Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 10, 2013

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 Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include original trailers; archival interview with the Italian director; exclusive new video interview with film scholar Camilla Zamboni; Federico Baldi, Nicola Guarnei, and Stefano Leone's documentary film "Notes About a Filmmaker" (2005); Andrea Bettinetti's documentary film "Investigation of a Citizen Named Volonte" (2008); and video interview with legendary composer Ennio Morricone. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Evan Calder Williams and excerpts from a 2001 book by screenwriter Ugo Pirro. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The untouchable

He (Gian Maria Volonte, Le Cercle Rouge, For a Few Dollars More) makes love to his mistress (Florinda Bolkan, Lizard in a Woman's Skin, Don't Torture a Duckling) and then kills her with a razor blade. On the way out of her apartment, the man meets a young student who tries to be kind to him. They exchange a few words and then head in opposite directions.

A series of flashbacks now reveal that the man is a powerful police inspector. In the building where he works no one likes to talk to him. There has to be a very good reason for his colleagues to approach him. Most of them prefer to be listeners. Some simply try to stay out of his way.

More flashbacks now show that the man had a special relationship with the dead woman. He liked to torture her and she liked to be tortured. They played strange games - he would hurt her in ways real killers and rapists would hurt their victims. He would also ask her to pose and act as the victims he had read about in the files his colleagues would bring to his desk and take pictures of her. For a while they both liked the games, but eventually he became frustrated with the woman.

In the second half of the film the man decides to prove that he is untouchable, a "citizen above suspicion". While his colleagues are desperately trying to find his mistress' killer, he teases them with leads revealing that he is the man they are looking for. But they keep ignoring them because a man of his stature cannot possibly kill.

The feeling that he is beyond the law has a profound impact on the man and he begins treating his colleagues like puppets. And the more they try to please him, the more he abuses them. He even manipulates his boss, who reports directly to the Minister of Justice.

The final twenty minutes are absolutely brilliant. The film becomes very angry and hits all sorts of different targets. Admittedly some of the political overtones are a bit too strong, but its message is indeed very clear: Italians beware! The Italian political system is rotten to its core.

The use of various flashbacks is particularly effective as it constantly keeps the viewer guessing about the nature of the film. Indeed, with a few minor adjustments Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion could have easily been a stylish giallo picture or a juicy psychedelic thriller (see Lucio Fulci’s equally atmospheric Una sull'altra a.k.a. Perversion Story).

Director Elio Petri completed Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion in 1970. The same year the film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the Grand Prize of the Jury. A year later, it won Oscar Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

The soundtrack of Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion was composed by the legendary Ennio Morricone.

Note: Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion is the first film in director Elio Petri’s Trilogy of Neuroses. The other two entries are Lulu the Tool a.k.a. The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971) and Property Is No Longer a Theft (1973).

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an 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 Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new 4K digital restoration was completed at Sony Pictures' Colorworks, in collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna and L'Immagine Ritrovata, with funding provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Film Foundation, and Sony Pictures Entertainment. For the restoration, the 35mm original camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy. Digital image restoration to correct for dirt, debris, and scratches, was performed at L'Immagine Ritrovata and Colorworks in Culver City, California; audio restoration was performed at Chace Audio by Deluxe in Burbank, California. Color correction, a 4K DCP, a 4K master file for Blu-ray, and 35mm preservation negatives were completed at Colorworks.

Restoration and mastering supervision: Grover Crisp/Sony Pictures, Culver City, CA.
Colorist: Sheri Eisenberg/Colorworks, Culver City, CA."

Criterion's release of this classic Italian film uses as a foundation the same beautiful 4K restoration by Colorworks and Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata which Italian distributors Lucky Red accessed when they prepared their release of Mr. Petri's film for the Italian market. Needless to say, the film looks astonishingly good. During the numerous close-ups detail and depth are simply outstanding, while the interior footage, the majority of which is quite dark, boasts excellent clarity. Color reproduction also does not disappoint - there is a wide range of wonderfully saturated and very natural browns, grays, blues, and blacks. There are absolutely no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening corrections. Image stability is also outstanding. Debris, dirt, damage marks, cuts, and stains have also been carefully removed. All in all, as far as I am concerned this is one of the year's top five restorations to be released on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

Anyone who has viewed the Italian R2 DVD release of Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion will be enormously pleased with the improved depth and clarity. Ennio Morricone's playful score, in particular, benefits tremendously. Obviously, dynamic intensity is rather limited, but the film's sound design is quite modest. The dialog is crisp, very stable, clean, and always easy to follow. The English translation is excellent.

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - original Italian and English-language trailers for Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. With optional English subtitles for the Italian-language trailer. (7 min, 1080p).

• Elio Petri - in this excerpt from an episode of the French television program Le journal du cinema, director Elio Petri and film critic Alexandre Astruc discuss the tone of Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and the unique ideas behind the film. (Inspired by Brecht, Mr. Petri wanted his film to be accessible, not bourgeois). The episode was broadcast in France on October 25, 1970. In French, with optional English subtitles. (15 min, 1080p).

• On Investigation - in this brand new video interview, film scholar Camilla Zamboni discusses Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, the socio-political climate in Italy at the time when the film was made, Gian Maria Volonte's image in Italy and abroad, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2013. In English, not subtitled. (25 min, 1080p).

• Elio Petri: Notes About a Filmmaker - an outstanding documentary film focusing on the life and legacy of director Elio Petri. The documentary contains interviews with director Bernardo Bertolucci (Last Tango in Paris), director Gillo Pontecorvo (The Battle of Algiers), director Robert Altman (3 Women), director Giuliano Montaldo (Sacco and Vanzetti), director Francesco Maselli (Abandoned), legendary composer Ennio Morricone, screenwriter Tonino Guerra (La Notte, L'Eclisse), and actors Florinda Bolkan and Vanessa Redgrave, amongst others. The documentary was directed by Federico Baldi, Nicola Guarnei, and Stefano Leone in 2005. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. In Italian, with optional English subtitles (80 min, 1080i).

• Investigation of a Citizen Named Volonte - excellent documentary film focusing on the life and career of Gian Maria Volonte. The documentary contains clips from archival interviews with the legendary Italian actor, interviews with director Giuliano Montaldo, director Francesco Rossi (The Moment of Truth, La Sfida), and screenwriter Ugo Pirro (The Nymph, Lulu the Tool), amongst others. The documentary was directed by Andrea Bettinetti in 2008. It also appears on Lucky Red's Italian Blu-ray release of Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion). In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (55 min, 1080i).

• Music in His Blood - in this video interview, legendary composer Ennio Morricone, who collaborated with director Elio Petri on six films, discusses his contribution to Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. The interview was conducted by Fabio Ferzetti in 2010. The same interview also appears on Lucky Red's Blu-ray release. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (20 min, 1080i).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Evan Calder Williams and excerpts from a 2001 book by screenwriter Ugo Pirro.

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Directed by Elio Petri, one of Italy's greatest filmmakers, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion transitions to Blu-ray after an outstanding 4K restoration courtesy of Colorworks and Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata. Needless to say, the film now looks the best it ever has. As far as I am concerned, this is one of the year's top five Region-A Blu-ray releases. Let's hope that soon we will also see a domestic release of the recently restored The Assassin, Mr. Petri's debut film. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.