Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Escape from Women's Prison Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 15, 2019

Giovanni Brusadori's "Escape from Women's Prison" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailer for the film and video interview with the director. In English or Italian, with optional English subtitles. Region-Free.

Giovanni Brusadori’s Escape From Women’s Prison is a small film that was part of a big trend, which started sometime during the late 1960s and then really picked up steam in the early 1970s. This was the time when European directors consistently began bending the rules of various traditional genres and produced wild films that later on became cult classics. For example, Piero Schivazappa The Frightened Woman used equal parts psychedelica, mystery and erotica and delivered a fascinating dose of entertainment that quite simply defies conventional categorization. A few years after it, Luigi Buzzoni made Footprints on the Moon which has a heavy sci-fi atmosphere but also heads in multiple directions at the same time. Jean Rollin is another director that made many strange vampire films that flipped all sorts of different horror clichés.

Brusadori’s film isn’t a classic genre-bender but does some fairly decent twisting work, which one may legitimately ague starts in its title. Indeed, its international English title promises exotic women-in-prison entertainment of the type that Roger Corman produced but there is none, and on top of this all of its action actually takes place in a very quiet corner of contemporary Italy. It is about a group of female radicals that break away from an unidentified prison and then barricade themselves with a group of female tennis players in the upscale villa of the prosecutor that sent them behind bars. So, the ‘story’ does not provide a lot of legit opportunities for serious genre bending.

Virtually all of the twisting occurs in the second half where some of the escapees begin playing sexual games with their hostages. A quick warning: anyone expecting the type of raunchy material that is present in Mario Garriazzo’s Play Motel, for instance, will be severely disappointed because these sexual games are intense but not explicit. Unlike Garriazzo, Brusadori does a lot to sell his film as a rough thriller gone awry, which is why the focus of attention is almost exclusively on the wild attitudes on display rather than the naked bodies.

The twisting comes strictly through the degradation. In the villa, the radicals -- who are really a motley crew of lunatics -- become overwhelmed by their anger and in the process lose their sense of solidarity, and as soon as they do all hell breaks loose. In the ensuing chaos, Brusadori trades the little suspense from the first half for straightforward exploitation thrills plus bits of very dark humor that give the ugly a surrealistic edge. So, the end result is a mean twisty thriller, but not a legit genre-bender like the ones that are mentioned at the very top of this article.

Lilli Carati’s performance is a notch above the rest. It infuses the film with suspense of the kind that some of the drama and action need to appear legit.

*In 1978, the same year he directed Escape from Women's Prison, Brusadori also appeared in Alberto Cavallone’s Blue Movie, which is quite a test even for seasoned connoisseurs of exploitation films. In this the United States, this film only recently received a legit home video release courtesy of Raro Video.

Escape from Women's Prison 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, Escape from Women's Prison arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films.

There are two versions of the on this release, American and Italian, and I viewed the former. Because it is sourced from a dupe negative, which is apparently the best known element, it can look a bit rough at times. What do I mean by this? Well, it has some density fluctuations, some light fading, a few missing frames, and various minor scratches and specks. Some bumps are present as well. However, I actually think that the presentation is perfectly fine because there are no digital anomalies and as a result the entire film has a solid organic appearance. Yes, it does look worn out, but it also looks like vintage, meaning aged, film and I am perfectly fine with it. Color inconsistencies are present throughout the entire film, but the basic values of the primaries are fine. So, expect a somewhat rough but good organic presentation of the film. (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).

Escape from Women's Prison Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (for the American version) and Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0 (for the Italian version). Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The English track is very good, but has native limitations. What kind of limitations? Well, it appears that all of the actors were overdubbed, even the ones that spoke their lines in English, which is the majority of them. (This was a standard practice for Italian genre films). As a result, from time to time there is some noticeable unevenness. It is never distracting, but it is there. What is important to underscore is that the audio is very clean and free of age-related anomalies.

Escape from Women's Prison Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Le Evase - Italian cut of the film. Sourced from a standard definition master and upscaled. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (95 min, 720p)

• Trailer - vintage Italian trailer for the film. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (4 min, 1080p)

• Of Freedom, Sex and Violence - in this video interview, director Giovanni Brusadori recalls how an article in La Republica inspired Escape from Women's Prison came to exist, and discusses its tone and atmosphere as well as the period in which the film emerged and then-current trends in Italian cinema. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (34 min, 1080p)

Escape from Women's Prison Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Escape from Women's Prison will appeal to two groups of viewers -- those that have a soft spot for Italian genre films, and the sleazier ones in particular, as well as admirers of Lilli Carati's work. (Carati is probably best known for the adult films she made after she met Joe D'Amato, but she did appear in some pretty interesting genre films, like To Be Twenty and The Exhibitionist). I think that it is a rather decent film, but only as far as its genre identity is concerned. If you decide to see it expecting a thriller with a solid story, you will be disappointed. This recent release from Severin offers two versions of the film, with the American version, which I prefer, sourced from a dupe negative. Also included on it is a very informative interview with director Giovanni Brusadori. RECOMMENDED.