Rabid Dogs Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Rabid Dogs Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 4, 2014

Mario Bava's "Rabid Dogs" a.k.a. "Cani arrabbiati" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include the alternative version of the film, "Kidnapped"; audio commentary by Tim Lucas; video piece featuring Lamberto Bava, actress Lea Lander, and producer Alfredo Leone; and video interview with director Umberto Lenzi. The release also arrives with a 40-page illustrated booklet featuring: "Fear by Noon-Light, Mario Bava's Rabid Dogs" by Stephen Thrower; "A Young Lizard Wrestles an Old Dog" by Peter Blumenstock; "Man and Boy" by Michael J. Carroll; "In Search of Rabid Dogs" by Helen Mullane; and technical credits. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Dottore and Blade

Four gangsters rob a car carrying wages for a large pharmaceutical company. They escape with the cash, but the driver is shot and killed. Then the remaining three gangsters -- Dottore (Maurice Poli, Five Dolls for an August Moon), Blade (Don Backy, Double by Half), and Thirty-Two (George Eastman, Porno Holocaust) -- enter a parking garage, where they take hostage two young women. When the area is surrounded by the police, they kill one of them, and then run away with the other. At a stop light, they jump into a banged up Fiat and force the driver, Ricardo (Ricardo Cucciola, Sacco e Vanzetti), who is taking his son to a nearby hospital, to get them out of town.

In the countryside, Thirty-Two loses his temper and threatens to rape the woman. When Doc attempts to calm him down, the man goes berserk. Meanwhile, Ricardo repeatedly begs the men to release him and his son. Eventually, the tension becomes unbearable.

Cani arrabbiati is the one and only crime film Mario Bava directed. The first version of the film, Rabid Dogs -- which is only a rough cut of the film Bava envisioned -- was partially completed in 1974. A second version emerged some years later, after producer Alfredo Leone reacquired the rights to the film and shot additional footage. This version of the film was then released with the more revealing title Kidnapped.

Rabid Dogs is a raw and at times uncompromisingly violent film whose story is told in real time. The focus of attention is also on the interactions amongst the main characters, not on a series of specific events. As a result, even though the film moves quickly there is a distinctively intimate atmosphere in it that keeps it firmly grounded in reality. (Fernando Di Leo also directed a number of similarly intense crime films during the early '70s, but their hyperactivity and fascination with the technical side of the action occasionally makes them look too kitschy and artificial).

The film has a distinctively unapologetic misogynic tone as well. But this should not be surprising at all considering the fact that there is a wide range of politically incorrect attitudes on display in it that were very much part of Italian reality during the ‘60s and ‘70s. In other words, the manner in which the female characters are treated throughout the film is hardly a reflection of some sort of an unhealthy urge to test one’s tolerance for abuse and violence.

The cast is very good. Cucciola, a great but somewhat underappreciated Italian actor, is terrific as the under pressure driver who has to find a way to get to a medical facility before it is too late. Poli is likeable as the levelheaded Dottore. Backy and Eastman infuse the film with so much energy and tensions that occasionally it feels like it could collapse because of them. Lander is also convincing as the terrified Maria.

Rabid Dogs is complimented by a very energetic soundtrack which was created by composer Stelvio Cipriani. Not only it perfectly blends with the film’s relentless tempo, but it is the key reason why a number of sequences work so well. When the film was rereleased as Kidnapped, the original soundtrack was modified.

Rabid Dogs Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.89:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mario Bava's Rabid Dogs/Kidnapped arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

Please note that the screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:

1. Screencaptures #1-14: Rabid Dogs.
2. Screencaptures #16-23: Kidnapped.

Mario Bava's Kidnapped -- an edited version of the film the Italian director created in 1974 with additional footage added by producer Alfredo Leone -- was initially released on Blu-ray by Kino Video in the U.S. (you can see our listing and review of this release here). This new release features a reconstruction of Rabid Dogs, with footage from different surviving elements, including footage from a newly produced master of Kidnapped and standard definition tapes. Naturally, there are obvious fluctuations where standard definition and high-definition content are used to reassemble different sequences. The reconstructed version is also regraded. Naturally, the transitions are easy to recognize as quality does fluctuate, but the reconstruction of Rabid Dogs has a surprisingly well balanced appearance. Overall image stability, in particular, is very good. There are no big cuts, damage marks, or stains either. All in all, considering the available elements Arrow Video had to work with, the current technical presentation of Rabid Dogs is actually rather impressive.

The technical presentation of Kidnapped is similar to that found on Kino Video's Blu-ray release. I did some direct comparisons with my Blu-ray release of Kidnapped and could not spot any major discrepancies to report in this review.

(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).

Rabid Dogs Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 2.0 (Rabid Dogs) and Italian LPCM 2.0 (Kidnapped). For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English subtitles for each version.

Rabid Dogs: While depth and clarity are pleasing, there are indeed some balance and density fluctuations. This should not be surprising as Arrow Video had access only to a dated standard definition source. Even during the most obvious fluctuations, however, the dialog is very easy to follow. Elsewhere, the dialog and the music are well balanced. The English translation is very good.

Rabid Dogs Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Semaforo Rosso alternative opening title sequence - coming from a standard definition source. Music only. (2 min).

• End of the Road: Making Rabid Dogs and Kidnapped - in this video piece, Lamberto Bava (assistant director on Rabid Dogs), actress Lea Lander (Maria), and producer Alfredo Leone (Kidnapped) discuss the difficult production history of Mario Bava's film, its stylistic characteristics, some of the key differences between Rabid Dogs and Kidnapped, etc. In Italian and English, with printed English subtitles where necessary. (17 min).

• Bava and Eurocrime - An Interview with Umberto Lenzi - in this video interview, director Umberto Lenzi discusses Mario Bava's legacy (with some excellent comments addressing his work with Riccardo Freda), the social climate in Italy and how the criminal activities in cities such as Milan and Rome inspired local directors to shoot violent crime films, some of the more prominent overtones in Rabid Dogs (masculinity), etc. The interview was produced by Calum Waddell, Naomi Holwill, and Nick Frame. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (9 min).

• Commentary - in this excellent audio commentary, Mario Bava biographer Tim Lucas discusses the difficult production history of Rabid Dogs, the casting process, the film's unusual structure (it was the first Italian film with a story told in real time), the tense atmosphere, the Italian director's creative disagreements with producer Alfredo Leone, etc. In English, not subtitled.

• Booklet - 40-page illustrated booklet featuring: "Fear by Noon-Light, Mario Bava's Rabid Dogs" by Stephen Thrower; "A Young Lizard Wrestles an Old Dog" by Peter Blumenstock; "Man and Boy" by Michael J. Carroll; "In Search of Rabid Dogs" by Helen Mullane; and technical credits.

• Cover - reversible cover (Rabid Dogs/Kidnapped).

Rabid Dogs Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I really like this release. Considering the quality of the different elements Arrow Video were able to access to produce a definitive version of Mario Bava's Rabid Dogs, I think that the final result is actually quite impressive. In fact, I think that the reconstruction work is so good that I would encourage them to consider other similar projects so that we could have equally satisfying definitive presentations of films whose original elements are either badly damaged or simply missing. Very well done. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.