The Wild Eye Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

The Wild Eye Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf December 6, 2015

1967’s “The Wild Eye” is a response to the Italian “mondo” subgenre, where filmmakers ventured around the globe to find the horrible and the odd to photograph, blurring the line between reality and irresponsibility. This type of shock value plays a key role in director Paolo Cavara’s picture, which finds actor Philippe Leroy portraying a thinly disguised version of the helmer, obsessed with finding the perfect collection of misery to help transform his latest epic.

“The Wild Eye” is a provocative effort that challenges mondo appetites for violence, depicting a global hunt for death and destruction that begins with mild manipulations and transforms into a quest to capture a murder on film. Leroy delivers powerful work as the moviemaker, who isn’t shy about his distaste for women (Delia Boccardo portrays his exceptionally dim lover) and his thirst for exploitation. Cavara keeps the production on the go, moving the action from a North African desert to war-torn Vietnam, soaking up lurid behavior that’s intended to be a reflection of mondo’s dubious methods of madness. Primary plot points are memorable, but lesser exchanges between feeble supporting characters only slows the insanity.

The Wild Eye Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation runs into trouble during darker encounters, showing distinct trouble with delineation and contrast, which tends to solidify the viewing experience. Mercifully, most of "The Wild Eye" is captured in the light of day, and when fully illuminated, refreshed colors stand out as needed, with bold primaries emerging on costumes, locations, and greenery. Skintones also look natural. Detail is satisfactory during facial close-ups, and textures on landmarks and environmental changes come through as intended. Source is mostly stable, with a few surges in scratching and speckling.

The Wild Eye Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix does a capable job identifying dramatic intention, with dialogue exchanges sounding clear enough to follow. Music is also provided without overt concern, reaching a degree of pleasing instrumentation that sets the weirdly jazzy mood of the feature. Atmospherics and sound effects are thick, but register without distortion. Some hiss is detected.

The Wild Eye Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (13:01, HD) with actor Lars Bloch covers his extended time on "The Wild Eye" set, where he was eventually asked to be the soundman to keep costs down. Bloch is generally appreciative of the production experience, and the conversation soon covers additional filmography highlights.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:17, SD) is included.

The Wild Eye Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Wild Eye" does build to an especially potent finale that hopes to expose the careless nature of mondo productions, capturing soullessness on a grand scale. It's not always the most determined endeavor, periodically lost in tangents, but "The Wild Eye" hits where it counts the most, providing a condemnation of mondo habits through examples of directorial extremity.