Four Ways Out Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Four Ways Out Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 24, 2026

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the World Noir Vol. 5 set from Radiance Films.

Radiance Films is back with another volume in its continuing World Noir series. This edition features three Italian films that forge a bridge between American noir sensibilities and Neorealism. There are some interesting names associated with the three films in this set, with relatively early performances from future icons like Anna Magnani, Marcello Mastroianni and Gina Lollobrigida, and with the Lollobrigida film also boasting a Federico Fellini writing credit.

While not all of the following were sent for review purposes, for those interested in having a "complete collection", links to the previous volumes can be found below:

World Noir Vol. 1

World Noir Vol. 2

World Noir Vol. 3

World Noir Vol. 4

It might be cynically offered that a more appropriate name for Four Ways Out may have been, well, No Way Out, given this 1951 film's kind of relentless nihilism as it depicts the fates of four would be thieves who target a stadium box office during a football match. The film is a fascinating deconstruction of certain Neorealist tropes, with the downtrodden "Everymen" in this instance resorting to crime to help make ends meet. All four of the culprits are already trapped by the vagaries of post World War II fate in Italy, but their decision to engage in the robbery leads to even worse eventualities for all of them, as if to suggest that any attempt to escape those vagaries will only lead to further shackles. The Bandit was co-written by Federico Fellini and his longtime collaborator Tullio Pinelli, along with a rather large cohort which may suggest some "tinkering" along the way.

The film features top billing for Gina Lollobrigida, whose contributions might nonetheless be more accurately described as one of several supporting roles in an ensemble piece as the quasi-moll of one of the robbers. Four Ways Out is both structurally innovative, at least for its time, as it follows the four separate ostensible "escape routes" taken by the thieves, and it is also quite incisive from a narrative standpoint as it elucidates the harsh realities of Italy's socioeconomic ambience in the late forties and early fifties, with the four would be "masterminds" all representing different facets of an oppressed economic class desperate to find any way out.

Four Ways Out Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Four Ways Out is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Radiance sent check discs for purposes of this review and so I'm not privy to any verbiage in an insert booklet, but their website states the set features "4K restorations of all three films from the original camera negatives". This was the sole presentation in this volume of World Noir not to have a prefatory text card detailing its restoration. That said, this is another impressive looking transfer that is especially notable in its outdoor scenes which manage to capture some of the same post-war rubble in Italy as is scene in other early Neorealist efforts like Bicycle Thieves. Detail levels on outfits in particular are often beautifully textured, and while not employing some of the chiaroscuro techniques of other films in this set, there's appealing contrast and nicely modulated gray scale. Grain resolves without any issues.

Four Ways Out Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Four Ways Out has probably the best overall sounding LPCM Mono Italian track of Radiance's set, one which is able to handle some dramatic underscoring choices without any real issues while also providing good accountings of ambient environmental effects and dialogue. The English LPCM Mono track on the English cut is considerably more problematic, with audible damage (including a bit "thump" right when the track starts) which includes noticeable background noise throughout. That said, the English spoken material is delivered without any major issues, though I'd still advise sticking with the Italian original due to fidelity if nothing else. Optional English subtitles are available.

Four Ways Out Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Italian Cut (1:19:56) and English Cut (1:14:50) are accessible under the Play Menu.


• Imogen Sara Smith (HD; 24:41) offers her thoughts on the film and its director.


• Mario Sesti (HD; 21:23) is an overview by the journalist. Subtitled in English.


• Trailers

Italian Trailer (HD; 3:20)




English Trailer (HD; 2:40)

Four Ways Out Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While the Italian critical class may well put The Bandit ahead of this one in terms of esteem and legacy, I personally found this to be the most viscerally compelling film in World Noir Volume 5. This film's unavoidable resemblance to American outings like The Killing and/or The Asphalt Jungle may also provide an easier entré to the film for those unacquainted with this era of Italian film. Technical merits are solid, and the supplements very enjoyable. Highly recommended.