6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A biker's brother is killed while investigating the kidnapping of a young boy, the byproduct of a war between two crime families. The biker vows to get revenge by finding the kidnapped boy and destroying the two families.
Starring: Tomas Milián, Joseph Cotten, Maria Fiore, Mario Piave, Luciano CatenacciCrime | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 CD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Severin's Violent Streets: The Umberto Lenzi/Tomas Milian Collection box set.
In one of several worthwhile supplements Severin has aggregated for Violent Streets, commentators Troy Howarth and Nathaniel
Thompson
make the case that director Umberto Lenzi may not have achieved the renown of some of his
contemporaries at least in part perhaps due to the fact that, at least according to Howarth and Thompson, his directorial style wasn't "flashy"
enough, though the fact that Howarth's book about Lenzi includes the word kinetic in its title might subliminally undercut this thesis, one
way or the other.
There is a certain stolid quality to some of Lenzi's work,
to be sure, but
there are also at least moments of flourishes, but one way or the other, when you have a star like Tomas Milián snarling in front of the
camera, how much additional "style" do you really need? Milián is a near feral presence in all five films Severin has aggregated in this appealing
new
collection culled from Lenzi's rather impressively long filmography. Some of the supplementary interviews with Lenzi included on the various discs
in
this set might suggest that his relationship with Milián may not have always been smooth sailing, so to speak, and in a way I was reminded
(perhaps
only due to it very recently passing through my review queue courtesy of a bonus feature on Arrow's release of Black Sunday) some remarks by John Frankenheimer speaking to his evidently
intermittently stormy relationship with Burt Lancaster, another leading man with a somewhat feral presence. One way or the other, much as with
the
Frankenheimer - Lancaster collaborations, Lenzi and Milián formed a viscerally compelling symbiotic unit for whatever reason, and the five films
collected here offer more than abundant proof of the energy the duo brought to some admittedly at times otherwise pedestrian efforts. Severin has
perhaps sweetened the pot for a certain demographic by including soundtrack CDs with some of the films.
Syndicate Sadists is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. As with several of the
titles included in this release, the back cover doesn't provide a wealth of technical information, and instead offers only a generic "now scanned uncut
from the original negative". This is another appealingly organic looking presentation that obviously hasn't been aggressively manipulated in the digital
world, and a healthy grain is supported throughout. Colors are nicely robust throughout virtually all of the presentation, and some of the primaries in
particular pop extremely well. Also as with some of the other offerings in this set, the most eagle eyed videophiles may be able to see very minor
passing age related wear and tear, mostly in the form of at times barely discernable nicks and flecks, but there aren't any major signs of damage to
report. Detail levels are typically precise looking, and close-ups in particular can offer really nice fine detail. My score is 4.25.
Note: As with other titles in this set, Syndicate Sadists evidently had a previous release on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films for the Region B market, but as of the writing of this
review, that release hasn't been covered.
Syndicate Sadists features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono options in either English or Italian. The film's score features a "squishy" synth patch which can sound slightly distorted or dirty in the Italian track, but at least somewhat less crackly in the English version. The English track sounded just a bit more full bodied and slightly hotter to my ears, but as with all of the soundtracks included in the Violent Streets set, I'd personally state that the differences between the English and Italian tracks are relatively minimal and in fact at times indiscernable as these things tend to go. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly in both version, and sound effects also reverberate well. Optional English subtitles for both versions are available.
Syndicate Sadists is perhaps not quite as nasty as its title might indicate, but it provides Milián with a sort of template for the kind of character he would continually return to in subsequent films. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements very enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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