Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 27, 2022

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Giallo Essentials (Black Edition).

Some curmudgeons may want to quibble with the term "essentials", but Arrow is continuing its relatively recent tradition of offering three gialli collected together in a specially "colored" slipbox, so that this Black Edition joins the previously released Giallo Essentials (Red Edition), which included The Possessed, The Fifth Cord and The Pyjama Girl Case, and Giallo Essentials (Yellow Edition), which included What Have They Done to Your Daughters?, Torso and Strip Nude for Your Killer. While probably none of the six previously released or the three currently released (so far) films that Arrow has been offering with this kind of branding would probably jump to the top of anyone's list of "must see" gialli, they all have considerable style and often intriguing elements that make them interesting in their own ways. As usual, Arrow combines some nice packaging along with a copious supply of supplements to help sweeten the pot.

It's actually both surprising and in a way completely expected that a largely Catholic country like Italy might want to feature the prevalent religion in its films, and not always in a positive fashion. The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive is one of several Italian gialli that deconstruct at least some perceived elements of Catholic belief, and that may make this a particularly provocative piece for those who hold their faith close to their hearts. Don Giorgio (Maurizio Bonuglia) is a priest who has been holding women close to something other than his heart (so to speak), including Giulia (Eva Czemerys) and the wonderfully named Orchidea (Bedy Moratti). Perhaps a slight pang of conscience leads the good (?) Father to break things off with the women, which of course immediately segues to Don Giorgio being slaughtered like a veritable sacrificial lamb.

At least some aspects of this piece seem to have been inspired by Ken Russell's infamous 1971 film The Devils, though definitely more in terms of tone and context than any real content overlap, despite the fact that there is manifest bad behavior from both priests and nuns in the film. When Don Giorgio's killing is followed by another violent death (details won't be posted here since they would probably give away too much), policeman Franco Boito (Renzo Montagnani) enters the fray but isn't exactly immune to female wiles himself, which of course complicates things.

Playing into all of the overheated sexual energy is an ostensible sidebar featuring a little boy named Ferruccio (Arturo Trina) who lives at the focal convent in the film and whose proclivities to poke around various nooks and crannies of the expansive place may have caused him to unwittingly see too much. That leads to a nicely suspenseful finale that kind of interestingly offers a kid rather than a damsel in distress.

The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Italian mono audio.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned and restored in 2K resolution at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The film was graded at R3Store Studios, London.

The mono Italian language track was remastered from the optical sound negatives. The audio synch will appear slightly looses against the picture, due to the fact that the dialogue was recorded entirely in post production, as per the production standards of the period.

All original materials used for the restoration were made available from Movietime.

While all three of the films in this set enjoyed 2K scans of their original camera negatives, simply comparing the general "look" of this film with both Smile Before Death and The Killer Reserved Nine Seats can prove that transfers can have the same technical data points supporting their transition to high definition, and still look manifestly different. I'd rate this the "middle child" in terms of overall video quality, not quite at the generally excellent detail and palette levels of Smile Before Death, but not nearly as gritty and even mottled looking that The Killer Reserved Nine Seats can be. While some of the "catacomb" material here does approach some of the less optimal appearance that also occasionally hobbles the darker interior scenes of The Killer Reserved Nine Seats, this film at least benefits from quite a bit of more brightly lit material, where the palette warms considerably and detail levels perk up noticeably.

The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There evidently was an English language version of The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive at one point, though it is currently lost to the vagaries of time, and so this disc offers only the original Italian track delivered via LPCM Mono. This has the same somewhat flat dynamic range that is noticeable on the two other tracks in this set, but otherwise offers secure fidelity for both dialogue and another quirkly, kind of weirdly French sounding at times, score. There is some very minimal hiss in some of the quietest moments, but nothing overly problematic. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas


• A Man in Giallo (HD; ) is a new interview with actor Salvatore Puntillo, who discusses the film and his career. Subtitled in English.


• English Front and End Titles (HD; 3: 26) comes with a disclaimer that Arrow tried unsuccessfully to find the English language version of the film, and that this was all they could come up with.


• Image Gallery (HD)

The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This may be the biggest "cult calling card" in this particular set from Arrow, but as a long ago coach informed a bunch of us eager young boys about to embark on our first forays into the opposite sex, "the anticipation may be greater than the realization". This film has a kind of delirious quality that definitely reminded me of a 20th century update of some of the more, um, interesting depictions in Ken Russell's The Devils, suggesting that Evil (with a capital E) in your local religious establishment may not be a thing of the past. This doesn't have quite the sparkle on the video side of things that Smile Before Death does, but technical merits are generally solid, and the commentary and interview are enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.