Lookin' Italian – Severin Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1994
Director: Guy Magar
Writer: Guy Magar
Cast: Jay Acovone, Matt LeBlanc, Stephanie Richards, Lou Rawls, Don Dinardo, Ralph Manza, Denise Richards

Release Date: February 24th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 101 Minutes 11 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH, English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $24.95

"Having survived a New York City shootout gone horrifically wrong, a former mafioso (Jay Acovone of Beauty and the Beast and Stargate SG-1) is now living a quiet life working in a Los Angeles used bookstore. But when his reckless nephew (LeBlanc) gets involved with local gang culture, they're both dragged into an unforgiving urban jungle where fear is weakness, vengeance is destiny, and family bonds can never be broken." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "now scanned in 4K from the original camera negative".

Lookin' Italian comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46 GB

Feature: 29 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones and colors look correct; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid; and the image looks organic.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English with removable English SDH. It should be noted that there is an English subtitle track that translates most of the Italian dialogue. The audio sounds excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, ambient sounds are well represented, and the score sounds appropriately robust.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a gag reel (12 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival behind-the-scenes featurette (3 minutes 53 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Inside Edition exclusive look TV segment (3 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a Q&A with director Guy Magar and actors Jay Acovone, Matt LeBlanc, Stephanie Richards, and Ralph Manza from the 1994 Palm Springs International Film Festival (20 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor John LaMotta (10 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Lou Rawls (6 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Stephanie Richards (7 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Matt LeBlanc (11 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Jay Acovone (10 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Guy Magar (12 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an interview with Guy Magar titled Directin' Italian (12 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Summary:

While Guy Magar predominantly worked in television, he’s most known for his only other feature film, Retribution.

A former mobster is drawn back to his former life because of his hot-headed nephew's impulsive behavior.

Although the protagonist's former life in the mafia influences the story, the mafia aspect primarily serves as a launching point, remaining mostly in the background. A flawlessly executed narrative does a superb job drawing you in and holding your attention as it builds to a cathartic finale where the protagonist finally finds redemption. Another strength of the narrative is how it allows the characters time to be themselves, which allows the audiences to get to know them better.

The most impressive aspect of Lookin' Italian is the performances, which all around are outstanding. The standout performance is Matt LeBlanc (Friends) in the role of Anthony, the nephew who's unreliable and always has a new woman on his arm. Although Anthony has traits in common with Matt LeBlanc’s most famous character, Joey Tribbiani, it is the things that set him apart from that character where he excels the most, making his portrayal of Anthony the best performance of his career. Another performance of note is Jay Acovone (Cruising) in the role of Vinnie, Anthony's uncle. Vinnie is the heart and soul of Lookin' Italian, and he delivers a performance that carries this film emotionally. A cast member of note is Denise Richards (Wild Things), who appears briefly as one of Anthony's girlfriends.

There is no aspect in which Lookin' Italian fails to exceed expectations; it is a film that explores the Italian-American experience, drawing parallels to Mean Streets in several ways. There are two poignant moments that really drive the narrative. The first of these is a scene where Vinnie tells Anthony why he walked away from the mafia, while the other is a scene where Vinnie finds a distraught Anthony in the shower covered in the blood of his friends who were killed in a drive-by. Another area of note is Jeff Beal’s exemplary score, which perfectly captures the highs and lows. Ultimately, Lookin’ Italian is a moving melodrama that explores family, redemption, and vengeance.

Severin Films gives Lookin' Italian a definitive release. Highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer