A.C.A.B. Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

A.C.A.B. Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 9, 2012

Nominated for six David di Donatello Awards, Stefano Sollima's "A.C.A.B." (2012) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The only supplemental feature on the disc is an original trailer for the film. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Cobra

The main protagonists in Stefano Sollima’s first feature film are seasoned cops in a Riot Squad unit in Rome. They have tremendous respect for each other and spend more time together than they do with their families. They are often called to confront violent soccer fans and skinheads attacking immigrant camps across the city.

Mazinga (Marco Giallini), the oldest and most experienced one, has learned to control his temper and ignore the problems his job regularly creates at home. He talks to his wife but rarely communicates with his son, who has recently joined a neo-fascist gang.

Negro (Filippo Nigro, La finestra di fronte) is also having problems at home. His Cuban wife has threatened to divorce him and take with her their daughter. Unable to stop thinking about her and filled with anger, Negro often goes berserk and confronts strangers.

Cobra (Pierfrancesco Favino, Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy, Romanzo Criminale) is single and living alone. He treats Mazinga and Negro like brothers and frequently swears that he will always defend them – no matter what they do or why. In the police station he is respected by everyone, including cops from other units.

Rookie cop Adriano (Domenico Diele, The Family Friend) joins Cobra’s unit and immediately realizes that his new job isn’t what he imagined it would be. At first the violence seriously disturbs him, and then it disgusts him. But the more time he spends with Cobra and his men, the more he begins to realize why they act as they do - in order to be successful against the various criminal elements their Riot Squad is sent to deal with, they have to be as cruel and amoral as their targets. But when the riot cops begin clashing with immigrants and skinheads on their own, Adriano becomes confused.

Stefano Sollima's (son of legendary Italian director Sergio Sollima) directorial debut A.C.A.B. is a raw and quite disturbing film that is likely to create some very polarizing emotions. It reminds a lot about Jean-François Richet’s Ma 6-T va crack-er, another very gritty film about street violence, cops and young angry men. The latter is just a lot more chaotic and ultimately also endorsing nihilism.

Sollima’s film argues that the violence often seen on the streets of big Italian cities can be traced back to the country’s serious economic problems. This isn’t difficult to believe because during the ‘80s and ‘90s soccer hooliganism in England, for instance, was also linked to the economic problems the country was experiencing at the time. Similar to the ultras in Italy today, English soccer fans often mixed with far-right groups attacking just about anyone, from visiting soccer fans to immigrants.

The focus of attention in Sollimma’s film is the tipping point – where soon it won’t matter why extremism exists or who is responsible for it. This sad and dangerous situation is observed and discussed by Cobra and his colleagues who realize that a massive chain-reaction is underway, where one act of violence will undoubtedly inspire another and another and another.

What makes the film controversial is the fact that while it sees the cops as victims that are essentially abandoned by the system they serve, it also suggests that they have become angry animals whose actions are very similar to those of the neo-fascists they repeatedly confront. It is total anarchy, really, where good and bad are constantly redefined with populist statements.

Note: Earlier this year, A.C.A.B. was nominated for six David di Donatello Awards (the Italian Oscars). The film was also awarded Best Actor (Pierfrancesco Favino) and Best Supporting Actor (Marco Giallini) Awards by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Awards.

A.C.A.B. Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Stefano Sollima's A.C.A.B. arrive son Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

Excluding some minor compression artifacts (for example, see the first panoramic shot in the very beginning of the film), the high-definition transfer is very strong. Detail and depth are outstanding throughout the entire film. Even the nighttime sequences where light is restricted and the camera follows the main protagonists from afar look very good (see screencapture #12). Clarity is also consistently pleasing. Color reproduction is flawless - there is a good range of soft but actually quite cold light blues, greens, yellows, browns, and grays. Contrast is toned down substantially, especially during the clashes. There are no traces of problematic lab tinkering. There are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. To sum it all up, despite the minor compression artifacts mentioned earlier, this recent Italian film looks very good on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

A.C.A.B. Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Italian LPCM 2.0. For the record, StudioCanal have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

There are short sequences where the sound is very aggressive. Dynamic movement, in particular, is very good, while depth is as impressive as I believe it could possibly be. Still, this isn't a release that is likely to test the muscles of your audio system as the film's sound design would not allow it. The dialog is stable, clean, and easy to follow. Also, there are no problematic audio dropouts, pops, or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

A.C.A.B. Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for A.C.A.B.. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (1 min, 1080p).

A.C.A.B. Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stefano Sollima's directorial debut, A.C.A.B., is a raw and very gritty film that has created some quite polarizing opinions in its native Italy. Some believe that it defends police brutality, while others are convinced that it promotes anarchy. I don't believe it does any of these things. What is clear here is that the economic crisis in Italy has created a very dangerous vacuum in which civil order is now often very difficult to maintain. Kudos to StudioCanal for bringing A.C.A.B. to Blu-ray. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.