Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Angels of Evil Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 2, 2011

Screened at the Venice Film Festival, Michele Placido's "Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del male" a.k.a. "Angels of Evil" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original Italian trailer; four deleted scenes; making of featurette; and a short video interview with actor Kim Rossi Stuart. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

A man of action - Renato Vallanzasca

Michele Placido’s latest film Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del male a.k.a. Angels of Evil has a lot in common with Jean-François Richet’s Mesrine and Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet. It is as flashy and violent as the former and often as dark and intense as the latter. Unlike these films, however, it moves too fast, often leaving one struggling to keep track of the various characters that populate its narrative.

Angels of Evil is about notorious Milanese gangster Renato Vallanzasca (Kim Rossi Stuart, The Keys to the House, Libero), who is currently serving several life sentences at the Opera prison in Milan. During the 1970s, Vallanzasca and his gang did a number of high-profile robberies and repeatedly embarrassed the Italian police. By the early 1980s, the Milanese had becomes a superstar, a man the media loved and women were obsessed with.

The film is divided into numerous uneven episodes, each highlighting an important event from Vallanzasca’s rise to glory. Early on, we see the charismatic gangster clashing with different local competitors. After he establishes himself, he begins robbing and building his reputation outside of Milan.

Various women share Vallanzasca’s bed but he falls in love with Consuelo (Valeria Solarino, La febbre, The Sea Purple), a stunningly beautiful girl from Calabria. After she gets pregnant, he is captured by the police and sent to prison. Three years later, Consuelo confesses to Vallanzasca that she has found a new father for their son.

Shortly after, Vallanzasca escapes from prison and begins robbing again. Along the way, he clashes with another famous Milanese gangster, Francis Turatello (Francesco Scianna, The Best Day of My Life, Baarìa), who controls various casinos and restaurants. Antonella D'Agostino (Paz Vega, Sex and Lucia, Carmen), a close friend, attempts to mediate and help the two gangsters work together, but fails. Later on, however, Turatello becomes Vallanzasca’s best man.

A highway chase ends with a shootout during which Vallanzasca and his men kill two carabinieri. This is the beginning of the end. Things start to collapse and consequently many of Vallanzasca’s men are also killed, including Sergio (Moritz Bleibtreu, Run Lola Run, The Baader Meinhof Complex), his right-hand man. But instead of going into hiding, Vallanzasca heads to a popular radio station in downtown Rome and gives an important interview that profoundly changes his life. Shortly after, he is captured by the police and sent to prison.

Lacking the historical and political context that made Placido’s previous crime film, Romanzo Criminale, so fascinating to behold, Angels of Evil feels like a quick, very violent and flashy documentary feature meant primarily for viewers who are already familiar with the subject it explores. This is not to say that the the film is frustratingly incomprehensible, but it certainly fails to engage the viewer in the same way Romanzo Criminale did. Once the final credits roll, it feels like the film only managed to tell a good story, while it should have told a great one.

Still, Rossi Stuart delivers a memorable performance as the charismatic Vallanzasca. He is handsome and suave, as the famous gangster apparently was in his early years, and acts like an angry bull when he is cornered. The supporting cast is also strong - Solarino, Vega, Bleibtreu, and especially Scianna are very convincing in front of the camera.

As the film moves from the 70s into the 80s and eventually the 90s, cinematographer Arnaldo Catinari (Parlami d'amore, Il caimano) favors different colors and contrast. Together with Negramaro’s excellent score, they enhance the film’s retro vibe very well.

Note: In 2010, Angels of Evil was screened at the Venice Film Festival. Earlier this year, the film was nominated for seven David di Donatello Awards, including Best Actor (Kim Rossi Stuart) and Best Cinematography (Arnaldo Catinari).

Angels of Evil Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Michele Placido's Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del male a.k.a Angels of Evil arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

As expected, Artificial Eye's high-definition transfer is of exceptionally high-quality. Though colors and contrast levels fluctuate as Vallanzasca transforms into a legend, as intended, detail and clarity are fantastic. Occasionally, the film does have a slightly faded look, but again, the effect is intentional, especially before the tragic bank robbery. Edge-enhancement is never a serious issues of concern. I did not see any traces of excessive noise reduction or serious compression issues to report in this review either. On the contrary, when blown through a digital projector the film conveys outstanding depth and excellent fluidity. All in all, this is a terrific release, very much on par with the one 20th Century Fox-Italia produced for the Italian market. (Note: Despite the fact that the back cover indicates a Region-B only status, this is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Angels of Evil Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

The Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is excellent. As I mentioned in our review for the Italian Blu-ray release, it enhances the action scenes and boosts the strong retro soundtrack very well. In fact, there are two shootouts that rival that famous sequence from Heat where Al Pacino's men go after Robert De Niro's robbers -- the sound is remarkably crisp and intense. The dialog is clean, stable, and very easy to follow. As expected, the English translation is of exceptionally high quality.

Angels of Evil Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: The supplemental features included on this Blu-ray disc are encoded in PAL. Therefore, in order to view them in North America you must have a Region-Free player capable of converting PAL to NTSC.

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Angels of Evil. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, PAL).

• Deleted Scenes - four deleted scenes. In Italian, with imposed English subtitled.(7 min, PAL).

• Making of Featurette - a wonderful featurette in which cast and crew members discuss their work on the film, as well as the real Vallanzasca. In English and Italian, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (8 min, PAL).

• Interview - a short video interview with actor Kim Rossi Stuart, who discusses the violent character he plays, the real Vallanzasca, as well as the book that inspired Michele Placido's film. In Italian, with imposed English subtitled. (7 min, PAL).

Angels of Evil Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Michele Placido's Angels of Evil is an entertaining Italian gangster film that follows the steps of Jacques Maillot's Rivals and Jean-Francois Richet's more recent Mesrine Parts 1 & 2 - Killer Instinct / Public Enemy Number 1. I personally like director Placido's previous film, Romanzo Criminale, a lot more, and hope that Icon Home Entertainment will release it on Blu-ray sooner rather than later.
As expected, Artificial Eye's presentation of Angels of Evil is of exceptionally high quality. Let's hope that in 2012 we will see more of the terrific films they distribute released on Blu-ray. RECOMMENDED.