Rocco Schiavone: Ice Cold Murders Season 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.5

Rocco Schiavone: Ice Cold Murders Season 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 9, 2022

"Rocco Schiavone: Season Two" (2018) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. There are no supplemental features on the release. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for each episode. Region-A "locked".

Season Two begins with a forced confession. Inspector Rocco Schiavone (Marco Giallini) is summoned by his superior, Chief of Police Andrea Costa (Massimo Olcese), and District Attorney Maurizio Baldi (Filippo Dini), and ordered to explain why Adele Talamonti (Anna Ferzetti), the wife of his best pal, the thief Sebastiano (Francesco Acquaroli), was executed in his home while he was away. (The murder and its ripple effects are at the center of an episode from Season One). Schiavone reluctantly agrees to explain why Talamonti had to die, but warns that he would have to tell a much bigger story with additional characters that have never before been brought up before Costa and Baldi.

A series of flashbacks transport Schiavone back to Rome, before his relocation to Aosta, and begin reconstructing a completely different murder case. While digging for clues, Schiavone is seen uncovering a network of drug dealers with powerful international suppliers. He frequently meets with Sebastiano and his crew and, while using their contacts and knowledge of the underworld, enters a very deep rabbit hole where human life is cheaper than a cup of espresso. While going further into the rabbit hole, Schiavone loses his wife, Marina (Isabella Ragonese), whose killer, Enzo Baiocchi, later on becomes a target for Sebastiano. The drama that flourishes after Sebastiano vows to avenge the death of his wife and begins tracking down Baiocchi then enters the next chapter of Schiavone’s life in Aosta and Season Two returns to the present. (The subplot that brings together the murder of Schiavone’s wife and the accidental execution of Sebastiano’s wife is also used to unleash various new developments in the remaining episodes).

As was the case with Season One, Schiavone’s personality is far more interesting than the murder cases he is tasked to solve. In fact, his personality is the story that emerges from each episode. What does this mean exactly? Rather than utilizing the old blueprint where murder cases are solved by arranging different details in a proper order to produce all the excitement, the show trades it for Schiavone’s character arc. Yes, this is an unusual and risky concept, but it is very much how many iconic film noir novels tell their stories as well. The show also transfers this concept to contemporary Italy and, with Schiavone’s colorful personality at the center of it, uses it to deliver a very nuanced social commentary. (The iconic private detective Philip Marlowe has the exact same function in Raymond Chandler’s classic novels, but the period environment in which he exists is drastically different).

Schiavone’s personality is also the catalyst of the excellent adult humor that defines the show. Indeed, because this cranky, pot-smoking detective does not have any filters, his words instantly cut through the thin wall of political correctness and have an immediate effect on the people around him. When these situations occur, and they are all over the show, they tend to produce simply brilliant humor. Schiavone’s tone and mannerisms are pitch-perfect as well.

Unlike Season One, which has six episodes that are broken into twelve parts, Season Two has only four episodes that are broken into eight parts. They are: 7.7.2007, The Whole Truth, Dust and Shadow, and Before the Rooster Crows. All four were directed by Giulio Manfredonia.

*Dust and Shadow features an interesting cameo by Erika Blanc, who appeared in several classic gialli and spaghetti westerns from the 1960s, such as Mario Bava's Kill, Baby... Kill! and Umberto Lenzi's So Sweet... So Perverse.

Rocco Schiavone: Ice Cold Murders Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Rocco Schiavone: Season Two arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

I was a bit worried that Season Two may not look as good as it can because all of its episodes are placed on two discs. However, unlike Season One, which has six episodes that are broken into twelve parts, Season Two has only four episodes that are broken into eight parts. So, the total running time of Season Two is only 417 minutes.

On my system Season Two looked wonderful and I did not spot any encoding anomalies. If there is any room for improvement, I could not tell because even darker areas looked fantastic on my system. In fact, the final episode, where Rocco is framed was so good that I decided to view it twice and ended up projecting it as well, so even on a very large screen the visuals looked lovely. But the entire Season Two produces some quite striking visuals, so you won't have trouble recognizing superb delineation, clarity and depth. For example, many of visuals from Aosta and Rome look like digital postcards (see examples in screencaptures #16 and 29). Close-ups can be very impressive as well, regardless of whether they appear during daylight or nighttime footage. Obviously, the color scheme is very similar to that of Season One, which means that Season Two has a modern grade as well. There a couple of darker spots where I noticed an unusual effect that almost looks like it is introduced by the encode, but it is just the grade and downconversion to 1080p that exacerbate its presence. You won't be bothered by it unless you know exactly where to look for it. (An example can be seen on Sebastiano's jacked in screencapture #20). My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Rocco Schiavone: Ice Cold Murders Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for each episode.

I viewed each episode with the Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and did not perform any direct comparisons with the Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. I thought that the quality of the audio was outstanding. For example, while Corrado Carosio and Pierangelo Fornaro's soundtrack does not have the same crucial presence ambient rockers Mokadelic's soundtrack has in Gomorrah, there are quite a few very beautiful sequences where the music does a lot to enhance the desired atmosphere. Dynamic intensity is excellent as well, but Rocco Schiavone does not have the same amount of diverse action footage you would encounter in Gomorrah. The dialog is always crisp, clear, and very easy to follow.

Rocco Schiavone: Ice Cold Murders Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, there are no bonus features to be found on this release.

Rocco Schiavone: Ice Cold Murders Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The producers of Rocco Schiavone hit the jackpot when Marco Giallini agreed to play the cranky, pot-smoking, very rough around the edges but soft on the inside, heartbroken and exiled middle-aged police inspector whose antics are at the center of their magnificent TV show. Giallini was born to play this part and what he does with it is the main reason Rocco Schiavone is so addictive. I thought that Season One was excellent, but Season Two, which is slightly shorter, has an even better tone and atmosphere. During the last forty-eight hours, I was glued to my screen, and even when I wanted to walk away from it, I could not stop watching. Needless to say, at the end of the year I will be placing Rocco Schiavone on my Top Ten list, right next to Gomorrah. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.