The Devil in Maddalena Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Devil in Maddalena Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 2, 2021

Jerzy Kawalerowicz's "The Devil in Maddalena" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of One 7 Movies. There are no supplemental features on the release. In English or Italian, without optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The track that you will hear in that very atmospheric beach sequence where Lisa Gastoni’s character is seen struggling to pull out the giant fishing net from the ocean is Chi Mai. While viewing Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s film in the early ‘70s, Jean-Paul Belmondo fell in love with it and then a decade later lobbied to have it used in Georges Lautner’s action thriller The Professional. Ennio Morricone agreed and recorded a slightly modified version of Chi Mai, which soon after became an international sensation. Without Chi Mai, The Professional most likely would not have acquired its cult status.

This upcoming release uses a slightly modified title of Kawalerowicz’s film as well. The original title of the film is Maddalena -- and this is the title with which this writer discovered the film many years ago -- but the release uses the more attractive international title The Devil in Maddalena. There is nothing particularly wrong with the international title, but in a way, it prepares for a straightforward genre film that does not exist. Here’s why:

Kawalerowicz’s film plays with the identity and emotions of Gastoni’s character in a very particular way that makes it virtually impossible not to interpret its story in multiple ways. (Andrzej Zulawski's cult thriller Possession does exactly the same, but as it attempts to impress it produces bigger and more extreme contrasts). After barely surviving a terrible car accident that leaves her former husband (Ivo Garrani) dead, Maddalena suffers a tremendous nervous breakdown that splits her reality in half. A handsome priest (Eric Woofe) then attempts to help Maddalena recover, but while spending time with her realizes that he is repeatedly tested by an invisible force.

This is where the film heads in opposite directions at the same time.

A series of uneven episodes create the impression that Maddalena is well on her way to complete recovery and very much in love with the priest. She pursues him, but at least initially it appears that she would be satisfied if they remained friends. The priest, looking genuinely pleased by her progress, easily manages to keep a proper distance between them as well. But then in a new series of episodes, Maddalena repeatedly confronts the priest’s system of beliefs and her words and beauty begin to have an impact on him. While the confrontation lasts, it isn’t entirely clear whether Maddalena is driven by the power of love or a dark force that is targeting the priest.

The finale is astonishing. It makes the entire film coherent in an absolutely brilliant way, and yet at the same time, it leaves one wondering whether true love is always tragic. There is another effective interpretation of the finale that places the priest’s decision in an entirely different, much darker context as well.

Kawalerowicz worked with cinematographer Gabor Pogany, who had previously lensed Vittorio De Sica’s classic war drama La Ciociara (Two Women). Most of the uneven episodes have drastically different stylistic qualities, but ooze fluidity that makes the entire film look way ahead of its time.

*This upcoming release features two audio tracks: English and Italian. The films should be viewed with the English track, which is the ‘original’ track that uses the voices of the stars. Interestingly, there are no optional English subtitles for the Italian track.

The Devil in Maddalena Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Devil in Maddalena arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of One 7 Movies.

The release is sourced from a gorgeous new master. I don't know who prepared it and where, but it is crystal-clear that the film has been fully restored by someone that knew exactly what needed to be the done and how to do it. To be honest, I have only one minor criticism -- the folks at One 7 Movies should have used a dual-layer disc so that they can optimize the data as best as possible. I noticed a couple of darker sequences almost beginning to struggle with compression artefacts (see the bottom left side of screencapture #13), though even on my big screen everything still held up really well. In fact, I upscaled the release to 4K and thought that the film looked sensational. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. The entire master is very, very nicely graded as well. The primaries are solid and wonderfully balanced, while the supporting nuances look very healthy. Image stability is excellent. The film is spotless as well. Fantastic restoration. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Devil in Maddalena Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

The English track is the 'original' audio track for this film. The audio is clear and stable, but from time to time some extremely light background hiss makes its presence felt. I would not be surprised if it was transferred as it is without any additional work because it is pretty easy to tell that some of the unevenness that is present on it is part of the overdubbing. Some cosmetic work could have been performed, but the basics are solid.

The Devil in Maddalena Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are no bonus features on this release.

The Devil in Maddalena Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Someone prepared an astonishing restored master for Jerzy Kawalerowicz's The Devil in Maddalena. Yes, there is a little bit of room for optimizations that could have made this upcoming release a genuine stunner, but I know the film very well and have never seen it look this good before. It is a very atmospheric mind-bender with a special type of personality that, in my opinion, Andrzej Zulawski fine-tuned in his cult thriller Possession. Also, this is the film for which Ennio Morricone composed the classic track Chi Mai. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.