Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

How to Kill a Judge Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 8, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero in Three Mafia Tales by Damiano Damiani set from Radiance Films.

Franco Nero is one of those huge international superstars who perhaps perplexingly never really seemed to make a consistent impact in the United States market for whatever reason, though some have mentioned his lack of facility with English for having potentially contributed to that situation. In that regard, it's at least arguable that the "average Joe" and/or "Joanne" filmgoer on this side of the pond would only be able to point to Camelot, perhaps ironically even if they hadn't actually seen it, simply because of the gossip column fodder that erupted courtesy of his burgeoning relationship with co-star Vanessa Redgrave. That said, Camelot and maybe, just maybe titles like The Bible: In the Beginning... and/or Die Hard 2: Die Harder might occur to some stateside fans as offering Nero performances they've seen, but of course his European popularity was unmatched in his heyday, spurred by his star making performance in Django. As is recounted in some of the supplements Radiance has included with this three disc set, Nero matriculated from westerns in the sixties into some late sixties through seventies films that were at least tangentially related to Poliziotteschi, though often from the "flip side", i.e., focusing on the criminals rather than the good guys. Radiance has aggregated three of those entries in this appealing set, which features productions ranging from 1968 to 1975 all directed by Damiano Damiani, and at least somewhat interestingly only one of which features Nero as a policeman.

In some ways, How to Kill a Judge is the most interesting film in the Cosa Nostra set, at least when contextualized within what are some really intriguing "meta" aspects. This is a multi-layered effort that offers Nero as a film director named Giacomo Solaris who has a huge success with a film about a judge in cahoots with the Mafia and who gets killed for his trouble. A judge named Traini (Marco Guglielmi) is pretty certain the film is based on him and attempts to get it recalled, but when he ends up murdered in a manner seemingly culled from Solaris' film, Solaris is both encumbered by understandable guilt but also suddenly thrust into a quest to uncover what's going on. This is already "meta" enough, but adding to at least the subtext is the fact, as disclosed in some of the supplements on this disc, that this weird story actually happened, more or less anyway, to Damiano Damiani when life (and/or death, as the case may be) imitated Art after Damiano's Confessions of a Police Captain* was released in 1971 and the death of a magistrate as depicted in the film ensued. (In the trivia department, that film featured Nero as a policeman named Traini.)

All of this background gives How to Kill a Judge a definitely piquant sensibility that is obviously self aware, but it may not completely offset a film that, while intermittently visceral, can slow to a near halt at times. The layers of meaning behind the production may add some energy to a film that spends quite a bit of time on expository dialogue, meaning this can be somewhat static feeling as it wends its way through various twists and turns.

How to Kill a Judge Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

How to Kill a Judge 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:

How to Kill a Judge was scanned in 2K from the original camera negative and restored and colour graded by Augustus Color, Rome. Additional colour correction was performed by Radiance Films in 2023. The original Italian and English mono soundtracks were restored by Radiance Films in 2022.

This is another generally great looking transfer that offers a nicely organic appearance, very few signs of age related wear and tear, and an often quite nicely suffused palette. While probably not at the levels in The Day of the Owl, this transfer can at least occasionally skew slightly toward yellows, though reds are secure (not verging toward oranges as in the other film), and flesh tones look natural. Detail levels are often impressive on things like the textures of fabrics. What I'm assuming may have been some second unit on location sequences can look just slightly softer than the bulk of the presentation.

How to Kill a Judge Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

How to Kill a Judge features LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks in either Italian or English. The Italian track is generally full bodied, but may not have quite the high end that the English track does. That said, that clearer high end on the English track can reveal hiss which is less evident on the Italian track. Both tracks offer dialogue cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

How to Kill a Judge Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Franco Nero (HD; 12:59) reminisces about the making of the film in this newly produced interview. Subtitled in English.


• Lessons in Violence (HD; 21:38) is a video essay by David Cairns that explores some of the "meta" aspects of the film.


• Alberto Pezzotta (HD; 34:23) features Damiani's biographer discussing the director. Subtitled in English.


• English Trailer (HD; 3:42)


• Italian Trailer (HD; 3:42)

How to Kill a Judge Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The basic story in How to Kill a Judge is fascinating enough, but the background information imparted in some of the supplements on this disc really lends things considerable impact that may help the viewer to elide some of the more static aspects to the storytelling. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements very enjoyable. Recommended.