Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Milano Calibro 9 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 17, 2015

Fernando Di Leo's "Milano Calibro 9" (1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include original Italian and U.S. trailers for the film; new video piece featuring writer and actor Matthew Holness; archival audio interview with actor Gastone Moschin; and three archival documentaries. The release also arrives with a 24-page illustrated booklet featuring Roberto Curti's essay "Film Noir, Italian-Style" and technical credits. In Italian or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"They call it the Mafia, but they're just gangs now. Gangs fighting each other. The real Mafia doesn't exist anymore."

Soon after he is released from prison, aging gangster Ugo (Gastone Moschin, The Conformist) is roughed up by Rocco (Mario Adorf, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum) and his boys because they believe that he has stolen $300,000 from their boss, The Americano (Lionel Stander, Once Upon a Time in the West). Ugo is then summoned by an ambitious detective (Frank Wolff, The Lickerish Quartet), who wants to collapse The Americano’s growing drug syndicate.

Initially, Ugo concludes that the best thing to do is endure the harassment and then slowly rebuild his life, but when Rocco threatens to put a bullet in his head he agrees to join The Americano’s gang so that together they can find the man who has his money. Around the same time, Ugo also begins seeing Nelly (Barbara Bouchet, French Sex Murders), an exotic dancer with whom he once had an affair.

Fernando Di Leo’s adaptation of Giorgio Scerbanenco’s novel Milano Calibro 9 is a raw and notably violent action thriller that tells two different stories. The first is that of the aging gangster who wants to start a new life but slowly begins to realize that he cannot escape his violent past. He looks like a reformed man, but in the real world, he has limited options and feels like an animal locked in a cage. The bulk of the film is dedicated to the gangster’s struggles to convince the people around him that he isn’t a dirty thief.

The second story is about the winds of change blowing through Italian organized crime. Soon after Ugo is confronted by Rocco and his men, he visits an old friend, Chino (Philippe Leroy, The Night Porter), who agrees to give him some money so that he can get back on his feet. Chino is a contract killer who has refused to join The Americano’s gang because he does not like being told how to think and act. He is a loner but has remained loyal to another gangster boss, who represents the old order established by the people who built the Mafia. Throughout the film, it is made clear that their kind is dying and they are being replaced by far more dangerous and ruthless gangsters who have stopped respecting the old Mafia rules.

There are some very intense action sequences, but it is easy to tell that Di Leo and his team had a limited budget to work with. During the big shootout at the end, for instance, the camera movement is quite uneven. Most of the transitions between the different episodes also could have been far better polished. The roughness, however, may well be the reason why the film actually works as well as it does -- it does look and feel like an uncensored, over-the-top documentary about Milan’s underworld and a few of his more colorful figures.

Milano Calibro 9 was lensed by cinematographer Franco Villa, who also collaborated with Di Leo on the other two films from the Milieu Trilogy, La Mala Ordina a.k.a. The Italian Connection (1972) and Il Boss a.k.a. The Boss (1973).

The borderline psychedelic soundtrack was created by Italian progressive rock band Osanna and the great Argentine-Italian composer Luis Bacalov (Federico Fellini’s City of Women, Elio Petri’s We Still Kill the Old Way).

Milano Calibro 9 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, Fernando Di Leo's Milano Calibro 9 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

The film has been recently restored in 2K and looks gorgeous in high-definition. During close-ups clarity and depth are simply terrific, making it very, very easy to see even exceptionally small details (see screencapture #19). Despite the somewhat uneven camera movement, the larger panoramic shots also boast fantastic fluidity. Colors are wonderfully saturated and stable, never appearing artificially boosted. There are absolutely no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Also, there are no traces of sharpening adjustments. Quite predictably, from start to finish the film has a very solid organic appearance. In fact, the larger your screen is, the more impressed you are likely to be with the terrific depth and fluidity (pay attention to the darker footage as well). Finally, there a couple of tiny flecks, but there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, or stains. All in all, this is a fantastic presentation of Milano Calibro 9 that should make its fans enormously happy. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your Blu-ray player regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Milano Calibro 9 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 1.0 and English LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles (for the Italian track) and English subtitles (for the English track) are provided.

I prefer the Italian track. On this release, the Italian track also sounds quite a bit better -- depth, clarity, and balance are clearly superior. You should keep in mind, however, that plenty of the actors were overdubbed. What this means is that there are some very minor sync issues, but they are in fact part of the film's final sound design (the dialog and the effects). There are no pops, cracks, distracting hiss, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review.

Milano Calibro 9 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Italian Trailer - original Italian trailer for Milano Calibro 9. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• U.S. Trailer - original U.S. trailer for Milano Calibro 9. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Italian Violenta - in this video piece, writer and actor Matthew Holness highlights the key qualities that define the poliziotteschi films, and discusses the socio-political conditions in Italy under which they gained popularity, Fernando Di Leo's diverse body of work, and the main conflicts in Milano Calibro 9. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Gastone Moschin Audio Interview - in this audio interview, actor Gastone Moschin recalls how he was approached to play the character of Ugo (prior to his involvement with Milano Calibro 9 he appeared primarily in comedies), and discusses an incident that occurred during the shooting of the final sequence in Barbara Bouchet's apartment as well as his interactions with Fernando Di Leo and the rest of the actors. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• Scerbanenco Noir - this archival documentary focuses on the legacy of Giorgio Scerbanenco, the author of the original Milano Calibro 9 novel. Included in it are clips from interviews with writers Andrea G. Pinketts, Gianni Canova, Maurizio Colombo, Luca Crovi, and director Lamberto Bava. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (27 min).

• Di Leo: The Genesis of the Genre - this archival documentary takes a closer look at the legacy of director Fernando Di Leo. Included in it are clips froml interviews with the late Italian director, actor Nino Castelnuovo (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Camille 2000), film editor Amedeo Giomini (Milano Calibro 9, The Boss), and actor Luc Merenda (Shoot First, Die Later, Torso), amongst others. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (40 min).

• The Making of Milano Calibro 9 - this archival documentary focuses on the production history of Milano Calibro 9. Included in it are clips from interviews with director Fernando Di Leo, director Franco Lo Cascio/Luca Damiano (Decameron: Tales of Desire), writer (Maurizio Colombo), writer Luca Crovi, and producer Armando Novelli (Milano Calibro 9, Play Motel), amongst others. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (30 min).

• Booklet - 24-page illustrated booklet featuring: Roberto Curti's essay "Film Noir, Italian-Style" and technical credits.

• Cover - reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist.

Milano Calibro 9 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Raw and brutal, Italian director Fernando Di Leo's Milano Calibro 9 transitions to Blu-ray in spectacular fashion. Recently restored in 2K, the film looks indescribably beautiful in high-definition, and I can only hope that the other two films from the Milieu Trilogy, The Italian Connection and The Boss, will get a similar treatment. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.