The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.5

The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 21, 2017

Umberto Lenzi's "The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors 88 Films. The supplemental features on the disc include interviews with Tomas Milian, Umberto Lenzi, and writer/director Mike Malloy. In English or Italian, with English subtitles for the Italian track. Region-Free.

Inspector Tanzi

There is a long and very informative recent interview with director Umberto Lenzi on this release in which he discusses in great detail how he shot The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist and what he was trying to accomplish with it. In it Lenzi also draws an interesting parallel between Michael Mann’s Heat and The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist and reveals that the three stars of his film found it just as difficult to work together as reportedly Al Pacino and Robert De Niro did. (A lot has been written about Pacino and De Niro’s supposedly difficult coexistence during the years and there seems to be plenty of conflicting information, but Lenzi’s point within the context of his recollections is certainly a valid one). This shouldn’t be too surprising, however, because it is well-known that two of them had rather big egos, and there are multiple sequences where it is painfully obvious that the static between them is in fact authentic.

The unfiltered intensity on display is the main reason why Lenzi’s film works. Indeed, for the most part it mirrors the quasi-documentary style promoted by many of Fernando Di Leo’s earlier poliziotteschi, but Lenzi ratchets up the action to near breaking point that quickly transforms his film into a contemporary Italian martial arts film. In other words, it is a hybrid of a film that bets even more on style over substance.

As the title suggests, the story is about three very colorful characters with different priorities in life. (Lenzi does not explicitly identify them, but as the film progresses it becomes rather easy to figure them out). The first, Inspector Tanzi (Maurizio Merli), is nearly killed after a hitman breaks into his apartment in Rome and empties his gun into him. The authorities then report that the assassination attempt was successful and after Tanzi moves to Switzerland begin tracking down the hitman. The second character is the Chinaman (Tomas Milian), a flashy small-time gangster with big ambitions who has recently relocated to Switzerland. Here the Chinaman and his goons are trying to quickly establish themselves and launch an organization that will eventually control the entire region. DiMaggio (John Saxon) is the third character and the Chinaman’s main opponent. He is an American import directing a much bigger network of shady characters with a direct connection to the Mafia in New York City. Tanzi, the Chinaman, and DiMaggio eventually become entangled in a complex cat-and-mouse game in which the roles frequently change until one of them emerges as a winner.

The film is based on an original story by Sauro Scavolino, a prolific writer whose name can be seen on the official credits of such classic gialli as The Case of the Scorpion's Tail, All the Colors of the Dark, and Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key. However, the final version of the script that was used for this film was penned by Ernesto Gastaldi (The Sweet Body of Deborah, Day of Anger) , Dardano Saccheti (The Beyond, Demons), and Lenzi himself.

*Lenzi's Roma a mano armata a.k.a. Rome Armed to the Teeth/The Tough Ones is frequently grouped with The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist because Merli's character Tanzi also has a major part in it, but prior knowledge of the former isn't required to enjoy the latter.

The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Umberto Lenzi's The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.

The release is sourced from a recent master that was prepared in Italy, but the technical presentation of this very entertaining film is incredibly disappointing. Indeed, there are traces of moderate filtering corrections and very strong sharpening adjustments throughout the entire film that routinely eliminate existing detail and collapse depth (see screencaptures #2 and 3). At times there is also very obvious smearing that creates the impression that one is looking at poor digital photographs (see screencaptures #19 and 20). Unsurprisingly, the entire film has a very harsh digital appearance that could be seriously distracting. The relatively good news is that the colors remain stable, but the various issues mentioned above have impacted certain color values (you should easily see that the green and gray nuances are destabilized). Also, there are no distracting large cuts, debris, damage marks, or warped/torn frames to report. (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. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0 and Italian LPCM 2.0. English subtitles are provided only for the Italian track.

I viewed the film with the original English track, but I should mention that the entire film was overdubbed after production officially ended so the final mix is in fact a bit rough. But this is hardly surprising, as this type of overdubbing was routinely done for these Italian genre films from the '70s and '80s. So there are some minor balance fluctuations and occasionally the dialog can be a bit difficult to follow because some of the accents are rather thick. Therefore, optional English SDH subtitles for the English track would have been appreciated. There are no audio dropouts, pops, background hiss, or digital distortions to report.

The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Mike Malloy - presented here is a very informative and quite hilarious piece in which writer/director Mike Malloy (Eurocrime) discusses the production history and key themes of The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Interview with Tomas Milian - in this exclusive video interview, the legendary Cuban-American-Italian actor discusses his image in European cinema during the '60s and '70, the shooting of The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist, and Umberto Lenzi's working methods. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Armed to Teeth Again: Interview with Umberto Lenzi - in this exclusive video interview, director Umberto Lenzi discusses the socio-political climate in Italy at the time when he made The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist, his interactions with the principal actors during the shooting of the film, the style and atmosphere of the film, the influence of American cinema on Italian directors and its impact on his work, etc. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (22 min).

• Cover - reversible sleeve with alternative Italian title.

The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is great to see that more and more Italian genre films from the '60s, '70s, and '80s are transitioning to Blu-ray, but it is clear now that many of the masters that the rights holders offer for licensing are quite problematic. 88 Films' Blu-ray release of Umberto Lenzi's The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist is sourced from one such master. The film was remastered, but then someone decided to further 'repolish' it with digital tools and the end result is very disappointing. The Blu-ray has two very interesting interviews with Umberto Lenzi and Tomas Milian, but I am unwilling to recommend it because the film has an incredibly harsh digital appearance.