Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Colt 38 Special Squad Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 19, 2021

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers.

The Italian term Poliziotteschi may not be strictly grammatical, but it has served as shorthand for years to describe a subgenre of Italian cinema that was almost insanely popular in that country in the seventies in particular. If many films in this category were frankly the Italian equivalent of B-movies, some, like 1970's Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, achieved considerable renown and critical appreciation, and in fact that particular film ended up winning that year's Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Arrow's Years of Lead may not exactly be offering Oscar worthy outings in this set, but in a way that actually may be a better way to understand the idiom, since Poliziotteschi frequently featured gritty storylines and unvarnished characters. Some of the films in this set have been previously released on Blu-ray by German label Camera Obscura (and the reviews of those films will point to those prior releases), and some of the supplements produced for the Camera Obscura releases have been ported over to this set. But Arrow is also touting the fact that this set features a new 2K restoration of Colt 38 Special Squad, which is exclusive to this limited edition release.

Colt 38 Special Squad plays a bit like an Italian television pilot for a series based on the exploits of a quartet of undercover cops with shaded backgrounds who are equipped with unregistered pistols (the model mentioned in the title of the film), so that they can be a "black ops" group to avenge a crime wave overtaking Italy. That crimewave has already led to the disturbing death of the wife of the man recruiting the squad, Inspector Vanni (Marcel Bozzuffi), and so there's a revenge element at play in the story as well. That revenge element actually includes the main villain, a supposed foreigner known as the Marsigliese (Ivan Rassimov), since the film opens with a big police action where Vanni kills a bad guy who turns out to be related to Marsigliese.

A number of interlocking plot threads are explored, but the film really doesn't take time for so-called "character beats", instead concentrating on an escalating series of violent attacks which include a number of frightening quasi-terrorist bombings. The result is a kind of breathless action oriented affair that may have some surface similarities to a police procedural, but where moral shadings are considerably more ambiguous.

Colt 38 Special Squad Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Colt 38 Special Squad is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the most information about this particular transfer, assumedly because the restoration was done by Arrow and this release is exclusive to this set:

Colt 38 Special Squad is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with Italian and English mono audio. Scanning and restoration work was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 2K resolution. The mono Italian and English language tracks were remastered from the optical sound negatives. The audio synch will appear slightly loose against the picture, due to the fact that the dialogue was recorded entirely in post production, as per the production standards of the period.

The film was graded at R3Store Studios, London.

All original materials used in this restoration were made available from Rewind.

This is yet another great looking transfer overall in this set, to the point that fine detail on gruesome imagery like bullet wounds or fingers getting sliced off in a car door may make some a little squeamish. Fine detail on things like patterns on fabrics is often excellent (look at the coats in screenshot 3 for just one example). The palette is very nicely suffused throughout, though there are some very minor fluctuations in densities and general color temperature in some of the outside location work. Grain resolves without any issues.

Colt 38 Special Squad Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Colt 38 Special Squad features LPCM Mono tracks in either Italian and English. There's a really interesting difference between the tracks in terms of both music utilized as part of the film (i.e., a nightclub scene) and general underscore, as well as occasional "tonal" sound effects like the sustained roar of engines, in that the English track is almost a full half step higher than the Italian track, though timings are never off, as if an Audacity plug-in to raise pitch without altering playback time had been utilized. As with the other film in this set offering both English and Italian audio, to my ears the Italian track sounds a bit more full bodied overall, especially in the midrange. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Colt 38 Special Squad Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction by Stelvio Cipriani (HD; 00:45) features the film's composer in a piece originally produced for NoShame Films in 2006. In Italian with English subtitles (after he finishes playing the piano).


• Always the Same Ol' 7 Notes (HD; 25:48) is an additional interview with Stelvio Cipriani, and was also produced for NoShame Films in 2006. In Italian with English subtitles.


• A Tough Guy (HD; 9:31) is an interview with editor Antonio Siciliano, originally produced for NoShame Films in 2006. In Italian with English subtitles.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 3:31)


• Poster Gallery (HD) features images courtesy of Peter Jilmstad and Christian Ostermeier.

Colt 38 Special Squad Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As odd as it may sound, Colt 38 Special Squad reminded me in a way of The A-Team, with a bunch of operatives with questionable pasts banding together to take out the bad guys, not to mention an emphasis on things that go "boom". In this particular instance, though, it's debatable just who the "fools" to be pitied are. Technical merits are solid and the supplementary package enjoyable, for those who are considering a purchase.