Lambert. Ancelin is waiting for the most opportune moment to get rid of Lambert, the only person who can identify him. The narrative does a phenomenal job of building tension with the anticipation of Ancelin accomplishing his goal. That said, when the moment of truth arrives, things do not go as planned, and Ancelin then finds himself trying to flee the city of taxi drivers and police who are all looking for him.

From a production standpoint, there is not an area where Witness in the City does not excel. The premise is superbly executed, and a tension-filled narrative does an amazing job building momentum towards an exceptional ending. Another strength are stylish visuals, which use light and shadow to heighten the mood. Ultimately, Witness in the City is an exceptional film that fans of film noir should thoroughly enjoy.

Film noir is one of my favorite film genres, and though I had been more entrenched in American film noir’s, it is refreshing to discover film noir’s from around the world and their take on this amazing genre. That said, World Noir Volume 1 is an exceptional release from Radiance Films, in which all three films have never looked or sounded better, and there is a wealth of informative extras. Highly recommended.

Note: World Noir Volume 1 is limited to 3000 copies.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Naked Violence - Raro Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1969
Director: Fernando Di Leo
Writers: Fernando Di Leo, Nino Latino, Andrea Maggiore
Cast: Pier Paolo Capponi, Nieves Navarro, Marzio Margine, Renato Lupi, Enzo Liberti, Giuliano Manetti, Danika La Loggia, Anna Maria La Rovere, Michel Bardinet, Françoise Prévost

Release Date: July 30th, 2013
Approximate running time: 98 minutes 58 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / VC-1 Video
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $49.95 (Naked Violence is part of Fernando Di Leo: The Italian Crime Collection: Volume 2)

"Naked violence is about how a teacher of an evening school for youngsters with social problems is brutally raped and murdered right in her classroom. The only suspects are the kids and the police are surprised to find them all quietly in their homes instead of having escaped. There is a reason. Each kid declares that he did not participate in the brutality but was forced to watch. The police officer Lamberti has reasons to believe that someone, an adult, has orchestrated the kids whose name they are too afraid to mention.." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 2.5/5

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

Naked Violence comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.4 GB

Feature: 20 GB

The source used for this transfer is in good shape; there is still some minor print debris and other imperfections. Flesh tones are inconsistent, colors generally look good, black levels and image clarity are not convincing, and it is clear that digital noise reduction has been applied to this transfer.

Audio: 3.5/5

This release comes with two audio options: a LPCM Mono mix in English and a LPCM Mono mix in Italian. Both audio mixes sound clean, clear, and balanced throughout. Though the range is rather limited at times, the more action-oriented and ambient aspects of the soundtrack fare really well. Included with this release are removable English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a segment titled ‘Fernando Di Leo at the Cinematheque Francaise’ (15 minutes 13 seconds, LPCM stereo French with removable English subtitles), and a featurette titled Those Goodfellas (18 minutes 49 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with removable English subtitles).

Naked Violence is part of Fernando Di Leo: The Italian Crime Collection: Volume 2. This box set also contains The Kidnap Syndicate and Shoot First, Die Later. This box set comes with a twenty-four page booklet that comes with cast and crew information for Kidnap Syndicate, Naked Violence, and Shoot First, Die Later; brief essays for Kidnap Syndicate and Naked Violence; and an essay about Shoot First, Die Later that’s broken down into six sections: Introduction, The Production, The Cast, The Director of Action, The Soundtrack, and The Melville Mystery; and a bio for Fernando Di Leo.

Summary:

Directed by Fernando Di Leo, a filmmaker who is most known for his work in the Poliziotteschi genre. Notable films he directed are To Be Twenty, Slaughter Hotel, and Caliber 9. Naked Violence would also mark the first of Di Leo’s many adaptations of novels written by Giorgio Scerbanenco.

The witnesses to the brutal rape and murder of a school teacher also happen to be the police's only suspects, her students.

The Giallo and the Poliziotteschi genres were two of the most popular genres in 1970s Italian cinema. Anyone familiar with these two genres knows that they have elements that overlap. There are a few films that straddle a line between the Giallo and the Poliziotteschi genres, notably What Have They Done to Your Daughters?. Another solid example of mixing these two genres is Naked Violence.

Though the majority of Fernando Di Leo’s films are known for their explosive opening sequences, one would be hard-pressed to find an Italian thriller with a more intense opening credit sequence than the opening credit sequence in Naked Violence. It is during these few opening minutes that the crime for which the remainder of Naked Violence hangs on takes place. That said, the most surprising aspect of Naked Violence is how firmly it holds your attention—not much more than the words the characters are saying.

As mentioned before, this is a character-driven film, though it is not as visually flashy as some of Fernando Di Leo’s later epic crime films. That is not to say that he does not take full advantage of the few moments he does have an opportunity to let the visuals flourish. Most notably the scenes leading up to the finale and the revealing of the killers’ identities.

Performance wise the entire cast are very good, especially the younger actors portraying the delinquent youths. Another performance of note is Nieves Navarro (Death Walks at Midnight) in the role of a social worker who joins the investigation at the request of the lead inspector. Ultimately, Naked Violence is yet another exceptional example of Fernando Di Leo’s effortlessly ability to make engaging cinema that is entertaining and resonates with you long after its final resolution.

Raro Video’s Naked Violence Blu-ray release has a mediocre transfer that leaves a lot of room for improvement.

Written by Michael Den Boer

To Be Twenty - Raro Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1978
Director: Fernando Di Leo
Writer: Fernando Di Leo
Cast: Gloria Guida, Lilli Carati, Ray Lovelock, Vincenzo Crocitti, Giorgio Bracardi, Leopoldo Mastelloni, Carmelo Reale, Serena Bennato, Vittorio Caprioli, Licinia Lentini, Daniela Doria

Release Date: November 19th, 2019
Approximate running times: 97 Minutes 41 Seconds (Director’s Cut), 83 Minutes 48 Seconds (Theatrical Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Theatrical Cut)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono Italian (Theatrical Cut), Dolby Digital Mono Italian (Director’s Cut)
Subtitles: English (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: OOP

"Twenty, beautiful, sexy and liberated, and fed up with their provincial lives, Lia and Tina decide to hitchhike their way to Rome to find a commune where they can stay and live the life of free love… or so they think. Things don’t go as they have planned though, and soon they become involved in prostitution, the police and an aggressive gang which all culminates with a brutal and unexpected violent end." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5 (Theatrical Cut), 2/5 (Director’s Cut)

Here’s the information provided about the theatrical version's transfer, "New Digital Transfer from Original 35mm Negative Print".

To Be Twenty comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 24.6 GB

Feature: 17.5 GB (Theatrical Cut), 5.3 GB (Director’s Cut)

The source that’s used for the theatrical cut is in good shape; any source debris is minimal. Colors generally look good, black levels are adequate, compression is good, and though there is digital filtering, is it not as intrusive as most of Raro’s transfers.

The director’s cut comes from a dated master that is most likely an analog source. And though the overall quality pales in comparison to the theatrical cut’s transfer, The director’s cut is essentially an extra.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono English - Theatrical Cut, DTS-HD Mono Italian - Theatrical Cut), 3/5 (Dolby Digital Mono Italian - Director’s Cut)

The theatrical version comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English and a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian. Both audio mixes are in very good shape; dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Included with this version are removable English subtitles for the Italian-language track.

The director’s cut comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital mono mix in Italian with removable English subtitles. The audio is in good shape, the background noise is minimal, the dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a documentary titled Twenty Years for a Massacre (29 minutes 49 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a director’s cut version of To Be Twenty (97 minutes 41 Seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), a slipcover and a 10-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Young, beautiful, and pissed off: The Legacy of Avere Venti’Anni written by Nathaniel Thompson, author of DVD Delirium, a bio and filmography for Fernando Di Leo.

Summary:

Directed by Fernando Di Leo, a filmmaker who is most known for his work in the Poliziotteschi genre. Notable films he directed are Naked Violence, Slaughter Hotel, and Caliber 9.

The narrative revolves around two free-spirited young women who hitchhike to Rome and find refuge at a commune, where they are able to indulge in all their vices. Unfortunately, their new-found nirvana is short-lived when they’re arrested by the police for prostitution and deported. Not ready to give up just yet, on their way home, they decide to stop over at a diner, and what should have been another fun-filled adventure quickly turns bleak when they rub the men in the wrong direction.

When To Be Twenty was originally released, the film was severely censored, with the most notable cuts being the opening sequence on a beach, Gloria Guida's (Monika) and Lilli Carati’s (The Alcove) lesbian tryst, and To Be Twenty’s notorious ending. For this release, Raro Video has included this shorter version as well as Fernando Di Leo's preferred cut of To Be Twenty.

In the latter half of the 1970s, sexually themed comedies were among the most successful films emerging out of Italy. Two of the more prominent stars in this genre were Gloria Guida and Lilli Carati, the stars of To Be Twenty. And while To Be Twenty’s opening set-up leads one to believe that what is about to unfold is just more of what we have come to expect from the types of films these two actresses are most known for, the result is something so far removed from where they had been or have returned to as actresses.

And while Italian cinema is known for often pushing the boundaries, when it comes to violence or even taboo subjects. It is safe to say that there are not too many films that go for the jugular in the way To Be Twenty does. In fact one would be hard pressed to find another film, not just in Italian cinema or even cinema from anywhere in the world that shifts as drastically in tone as To Be Twenty does in its last moments. The closest comparison to this shift that I can think of would be the way Takashi Miike concludes of Audition.

When discussing To Be Twenty, one must not overlook or underappreciate the performances of its two leading ladies, Gloria Guida and Lilli Carati, who are not given that much to work with beneath the surface. The bulk of their performances rely on their physical appearances, and yet they somehow manage to make what should have been characters that are easy to dismiss sympathetic. So when their demise finally arrives, it is arguably one of the most grueling sequences to ever grace the silver screen.

To Be Twenty gets a serviceable release from Raro Video that leaves plenty of room for improvement.

                                                      Director’s Cut Screenshots.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Slaughter Hotel - Raro Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1971
Director: Fernando Di Leo
Writers: Fernando Di Leo, Nino Latino
Cast: Klaus Kinski, Margaret Lee, Rosalba Neri, Jane Garret, John Karlsen, Gioia Desideri, Giangiacomo Elia, Fernando Cerulli

Release Date: December 9th, 2014
Approximate running time: 94 minutes 7 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 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

"This Italian exploitation horror cult classic stars a terminally creepy doctor (Klaus Kinski) at an asylum for suicidal and disturbed women. There's a team of strange doctors, unprofessional nurses and even a hunky gardener at these ladies' service to help them recover. In classic Giallo form director Fernando Di Leo introduces a mad-raving murderer, typically dressed in black and using the institution's old-fashioned armory decoration as slashing tools." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "New HD transfer digitally restored".

Slaughter Hotel comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.1 GB

Feature: 20.1 GB

Though the source used for this transfer has been cleaned up, unfortunately, it suffers from digital noise reduction and scanner noise. Image clarity is generally strong, black levels fare well, and any compression issues are minor. That said, despite being a marked improvement over Shriek Show’s DVD and Raro Video’s DVD, the result is another disappointing transfer from Raro Video.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian), 0/5 (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. Both audio mixes are in very good shape, as the dialog is always clear and everything sounds balanced. Range-wise, considering the limitations of the mono source, these audio mixes do a satisfactory job, and the more ambient aspects of the soundtrack fare well. It should be noted that some scenes were only shot in Italian, and when listening to these scenes while listening to the English language track, these moments are silent. And it is a shame that during these non-English-dubbed moments, the Italian audio mix was not used instead of these moments of silence. Included with this release are removable English subtitles. The reason for giving the English language track a 0/5 score is because it is useless since there are moments where there is no audio.

Here is more information about the missing audio from the English audio track. “Regarding this matter this was an editorial decision, not a mistake: the longer exclusive uncut version of this movie, that we have released, has no audio in some very short segments of the English dubbed version-not due to a technical problem, but because we used a master that had scenes that were never used in previous releases and/or screenings. We, at Raro, decided to add some of these parts as extras in the special features. But, in order to give you access to this rare and longer uncut version, we left some short silent scenes in the English dubbed version.”

Extras:

Extras for this release include deleted scenes (2 minutes 13 second, Dolby Digital mono), an interview with actress Rosalba Neri titled Lady Frankenstein’s Memoirs (18 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo in Italian with non-removable English subtitles), a featurette titled Asylum of Fear with comments from director Fernando Di Leo, Rosalbi Neri, Oliver Pere (Quinzaine Executive) and composer Silvano Spadaccino (14 minutes 23 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo in Italian with non-removable English subtitles), a slipcover, and an eight-page booklet with cast & crew information, and an essay about Slaughter Hotel written by Chris Alexander.

Summary:

Slaughter Hotel was co-written and directed by Fernando Di Leo, whose other notable films include Caliber 9, The Italian Connection, The Boss, and To Be Twenty. The score for Slaughter Hotel was composed by Silvano Spadaccino (Beatrice Cenci), who had previously worked with Di Leo on Naked Violence and A Wrong Way to Love. He would also contribute songs to three more Di Leo films: Rulers of the City, To Be Twenty, and Burn, Boy, Burn.

The narrative revolves around a psychopath who targets patients at a clinic that caters to mentally disturbed women who come from wealthy families.

Alternative titles that Slaughter Hotel has been released under include Asylum Erotica, Cold Blooded Beast, the film’s Italian language title La bestia uccide a sangue freddo (The Beast Kills in Cold Blood), and its French language title Les insatisfaites poupées érotiques du docteur Hitchcock (The Dissatisfied Erotic Dolls of Dr. Hitchcock).

Content-wise, Slaughter Hotel has all the ingredients that one would expect or want from a Giallo. Gory murder set pieces, an ample amount of nudity, and a masked killer who keeps things interesting by using a wide array of weapons, all of which just happen to be laying around this most unusual asylum,.

And though Slaughter Hotel employs another one of these genre staples, the red herring, it is in this area that it is not as effective, as at least one said red herring is an obvious decoy that stands out like a sore thumb. Also, one area where Slaughter Hotel differs from the Giallo genre’s staples is its ending, which offers up an unusual resolution in which the killer does not get the chance to explain the reason behind their killing spree.

When it comes to the cast, Slaughter Hotel features a superb cast, led by Rosalbi Neri (Top Sensation) in the role of Anne, a nymphomaniac whose masturbating scene is easily the most memorable moment. Other performances of note include Margeret Lee (Venus in Furs) in the pivotal role of being used by the police as bait to finally draw out the killer, and Klaus Kinski (Count Dracula) doing what he does best, looking menacing.

Known for his extraordinary work within the Poliziotteschi genre, Slaughter Hotel would mark Fernando Di Leo’s first and only foray into the Giallo genre. And though Slaughter Hotel was clearly thrust upon Di Leo due to the popularity of the Giallo genre at the time, The end result is an unfairly maligned film that actually holds up better than the majority of its contemporaries.

Slaughter Hotel is another disappointing release from Raro Video, a company that is the Blu-ray equivalent to Mya Communication, whose DVD releases had many of the same shortcomings that plague far too many Raro Video releases.

Written by Michael Den Boer