Riot in a Women's Prison - Raro Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1974
Director: Brunello Rondi
Writers: Brunello Rondi, Leila Buongiorno, Aldo Semerari
Cast: Martine Brochard, Marilù Tolo, Erna Schürer, Katia Christine, Cristina Galbó, Maria Cumani Quasimodo, Maria Pia Conte

Release Date: October 8th, 2024
Approximate running time: 91 minutes 27 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Gorgeous young French tourist Martine (Martine Brochard) gets arrested while on vacation in Italy. After being found guilty of a trumped-up drug possession charge, Martine finds herself incarcerated at a hellish women’s penitentiary where the inmates are subjected to mental and physical torture by the staff and fellow felons alike. Things are compounded in severity when a riot breaks out in the prison, and Martine struggles to maintain her sanity. Soon it becomes every inmate for herself!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.25/5

Riot in a Women's Prison comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 20.9 GB

Feature: 20.7 GB

No information is provided about this transfer’s source. Despite the source being in great shape, it's not without its shortcomings. Though colors generally look very good, there are moments where they look too green. Flesh tones look healthy, the image looks crisp, and there are no issues with compression. That said, this transfer is not one of Raro’s worst or best; it's somewhere in the middle.

Audio: 2.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. This audio track lacks range; there are sibilance issues and dialog sounds muffled. Also, there is a scene where the protagonist talks to her parents in French that is not translated.

Extras:

Extras are limited to an audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth and Eugenio Ercolani.

Summary:

Brunello Rondi, who also directed notable films such as A Violent Life, Il demonio, and Black Emmanuelle, White Emmanuelle, directed Riot in a Women's Prison. Besides directing, he’s worked extensively as a screenwriter, notably working with Federico Fellini on eight films.

In Italy, authorities have incarcerated a French tourist in a women's prison, falsely accusing her of drug possession.

Riot in a Women's Prison combines two genres: Women in Prison films and nunsploitation. Though Riot in a Women's Prison leans more toward the latter, nuns play a large role in the story that unfolds, and there is one scene where a nun has her clothes ripped off by a mob. That said, the result is a melodrama that's devoid of the elements one expects from a WIP film.

Despite Riot in a Women's Prison’s shortcomings, it does start off strong. Its opening setup does a great job providing the protagonist's backstory. Unfortunately, once the narrative settles in things are slow moving and there are very few moments that rise above being mundane. And at just under 92 minutes, it is an overlong film that overstays its welcome.

The one thing that Riot in a Women's Prison has going for it is its cast, which is filled with recognizable faces from 1960s and 1970s Italian genre cinema. The strongest performance is Marilù Tolo (The Five Days), who portrays Susan, a prisoner who takes the protagonist under her wing. In one scene, Susan, with her mean streak, lures and hangs a dog, revealing her bleak world view.

Though there are moments that try to titillate and shock the viewer, they ultimately are ineffective in their execution. Besides the aforementioned moment of animal cruelty, the other shocking moment is an abortion that is juxtapositioned with the protagonist pleasuring herself. Ultimately, Riot in a Women's Prison is an unremarkable film that has no redeemable qualities.

Riot in a Women's Prison is yet another disappointing audio/video presentation from Raro Video.

Written by Michael Den Boer