6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Detective Paolo Germi is assigned to investigate the suspicious murder of a very young girl, but every time he gets closer to unravel the mystery more killings occur, eventually, throughout his investigation, detective uncovers a prostitution ring with ties to very powerful people.
Starring: Claudio Cassinelli, Mel Ferrer, Lia Tanzi, Gianfranco Barra, Patrizia CastaldiHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 86% |
Thriller | 13% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Italian: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
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.
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.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.
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.
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 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.
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