7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Nico Palmieri is a police inspector who battles against hoodlums terrorising a sleepy Italian village, extorting cash from the locals.
Starring: Fabio Testi, Vincent Gardenia, Renzo Palmer, Orso Maria Guerrini, Glauco OnoratoForeign | 100% |
Crime | 16% |
Drama | 7% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Rogue Cops and Racketeers: Two Crime Thrillers from Enzo G. Castellari.
To anyone who may be understandably concerned about the state of affairs in the world today, what with disease, political division, rampant crime,
out of control drug running and/or addiction and all sorts of other miseries seemingly an unavoidable part of an equally almost
unavoidably pessimistic and
maybe even
near apocalyptic emotional response to things, take heart: the Italians have "been there, done that", at least in part, several times over
the course of their
long and often fractious history, and they are still around to tell the tale. For those wanting some potent examples of just how bad things can get
from just
a relatively few years ago, one need look no further than the
genre which has become known as Poliziotteschi, "police related dramas" that proliferated throughout Italy particularly in the seventies.
Now the two films Arrow has aggregated in this new collection may admittedly not have
"disease" per se, at least if one doesn't count moral turpitude as an ailment, there are near epic amounts of just about everything else in
that litany listed in the first sentence above. Both of the films in this set were the handiwork of Enzo G. Castellari, and they both traffic at least in
part
in what was one of Castellari's calling cards, graphic violence within a context of some of the breakdown in law and order in the Italy of the
seventies.
Both films (which share star Fabio Testi) in this set are making their high definition debuts and as usual Arrow has assembled an impressive slate of
supplements along with some
nice packaging.
The Big Racket is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet aggregates the two releases offered in this package together in their page devoted to the restorations, with the following information:
The Big Racket / Il grande racket and The Heroin Busters / La via della droga are presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Italian and English mono audio. Scanning and restoration work was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna and color grading was completed at R3Store Studios, London. The original 35mm camera negatives were scanned in 2K resolution.This is a generally very satisfying presentation of The Big Racket, with some really nice fine detail levels that elevate things like patterns on clothing or even the textures of things like wallpapers or the insides of vehicles. There are definitely some variations in densities and brightness, and some of the grading struck me as just slightly on the pink and/or ruddy side (as can perhaps be gleaned in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, especially with regard to some flesh tones). There are some passingly rough moments in darker scenes in particular where grain can spike and crush comes close to intruding, but the good news is a lot of this film plays out in more brightly lit environments, where the palette can pop agreeably, grain resolves naturally, and detail levels remain generally consistent.
The mono Italian and English language tracks were remastered from the optical sound negatives. The audio synch will appear slightly loose against the picture, due to the fact that the dialogue was recorded entirely in post production, as per the production standards of the period. Additional sound mastering was completed by leroy Moore, The Engine House Media Services.
All original materials used in this restoration were made available from Intramovies.
The Big Racket features both the Italian and English language versions, with both soundtracks delivered via DTS-HD Master Audio Mono. Kind of interestingly (and I always wonder about these licensing and/or authoring decisions), it is not possible to toggle between the tracks as you watch, and using the Pop Up Menu to "Select Version" to change the language actually starts the movie over in whatever language is chosen. That prevented me from my "side by side" comparison of toggling between tracks to assess things like amplitude and mix, but I'll say that my general impression is that the Italian track is arguably a bit hotter and more full bodied. I'm not quite sure whether or not that's actually Vincent Gardenia's voice in the English language version; at times, it struck me as sounding like it, at others, not, but one way or the other synch is indeed almost hilariously "loose" on both of these tracks. Dialogue and the cool score are both delivered without any real issues. Optional English subtitles are available.
- Posters (HD)
- Italian Fotobusta (HD)
- German Lobby Cards (HD)
- German Pressbook (HD)
The Big Racket has a couple of justifiably celebrated set pieces, including an impressive sequence relatively early in the film where the assembled goons attack Nico in his car and send it hurtling down a hillside, with Castellari filming it mostly from the inside, with Fabio Testi seemingly going for a tilt-a-whirl ride he'll never forget. The film evidently raised quite a few hackles in its day since it kind of seems to be supporting a pretty hardcore (some claimed "Fascist") reaction to dealing with rampant crime. Arrow's release provides generally secure technical merits and the label's usual allotment of outstanding supplements. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
La via della droga
1977
Luca il contrabbandiere | Standard Edition
1980
I padroni della cittą
1976
Rome Armed to the Teeth / Roma a Mano Armata
1976
Il giustiziere sfida la cittą
1975
アウトレイジ ビヨンド / Outrage Beyond
2012
2005
악인전 / Akinjeon
2019
Milano trema: la polizia vuole giustizia
1973
악녀
2017
Rundskop
2011
Milano Rovente
1973
1961
Jigoku de naze warui
2013
The Way of the Dragon | 猛龍過江 | Collector's Edition
1972
アウトレイジ / Way of the Yakuza
2010
座頭市, Zatōichi
2003
その男、凶暴につき
1989
Aus dem Nichts
2017
天注定 / Tian zhu ding
2013