Shooting the Mafia Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Shooting the Mafia Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 2, 2020

In what appears to be the review reference equivalent of Russian nesting dolls, in my recent Cameraperson Blu-ray review I suggested that that documentary might make for an interesting companion piece to Les Blank: Always for Pleasure, while I’m going to now suggest that in a perhaps even more salient way, Cameraperson would make for an interesting companion piece to Shooting the Mafia. That arguably more meaningful connection between the two is courtesy of the fact that both documentaries are about people behind the camera, in this case Sicilian still photographer Letizia Battaglia, whose career often intersected with various criminal activities by the Mafia in and around Palermo, activities which Battaglia documented with her camera. But there’s a perhaps antithetical connection between Shooting the Mafia’s Battaglia and Cameraperson’s Kirsten Johnson, since Cameraperson often points out, if discursively, the connection Johnson often felt with her subjects, while Shooting the Mafia seems to suggest that despite sometimes personal connections to various subjects, Battaglia was arguably a bit more of an aloof observer.

It’s kind of ironic, then, that the perceived “distance” between Battaglia and her subjects seems to in fact be almost a defense mechanism that allows Battaglia not to divulge too much about herself, rather than whomever she was photographing at the time. That same seemingly willful reticence tends to make the biographical element of Shooting the Mafia a bit of a patchwork and often kind of hit or miss. Perhaps for that reason director Kim Longinotto hedges her bets by almost moving past Battaglia to get into some of the nefarious activites of the Mafia, notably a case that ended with the murders of two officials in the Italian justice system.

The many examples of Battaglia’s photography are often stunning (if at times disturbing) to see, but there’s very little context offered here and even less analysis from Battaglia herself. Some of the photos of crime scenes are quite gruesome and may shock some viewers (screenshot 9 is actually one of the less graphic ones).

Shooting the Mafia Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shooting the Mafia is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Media Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer (mostly) in 1.78:1 (as can be gleaned from some of the screenshots included with this review, some archival video is in narrower aspect ratios). As with many documentaries cobbled together from different sources, this has a somewhat heterogeneous appearance, though all of the contemporary shot material tends to offer good detail levels and appealing sharpness, though Longinotto occasionally opts for "arty" framings that can mask fine detail. The palette even in the contemporary sections is natural looking but not overly vivid. The archival still photos look sharp and well detailed, with excellent contrast for the most part. Some of the archival video is fairly soft and ragged looking, with some of it obviously having been sourced from smaller millimeter formats.

Shooting the Mafia Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shooting the Mafia features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in the original Italian, with forced English subtitles. I'm frankly not sure this film really required a surround track, but there is an appealing spaciousness here that is probably most evident in the occasional underscore or outdoor material. The bulk of this piece is simply talking head material, though, and in that regard the track certainly provides ample support if not a ton of surround activity.

Shooting the Mafia Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Conversation with Director Kim Longinotto (1080p; 5:38) is a brief piece with text card questions interspersed with Longinotto's answers.


• Shooting the Mafia Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:00)

Shooting the Mafia Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I think Shooting the Mafia might have helped had Longinotto gotten some kind of "outside" observer to provide context about Battaglia and her work. Longinotto probably attempts to do something like this by having some former lovers of Longinotto (who were themselves photographers) drop by for a chat, but the documentary simply doesn't provide enough context for even those relationships for anything to really resonate very strongly. The photos are often viscerally compelling (and occasionally stomach churning), and some of the information on the Mafia's activities is similarly unsettling. Technical merits are generally solid for those considering a purchase.