Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Suspicious Death of a Minor Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 4, 2017

Gialli and poliziotteschi have both had long and varied histories in the annals of Italian cinema, and both have in fact at least at times tended to intermingle, but there’s perhaps no odder “combo platter” of these two genres than this 1975 feature from co-writer and director Sergio Martino. The oddness in fact doesn’t really spring as much from the commingling of giallo and poliziottescho tropes, but instead from the rather bizarre addition of comedic elements, including some rather silly physical comedy that borders on the slapstick. This would seem to be an uneasy fit for a film that is concerned with the shocking and brutal death of a young woman, and what increasingly seems to be a plot involving trafficking of sex slaves, but perhaps unexpectedly, while no forgotten masterpiece, The Suspicious Death of a Minor has a number of interesting elements, even if it doesn’t always hang together tonally. The film begins with a rather interesting sequence which in a kind of way hints at a connection to Alfred Hitchcock’s opening gambit in Psycho, with a focus on a young woman most audience members will assume is going to be a main character, a la Janet Leigh’s Marion Crane. Suffice it to say that this young woman, who is later identified as Marisa (Patrizia Castaldi) has the same sort of interaction with a sharp blade that poor Marion does in Psycho, albeit this time at least not in the bathtub while taking a shower. It’s a patently shocking opening to the film, but almost immediately Martino tips over into outright comedy with the introduction of two bumbling police officers. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger named Paolo Germi (Claudio Cassinelli), whom Marisa had briefly used as a “cover” when she felt she was being chased (which it turns out she was) is poking his nose around in the wake of Marisa’s death, but it’s unclear exactly why. The whole structure of The Suspicious Death of a Minor is off kilter in a way, offering weird revelations like a clear look at the killer in the very first murder scene, while keeping other information, like who exactly Paolo is, on the back burner for a surprisingly long amount of time.

Among the unusual strategies this film employs is an almost Keystone Cops ambience surrounding the two main policemen who are initially seemingly the chief investigators, including Teti (Gianfranco Barra), who seems deliberately modeled to come off as one of those iconic detectives in The Adventures of Tintin. The opening scenes with these cops are almost a farcical exploration of non sequiturs, as the two drift off into totally irrelevant conversations (about things like sports scores) as they’re supposedly trying to figure out how Marisa ended up on the floor of a now bloody apartment with her throat ruthlessly slit. When the two cops venture outside, some viewers may be drawn to an odd figure in the background, who may or may not be a guy in drag (see screenshot 11). When Teti’s wallet is stolen by a thief named Giannino (Adolfo Caruso) who speeds by on a bicycle, this odd background figure just starts berating the cops, in what is some indication of how anarchic the opening half or so of the film is.

The other unexpected presentational approach is with regard to Paolo, who is an “international man of mystery” for much of the opening of the film (though anyone with half a brain, and maybe not that much, is going to figure out he’s an undercover cop). That includes him sneaking up on a woman who manages the flat where Marisa has been killed, more or less strangling her with a phone cord and threatening her with a gun, something that obviously implies Paolo is a bad guy.

A number of other kind of patently bizarre detours accrue, though it’s worth noting that Martino and co-scenarist Ernesto Gastaldi do manage to weave most of these strands together at around the halfway point, which is exactly where The Suspicious Death of a Minor kicks into more traditionally giallo territory. But before that there are kind of wobbly moments with Paolo and Giannino, who team up, most notably in a completely unnecessary scene that sees the two stealing from prostitutes in the same way Giannino did earlier with Tete, only to be accosted by a horde of angry hookers and their pimps. It’s almost like watching a Mario Bava enterprise which has been taken over by Jerry Lewis.

Another pairing, this time between Paolo and a hooker named Carmela (Liz Tanzi), which ultimately leads Paolo to a whole conspiratorial network which is responsible (more or less, anyway) for a series of killings which includes Marisa’s. There is some good supporting work done by the various characters Paolo interacts with to get to what amounts to the crime overlord, and Mel Ferrer shows up in what is a glorified cameo as a frustrated police inspector who privately likes Paolo’s nonconformist techniques but who is forced to toe the line in public.

As even devoted giallo fan Troy Howarth notes in his commentary, the comedy in this piece is hit or miss at best (some may argue it almost consistently misses), and the mystery aspects are also not overly confounding, since it’s obvious fairly early on what’s going on and who’s to blame (separate and apart from the aforementioned fact that Marisa’s killer is clearly shown). There are some almost gonzo sequences in the film, though, which may in fact recommend it to some who have somewhat askew perspectives. Some of the kills in the film are fairly spectacular, and there’s a completely over the top shootout on a mini-roller coaster that is kind of hilarious (I don’t think it was meant to be funny, hence it doesn’t fit into the assessment of the film’s actual “humor” quotient). Another over the top car chase devolves into slapstick territory, including one driver letting loose with a string of profanities while he’s driving a bunch of nuns around. It’s all kind of silly stuff, especially for either a giallo or in fact a poliziottescho, but it’s exactly this kind of disconnect that gives The Suspicious Death of a Minor whatever peculiar allure it has.

The Suspicious Death of a Minor Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Suspicious Death of a Minor is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

The Suspicious Death of a Minor (Morte sospetta di una minorenne) has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with Italian and English mono audio.

All restoration work was carried out at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 2K resolution on a pin- registered Arriscan and was graded on Digital Vision's Nucoda Film Master.

Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches and other instances of film wear were repaired or removed through a combination of digital restoration tools and techniques. Image stability was also improved. As the elements for The Suspicious Death of a Minor had experienced substantial fading and wear, some instances of damage and colour fading are still exhibited in this presentation.

The mono Italian and English language tracks were remastered from the optical sound track negatives. There are times in which audio synchronisation will appear loose against the picture, due to the fact that the audio was fully recorded in post-production.

While this is a commendably organic looking presentation, with a nicely resolved grain field and good if slightly inconsistent stability, the biggest issue some may have with this transfer is the color timing, which may in fact simply be as good as it can get considering the fading mentioned in Arrow's verbiage above. Things have a decidedly pinkish tint a lot of the time, something that's particularly evident in flesh tones. Densities aren't especially fulsome, either, and the entire transfer just has a slightly blanched, anemic quality that keeps colors from popping very vividly. That said, detail levels are very good and in selected close-ups excellent. Restorative efforts have cleared the elements of any major damage, though eagle eyed videophiles will still be able to spot intermittent and rather minor signs of age related wear and tear.

The Suspicious Death of a Minor Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Suspicious Death of a Minor features Italian and English language tracks, both delivered via LPCM Mono. Amplitude on these tracks is actually more or less identical, though there's more evident hiss and a bit brighter high end on the English language track, something that can make the Italian language track sound just a little boxy, at least by comparison. Dialogue always comes through cleanly (some of the English language line readings are on the hyperbolic side). The film's score, which Howarth repeatedly describes as "Goblin-esque", also resonates clearly.

The Suspicious Death of a Minor Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Troy Howarth


• Violent Milan (1080p; 42:54) is a nice in depth conversation with writer-director Sergio Martino, conducted in 2017.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 3:27)

The Suspicious Death of a Minor Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Suspicious Death of a Minor may not sit well with fans expecting a traditional giallo, and in fact the film's kind of juvenile humor may not resonate especially well, either. That said, there's a curious charm to this piece, and it features dedicated performances and brisk pacing. Arrow has provided another release with generally excellent technical merits and some appealing supplements.