7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
John Dannahay, a CIA agent stationed in Rome, is planning to overthrow an African government. But his plan goes wrong when a corrupt colleague starts shooting people from the roof of a hotel, taking an innocent couple hostage.
Starring: Tony Musante, Claudia Cardinale, John Forsythe, John Steiner, Renzo PalmerForeign | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Damiano Damiani's filmography is slowly but surely being explored by Radiance Films and some other labels on Blu-ray, and several interesting films of his have already hit the high definition home video market, including The Case Is Closed, Forget It, The Day of the Owl , both offered by Radiance, and The Witch, brought out by Arrow. The first two are probably the most salient in terms of Goodbye & Amen, at least insofar as Damiani is at least sometimes thought of as "specializing" in deconstructing Italian society in the context of police and organized crime. Goodbye & Amen takes place in Italy, but as commentators Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger suggest in their appealing analysis of the film, it's at least arguable that in this particular instance Damiani has replaced the mafia with the CIA, as hilarious (or not) as that may sound. The film seems to be starting to explore a black ops assassination attempt masterminded by CIA agent John Dhannay (Tony Musante), only to suddenly take the first of several abrupt detours when a rogue agent named Donald Grayson (John Steiner) starts shooting people from the roof of a hotel (in scenes that may unavoidably evoke memories of the slaughter in Las Vegas several years ago), and who then takes a couple played by Claudia Cardinale and Gianrico Tondinelli hostage. Thompson and Berger also mention that the film at least initially comes off as almost a satire, which may be debatable, but there is certainly a cynical undertone running through the feature where the "good guys" are obviously involved in some less than savory situations, and where a hostage taking is seen as a troubling "inconvenience" keeping an assassination plot from unfolding as planned.
Goodbye & Amen is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Radiance's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:
Goodbye & Amen was scanned from the original camera negative in 2K resolution at Cinema Communications laboratory in Rome, Italy. The film was restored by Radiance Films at Heavenly Movie Corporation in 2023. The film was colour graded by Radiance Films in 2023.This is a great looking transfer of a strangely lesser remembered Damiani film. While there are occasional slight color temperature variations, on the whole the palette looks natural and is very nicely suffused. Detail levels are commendable throughout, arguably faltering only slightly in some of the most dimly lit material, as in the nighttime sequence with the killer on the hotel rooftop. Fine detail is quite expressive throughout and offers nice precision on everything from facial features to textures on costume fabrics and even some background material like the baroque wallpaper in the Ambassador's office. There is some very minimal passing damage that can be spotted, but nothing of any major import. Grain is tightly resolved throughout.
Three shots exclusive to the English version were also scanned in 2K by Radiance in 2023 from a 16mm reversal element.
The original Italian mono soundtrack was remastered by Radiance Films in 2023.
The English soundtrack was severely damaged and exhibits some challenging moments. Restoration was attempted bu the quality of the materials proved too difficult in some places. It is presented as a curio, it is the first and only distribution of this track on home media as of this release.
Goodbye & Amen features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono audio in either Italian or English. As alluded to in the verbiage above reprinted from Radiance's insert booklet, the English track has some intermittent issues where some listeners may need the help of the optional English subtitles, but considering the warning offered, I was actually rather favorably disposed toward the English track, especially since it's evidently so rare. That said, the Italian track is afflicted much less by any age related wear and tear, though there is still some slight crackling and hiss than can be heard starting from the very opening production entity mastheads. Guido and Maurizio De Angelis' fun score sounds especially vibrant in the Italian version, and that along with occasional sound effects like gunshots all reverberate with considerably energy. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly in the Italian version at least, and often in the English version. Optional English subtitles are available.
There's been a perhaps slightly comical if still troubling history where the United States has alleged "bad acts" by foreign governments, only to have it revealed that the American government itself was involved, or at least had engaged in very similar behaviors itself at various moments. That's certainly a subtext (maybe even a text) in this film, and so rah rah jingoists may find this an unsettling enterprise. The film has some structural issues that occasionally interrupt narrative flow, but it's a fascinating film on any number of levels, and Radiance provides generally solid technical merits and some very appealing supplements. Recommended.
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