Stateline Motel Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Stateline Motel Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 26, 2025

Maurizio Lucidi's "Stateline Motel" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shameless Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include new program with star Fabio Testi and two new programs with Italian critic Davide Pulici. In English or Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Too much heat in frozen Canada

Just minutes after he is released from a state penitentiary in frozen Montreal, former carjacker-turned-robber Floyd Gambino (Fabio Testi) is picked up by his partner, Joe Malcomb (Eli Wallach), an aging crook. The two, both Americans, then drive to a popular jewelry store in downtown Montreal and successfully steal enough diamonds and other precious stones to help them retire in style. Because the heist is captured on film by the cameras inside the jewelry store, they agree to split and meet again on the other side of the border, in Newport, New Hampshire, where the loot, after it is turned into cash, will be divided. Gambino is supposed to transport the loot.

But on the way to the supposedly least busy border checkpoint that Malcomb has identified, Gambino, while driving on an icy road high up in the mountains, loses control of his car and crashes into a pile of snow. While cursing his luck, Gambino then reaches a sleepy town, where he books a room in a motel and begins waiting for the local mechanic to bring his car and fix it. In the motel, Gambino unexpectedly connects with the owner’s disillusioned wife, Michell Norton (Ursula Andress), and even though he tries to remain focused on what matters the most, someone outsmarts him and steals the loot. Soon after, Malcomb reappears, unsure if Gambino has decided to keep the loot for himself or screwed up very badly.

The opening credits reveal that the original material for Stateline Motel was sourced from a novel by Franco Enna, who worked with Umberto Lenzi on the screenplay for the popular poliziotteschi Gang War in Milan. However, Stateline Motel has a distinct American identity. In fact, had it been made during the 1950s and in black-and-white, it would have been impossible not to profile it as film noir.

Virtually everything that makes Stateline Motel an enjoyable film, however, has something to do with the work of its stars, rather than the quality of the original material from the novel. They are different and handle their characters in ways that create different surprises. For example, as the drama intensifies, most are exposed as chameleons, wearing masks for different reasons, so when the real characters are revealed, there are numerous effective surprises unrelated to the loot and its whereabouts. Also, the preparation for the surprises is wrapped in light melodrama whose European quality gives Stateline Motel a rather unusual vibe.

Among connoisseurs of older European genre films, Maurizio Lucidi is best known for directing The Designated Victim, a brilliant, very twisty thriller about a supposedly perfect murder. Stateline Motel is arguably Lucidi’s second-best film, though its twists are, as noted earlier, of a different kind. Stateline Motel is a similarly good-looking film as well, but a much, much more modest one.

Lucidi’s director of photography was Gabor Pogany, who lensed Jerzy Kawalerowicz's cult film The Devil in Maddalena, which is where the famous track Chi Mai originated from. A decade later, the great maestro Ennio Morricone reused it in Georges Lautner’s action thriller The Professional.

Stateline Motel 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, Stateline Motel arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shameless Entertainment.

The release introduces a recent 2K restoration (and reconstruction) of Stateline Motel, which I found incredibly frustrating. This 2K master presents the longest version of Stateline Motel that I have seen and produces visuals that look immaculate. I am not exaggerating when I write that very large portions of Stateline Motel boast the type of quality a big-budget 4K restoration can deliver. Delineation, clarity, depth, and especially density levels are superb. Unfortunately, the 2K master is very oddly graded. It gives Stateline Motel an unusually cold and gray appearance that is not too far off from the one that Revolver received after it was restored in 4K at L'Immagine Ritrovata. Several indoor sequences look somewhat decent, but practically all of the outdoor footage is off, and by a lot. Sadly, where the primaries and supporting nuances are destabilized the most, the dynamic range of the visuals suffers as well. It is too bad because every other area that we scrutinize in our reviews is flawless. (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).

Stateline Motel Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH (for the English track) and English (for the Italian track) are provided.

The English track should be considered the original track for Stateline Motel because the stars deliver their lines in English. However, they are overdubbed, and the quality of the overdubbing is quite average. Also, the 2K restoration is a reconstruction job, presenting the longest version of Stateline Motel, and a few small bits of it exist only with Italian audio. If you choose the English track, in these bits, you will get the Italian audio with English subtitles.

Stateline Motel Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Right Chance - in this new program, Fabio Testi explains why the production of Stateline Motel in Canada was "an adventure" he enjoyed tremendously and what it was like to interact with director Maurizio Lucidi, Eli Wallach and Ursula Andress. According to Testi, Lucidi's only mistake was forcing Wallach to wear glasses, which made it impossible for his piercing eyes to impress in a familiar fashion. In Italian, with English subtitles. (16 min).

• Last Chance Motel - in this new program, critic Davide Pulici discusses Franco Enna's novel, which provided the original material for Stateline Motel. Pulici also comments on some key developments in Italian crime films from the 1979s, and specifically the blending of noirish overtones and flashy action, as well as the identity of Stateline Motel. In Italian, with English subtitles. (19 min).

• Through the Lens of Lucidi - in this new program, Davide Pulici discusses the life and diverse legacy of director Maurizio Lucidi. In Italian, with English subtitles. (13 min).

• Trailers - trailers for other Shameless Entertainment releases.

• Cover - reversible cover with alternate vintage poster art for Stateline Motel.

Stateline Motel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A supposedly perfect jewelry store heist forces two Americans to begin improvising in frozen Canada after their loot is stolen from them in Maurizio Lucidi's Stateline Motel. I like this film and was very excited to see that it was restored in 2K and prepped for Blu-ray. However, while I am grateful to have the Blu-ray -- which presents the longest version of the film I have ever seen -- I must say that the 2K restoration should have been graded a lot better. The Blu-ray has three excellent new programs, one of them with star Fabio Testi.