8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.9 |
A Kafkaesque tale of a Roman police inspector investigating a heinous crime—which he himself committed.
Starring: Gian Maria Volontè, Florinda Bolkan, Gianni Santuccio, Orazio Orlando, Arturo DominiciForeign | 100% |
Drama | 96% |
Crime | 2% |
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
Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Italian SDH, English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Elio Petri's "Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto" a.k.a. "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors Lucky Red. The supplemental features on the disc include audio commentary with scenarist Ugo Pirro, producer Marina Cicogna, and actress Florinda Bolkan; documentary film produced by Atacama Film; video interview with legendary composer Ennio Morricone; video interview with Paola Petri, director Elio Petri's widow, and producer Marina Cicogna; and clips from an archival interview with actor Gian Maria Volonte. In Italian, with optional English and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
"How are you going to kill me this time?"
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Elio Petri's Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors Lucky Red.
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion was recently restored in 4K by Colorworks in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata. Funding for the restoration was provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Film Foundation, and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The new restoration of this classic Italian film is very impressive. Detail and especially image depth are simply outstanding. Close-ups, in particular, look superb (see screncapture #3). Color reproduction also does not disappoint - there is a good range of solid but very natural browns, grays, blues, and blacks. Furthermore, there isn't even a whiff of problematic degraining or sharpening corrections. Unsurprisingly, from start to finish the film has a very solid organic look. Also, there are absolutely no scratches, debris, cuts, damage marks, or warps to report in this review. Frame transitions are also excellent. All in all, this is easily one of the very best restorations of a classic Italian film that I have seen to date. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0. For the record, Lucky Red have provided optional English and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The lossless track provides the film with much needed depth and crispness. (The difference in quality between the lossy track from the Italian R2 DVD and this new lossless track is indeed like night and day). Ennio Morricone's playful score, in particular, gets a tremendous boost. The dialog is crisp, well rounded, and easy to follow. Also, there are no cracks, pops, audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is very good.
I could not be any more pleased with Italian distributors Lucky Red's Blu-ray release of Elio Petri's Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. Recently restored in 4K by Colorworks in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata, this classic Italian film looks simply stunning. As far as I am concerned, this is one of the year's very best Blu-ray releases. Let's hope that a local distributor, and hopefully Criterion, will be able to bring Mr. Petri's film to the U.S. (A domestic release of the recently restored The Assassin, Mr. Petri's debut film, would also be appreciated). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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