Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Like Rabid Dogs Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 19, 2021

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers.

The Italian term Poliziotteschi may not be strictly grammatical, but it has served as shorthand for years to describe a subgenre of Italian cinema that was almost insanely popular in that country in the seventies in particular. If many films in this category were frankly the Italian equivalent of B-movies, some, like 1970's Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, achieved considerable renown and critical appreciation, and in fact that particular film ended up winning that year's Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Arrow's Years of Lead may not exactly be offering Oscar worthy outings in this set, but in a way that actually may be a better way to understand the idiom, since Poliziotteschi frequently featured gritty storylines and unvarnished characters. Some of the films in this set have been previously released on Blu-ray by German label Camera Obscura (and the reviews of those films will point to those prior releases), and some of the supplements produced for the Camera Obscura releases have been ported over to this set. But Arrow is also touting the fact that this set features a new 2K restoration of Colt 38 Special Squad, which is exclusive to this limited edition release.

Note: While it does look like Like Rabid Dogs did have a Camera Obscura Blu-ray release for the German market, there is no review here for that version as of the publishing of this review.

A football (i.e., soccer) game becomes violent, though not in the way some regular viewers of European matches might anticipate, in that the skirmishes don't take place between players and fans, but between some nasty robbers and some arena office workers who are counting the day's proceeds. The robbery results in the death of a young policeman, and shortly thereafter his pregnant fiancée commits suicide. Police Commissioner Paolo Muzi (Piero Santi) starts asking questions of the local "usual suspects", since evidently a lot of the "undercover" criminals work in various professions, like fixing cars and, um, feeding lions at the zoo. The film doesn't really play any games with who the culprits are, as a trio of what amount to violent quasi-juvenile delinquents are soon overtly identified as the villains. When another robbery goes awry and a hostage is taken and killed, the ante is upped. Ultimately, Muzi's co-worker and main squeeze Germana (Paola Senatore) is sent undercover herself as a hooker, leading to another round of carnage.

There's so much rampant violence and nudity in this film that shell shocked viewers may not notice the infusion of social commentary the film manages to exploit, most notably in a completely gonzo ending that urges the audience not to shed tears when a murderer is killed. There are socioeconomic aspects to the subplot and Muzi's inability to bring the bad guys (and girl) to justice, and a certain moral degradation kind of oozes through the story like poisonous lifeblood.

Like Rabid Dogs Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like Rabid Dogs is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:

Like Rabid Dogs is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with Italian mono audio. The HD master was created and supplied by Rewind.

This is another very strong transfer, though there is some very slight damage that can be spotted at times (keep your eyes peeled toward the left side of the frame during the scene where Muzi gets to the suicide). The palette is very nicely suffused, and the film's prevalence of almost "Hammer" red blood is disturbingly vivid. There are some brief interstitial patches where things suddenly look a good deal rougher, with a slightly less suffused palette, including one of the first sequences with the kidnapping victim. Grain resolves without any issues and there are no other compression worries that I spotted.

Like Rabid Dogs Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like Rabid Dogs features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track in the original Italian. This is another post-looped affair that sometimes betray the dreaded "loose synch", but which otherwise offers a fairly boisterous accounting of the film's effects and kind of Shaft-like score by Mario Molino. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Like Rabid Dogs Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• When a Murderer Dies (HD; 51:57) is an interview with cinematographer Romano Albani and film historian Fabio Melelli, originally produced for Camera Obscura in 2013. In Italian with English subtitles.


• It's Not a Time for Tears (HD; 32:55) is an interview with assistant director Claudio Bernabei, originally produced for Camera Obscura in 2014. In Italian with English subtitles.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 3:49)


• Music Sampler (HD; 6:01) features two tracks from the original soundtract by mario Molino. Both the music and accompanying images are courtesy of Christian Ostermeier.


• Poster Gallery (HD) features images from Peter Jilmstad and Christian Ostermeier.

Like Rabid Dogs Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the things that's kind of weirdly interesting about several of the films in this collection is how they overtly detail the trauma inflicted on "innocent bystanders" due to some marauding activities by villains, and yet there is still very little emotional attachment to anything, perhaps because things just careen along so chaotically in the films. Like Rabid Dogs is disturbing for that very reason, though there's definitely a tawdry feeling to the proceedings. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplemental package enjoyable, for those who are considering a purchase.