Madness - Raro Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1980
Director: Fernando Di Leo
Writers: Mario Gariazzo, Fernando Di Leo
Cast: Joe Dallesandro, Lorraine De Selle, Patrizia Behn, Gianni Macchia, Omero Capanna

Release Date: September 17th, 2024
Approximate running time: 89 minutes 41 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"After brutally killing two farmers with a pitchfork, escaped prisoner Joe (Dallesandro) makes a bee-line for the holiday cottage he had stashed some loot five years before. But before he can retrieve his cash a car pulls up with the womanizing Sergio (Gianni Macchia, Emanuelle Around the World), his trusting wife Liliana (Patrizia Behn) and her flirty sister Paola (Lorraine De Selle, Cannibal Ferox). Joe proceeds to torment this already dysfunctional trio with increasing depravity." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Madness comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 21.3 GB

Feature: 20.9 GB

This release does not provide any information about its source, but it is in good condition. Colors generally look good, image clarity is solid, black levels are strong, there are no issues with compression, and there does not appear to be any egregious digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian with removable English subtitles. Though the audio is in good shape, range-wise it is limited. That said, dialog always comes through clearly enough to follow.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with film historian Troy Howarth.

Summary:

Fernando Di Leo directed Madness. He’s a filmmaker who is most known for his work in the Poliziotteschi genre. His notable films include To Be Twenty, Slaughter Hotel, and Caliber 9. Madness's composer, Luis Bacalov, primarily created its score using music cues he previously wrote for other films, including Caliber 9.

An escaped criminal returns to the place where he hid the money he had stolen many years before.

Content-wise, Madness owes a lot to the film The Last House on the Left. Though it was not the first or the last film loosely inspired by The Last House on the Left, the end result is something that sets it apart from the rest of The Last House on the Left ‘clones’. Unlike The Last House on the Left, Madness has no characters that the viewer can sympathize with. From its opening moments Madness is a film that is dead set on bombarding its viewers with an onslaught of moments of degradation. That said, what sets Madness apart from other The Last House on the Left ‘clones’ is its amoral characters.

Madness is an ‘intimate’ affair; it has one primary location and four characters. It is a film that relies heavily on its performances. Anchoring the cast is Joe Dallesandro’s (Blood for Dracula) portrayal of an escaped prisoner. Though he is not the type of actor that is ever going to wow you with his performance, he is very good-looking and menacing on screen. The strongest performance is Lorraine De Selle House on the Edge of the Park in the role of Paola, a woman who’s having an affair with her sister's husband.

Another area where Madness delivers, and then some are its rough and ready visuals. Though the visuals never call attention to themselves, they perfectly complement the bleak story that unfolds. That said, despite the fact that there is never a shortage of violence, its sexual moments are where most of its shock and potency lie. Ultimately, Madness is a well-crafted slice of exploitation that exceeds the sum of its parts.

Kino Lorber gives Madness a good release that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and an informative audio commentary.

Written by Michael Den Boer