Madness Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Madness Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 11, 2024

Fernando Di Leo's "Madness" (1980) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Raro Video. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critic Troy Howarth and vintage trailer. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

In the late 1970s, something strange was happening in Fernando Di Leo’s head. Between 1978 and 1980, Di Leo made two such unusual films, or at least as far as his body of work is concerned, it is impossible not to speculate that he had relocated to a different place. Mentally, not physically. The two films are To Be Twenty and Madness, and they have zero in common with the violent poliziotteschi Di Leo is remembered for.

I have a couple of theories about how To Be Twenty came to exist, and I am convinced that both have bits of the truth, explaining Di Leo’s mental relocation. One of them links Di Leo to ‘research work’ he may have done with recreational drugs before or during the production of To Be Twenty. The other features the beautiful actress Lilli Carati, one of the stars of To Be Twenty, whom Di Leo might have pursued. Before becoming an adult performer, Carati led a very active social life, frequently engaging in relationships with established figures in the film industry and unusual characters like the ones seen in To Be Twenty, so her interactions with Di Leo could have introduced the latter to new experiences that may have forced him out of his native environment.

If the two theories about To Be Twenty have bits of the truth, it is easy to explain why Madness exists. Even though Madness does not pull in different directions at the same time as To Be Twenty does, it is a very fluid and violent film, almost like a nightmare that has temporarily come alive, which is typically the type of material a mind under the influence would conceive. An emotionally overwhelmed mind roaming in darker places, following a dramatic failure or an uneven recovery that has left painful scars, may have produced the same material, too.

Whatever the complete true story may be, Madness is impossible to profile only as a genre film. It is tempting because it is a small project, and profiling it as a genre film immediately makes it easy to brush it aside as one that produces familiar thrills. However, this would be similar to stating that Henri-Georges Clouzot’s final film, Woman in Chains, is only a romantic film that tells a conventional love story. Madness and Woman in Chains do a lot more, and it is rather easy to tell that it is related to the mental state of their creators.

In Madness, a professional thief (Joe Dallesandro) breaks away from prison and immediately heads to a remote villa somewhere in the mountains, where he has hidden a large bag with stolen money. The thief successfully reaches the villa but is forced to alter his plan to recover the stolen money because a man (Gianni Macchia), his wife (Patrizia Behn), and her sister (Lorraine De Selle) have just arrived to spend a weekend there. After the thief takes them hostage, he forcefully breaks their resistance to cooperate, and as some of their intimate secrets emerge, all hell breaks loose.

Luis Bacalov’s moody soundtrack is the biggest clue that Madness does not care much whether the thief successfully recovers his money and disappears with it, or how many of his hostages survive. Madness works hard to absorb and release negative energy that is clearly coming from Di Leo. For this reason, Madness has a borderline surreal quality that makes it quite interesting.

Dallesandro was almost certainly the only cast member who could tell that Di Leo was not shooting a conventional genre film. Most of the time his thief behaves like an informed participant in a carefully disguised but unhinged clinical trial.

Madness Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Madness arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Raro Video.

The release is sourced from an older master. I believe that it is the same master Raro Video used to produce the first DVD release of Madness in 2012 because the film has an almost identical appearance there. This is good news. Indeed, while there are some areas where meaningful improvements can be made, the overall quality of the visuals is good, and the entire film has a convincing period appearance. (The recent 4K restorations of several big Fernando Di Leo films destabilize primary colors and create very unfortunate anomalies). What are the areas where meaningful improvements can be made? Delineation and clarity could be a little bit better. Early into the film, after the thief escapes from prison, in a few spots the skies reveal light blooming. Also, primary blue, and again the one that appears in skies, could be rebalanced. The best news is that there are no traces of problematic digital corrections. The encoding could have been optimized to ensure more satisfying grain exposure, but while viewing the film, you will not notice any troubling anomalies. Image stability is very good. Finally, there are distracting age-related imperfections to report in our review. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Madness Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

All Raro Video releases of Madness that I have seen, including the Italian R2 DVD releases, come with an Italian audio track. However, this film can also be viewed with an English track, and I believe that one should have been made available on the Blu-ray. The quality of the Italian track is good. But the overdubbing is of the kind that does not excite. Since Joe Dallesandro is the main attraction and he utters his line in English, it would have been preferable to hear his voice.

Madness Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Madness. In Italian, with English subtitles. (4 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Troy Howarth. The bulk of the comments address Fernando Di Leo's career, the production of Madness and its placement in the director's body of work, the film's style and personality.

Madness Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is true that Madness is a small film that does not look particularly good next to Fernando Di Leo's famous poliziotteschi. However, Madness should not be viewed and critiqued as the poliziotteschi are. This film works, but it does some very particular things to relieve negative energy from its creator, possibly even more, so it has to be seen from a different angle. Raro Video's release is sourced from an older but fine organic master. It is Region-Free. RECOMMENDED.