Tony Arzenta Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Tony Arzenta Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 2, 2025

Duccio Tessari's "Tony Arzenta" a.k.a. "No Way Out" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Explosive Media. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive audio commentary by critic Leonhard Elias Lemke; archival promotinal materials for the film; and vintage Italian trailer. In English, Italian, or German, with optional English, Italian, and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The Sicilian executioner

After spending his best years taking out targets for the mafia, Sicilian executioner Tony Arzenta (Alain Delon) informs his boss, Nick Gusto (Richard Conte), that he has decided to quit the killing business and become a full-time husband and father. However, Arzenta is immediately asked to reconsider because men like him know too much, and even if Gusto chooses to side with him, other bosses who have used his services, directly and indirectly, would vigorously resist his retirement plan. When Arzenta makes it clear to Gusto that he is prepared to deal with the consequences of his decision, someone places a bomb in his car.

But the bomb goes off on a day when Arzenta’s wife and teenage son decide to borrow his car, and they are burned alive. Realizing that he has become a target for Gusto and the other mafia bosses across Italy, Arzenta goes underground, and, while still mourning, vows to avenge his wife and son. Shortly after, assisted by his only true friend, Domenico (Marc Porel), Arzenta clashes with various hitmen dispatched to neutralize him, and eventually begins hunting down the mafia bosses as they gather in Copenhagen to coordinate their protection and discuss new business strategies.

While not the best, two of Delon’s most popular films were directed by Italian helmer Duccio Tessari. The first is Tony Arzenta, also known in some international markets as No Way Out and Big Guns. The second is Zorro, which is often credited as a distant relative of the classic silent film with Douglas Fairbanks, but exists because of Delon’s fondness for La Tulip Noire a.k.a. The Black Tulip. Tony Arzenta and Zorro were both sizable Italian-French co-productions that united good actors. However, only Tony Arzenta attracted a big American star.

In Tony Arzenta, the bulk of the material mimics the style of the very popular at the time polizzioteschi, enthusiastically emphasizing different varieties of flashy macho attitudes and high-octane, very realistic action. However, unlike the conventional polizzioteschi, Tony Arzenta does not maintain a relentless tempo. It routinely slows down, much like some of Jean-Pierre Melville’s classic gangster films do, allowing Delon to reveal a rather strikingly human side of his executioner. In these ‘slow’ segments, virtually all of which ooze unmissable melancholy, the executioner begins to look a lot like the lone wolf in Le Samouraï. (Tony Arzenta and Le Samourai share identical finales as well).

Tessari’s direction is confident and produces equally attractive visuals from Rome and Copenhagen. (This is not as easy as it sounds because these cities have unique personalities and provide drastically different playgrounds for the executioner). Also, even though Delon is the undisputed star, Tessari delivers a lot of memorable material with Conte, Porel, Roger Hanin, and Guido Alberti. Several terrific Italian actresses, who would appear in various great cult films, give solid performances, too. The most impressive is Carla Gravina, who replaces Nicholetta Machiavelli after the bomb goes off, followed closely by Erika Blanc, playing a prostitute who is hired as a decoy in a desperate set-up to take out the executioner.

All of the intense footage was done under the guidance of the famous French master stuntman Remy Julienne, who is credited on the greatest European action films of the 1960s and 1970s. Tessari’s director of photography was Silvano Ippoliti, whose work on Tinto Brass’ biggest films remains unmatched.

Tony Arzenta Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Tony Arzenta arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Explosive Media.

This two-disc set presents two versions of Tony Arzenta - the popular longer international version, and a dubbed shorter German theatrical version. I viewed the former, which should be of interest to English speakers because it retains the original English and Italian audio tracks and features optional English subtitles.

The overall quality of the presentation is quite good. It is easy to tell that the film has been remastered because all visuals boast a strong, healthy, and attractive appearance. Despite some minor density fluctuations, all introduced by the original cinematography, grain exposure remains consistently pleasing, too. I did not encounter any traces of compromising digital corrections. Color reproduction and balance are convincing. However, this is the area where some small yet meaningful improvements affecting saturation levels and darker nuances can be introduced. If such improvements are made, the dynamic range of the visuals will be better and more satisfying as well. At the moment, in some areas, typically with diverse darker nuance or simply all-around darker, the dynamic range of the visuals is slightly underwhelming. (I am not referring to the gray footage with the heavy fog). Image stability is good. A few small blemishes appear during the opening credits, but I did not encounter any more of them elsewhere. There are no distracting cuts, debris, marks, warped or torn frames to report. All in all, Tony Arzenta has a good and healthy organic appearance that makes it easy to enjoy it again. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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).

Tony Arzenta Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four standard audio tracks on the disc with the international version of Tony Arzenta: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and German (Alternative) DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English, Italian, and German subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the English track and quickly tested the Italian track. The overall quality of the English track is easy to describe as very good. The audio is clear and healthy, and most of the action footage sounds quite nice. The wonderful music, which has a major part, sounds pretty good, too, but occasionally it does become a tad thin. However, unsurprisingly, the English track utilizes a lot of overdubbing, so there is plenty of inherited unevenness. I did not find it distracting at all because on this film, which was a pretty big Italian-French production, the English-speaking dubbers are quite good. The Italian track is similarly healthy, so it could be a decent option to view the film for those who wish to see it with it. This track, which should also be considered original, features overdubbing of similar quality.

The German theatrical version on disc two is presented with a German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track and optional German subtitles. Other subtitle options are not available.

Tony Arzenta Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE - INTERNATIONAL/ENGLISH VERSION

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by German critic Leonhard Elias Lemke. In German, not subtitled.

BLU-RAY DISC TWO - GERMAN THEATRICAL VERSION

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage Italian trailer for Tony Arzenta. In Italian, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Stills Gallery - a large collection with vintage promotional materials for Tony Arzenta from around the world. Presented with music. (5 min).

• Booklet - a 20-page illustrated booklet with an essay on Tony Arzenta in German.

Tony Arzenta Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you notice that the Sicilian executioner in Tony Arzenta often resembles the lone wolf in Le Samouraï, it is not because your mind is playing tricks on you. Alain Delon makes both look similarly stylish, and they even share some of the same methods when taking out their targets. The two simply operate in different environments, and one of them is more pragmatic because he refuses help even from the people who genuinely want to see him stay alive. I like Tony Arzenta a lot and have been wanting to put up a review of this release for a long time. It offers a very good presentation of the longer international version of it and is Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.