Top Line Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Top Line Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 8, 2025

Nello Rossati's "Top Line" a.k.a. "Alien Terminator" (1988) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cauldron Films. The supplemental features on the release include exlcusive new program with star Franco Nero; new program, with documentarian and critic Eugenio Ercolani; new program with parapolitics researcher Robert Skvarla; and commentary by critic Eric Zaldivar. In English or Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Easy targets

Genre films like Nello Rossati’s Top Line are the ones that I miss the most. Only Italian directors could make them, during a short period of time, and they are now gone for good. It is not because there are no writers out there who can script such films and Italian directors willing to direct them. The main reason such genre films are no longer possible to make is that modern digital tools can create over-the-top trickery that instantly kills off the special atmosphere and vibe they require to be attractive.

In a forgotten corner of the Colombian jungle, part-time writer and full-time boozer Ted Angelo (Franco Nero) is tipped off about a fortune. Intrigued by the possibility of permanently resetting his life, Angelo goes looking for it and shortly after makes an extraordinary discovery – a perfectly preserved Spanish galleon inside an alien spacecraft hidden in a massive cave high up in the mountains. Barely able to contain his excitement, Angelo decides to phone his publishing agent in New York City, Maureen De Havilland (Mary Stavin), and tell her that he has the story of the century. However, just a day later, Angelo becomes a moving target for various parties. Among them is the former-Nazi-turned-antiques-collector Heinrich Holzmann (George Kennedy), several veteran CIA assassins, high-ranking KGB operatives, and even a seemingly indestructible alien terminator. While working hard to stay a few steps ahead of everyone who wants him permanently silenced, Angelo then unexpectedly steals the heart of ancient art historian June (Deborah Moore), whose mentor, Alonso Quintero (William Berger), is killed for filling some important gaps in the story of the century.

Top Line works with material that came from an original story penned by Rossati and Roberto Gianviti, who, for a short period of time, were a fine team. Both men, but especially Gianviti, had a wonderful, slightly offbeat sense of humor, which was unmissable in their work, and complemented each other very well. (Gianviti penned such famous genre films as Perversion Story and A Lizard in a Woman's Skin, and a lot of the hilariously subversive material in them can easily be linked to his sense of humor).

Rossati and Giavinti’s sense of humor is the glue that holds together all of the diverse material that makes Top Line worth seeing. However, because a lot of it is quite exotic, an inability to appreciate the duo’s sense of humor guarantees an underwhelming experience with Top Line. This is a crucial detail because some of the biggest criticisms that Top Line has received over the years highlight how utterly ridiculous its story becomes after Angelo enters the cave where the alien spacecraft is hidden. The story is meant to be ridiculous, and the genre overlapping that occurs with this development is entirely intentional, too. (Michele Massimo Tarantini’s Massacre in Dinosaur Valley, for instance, is intentionally scripted and shot to produce the same thrills, many laced with a similar sense of humor, too. It is how many of these Italian genre films, now considered cult films, were made).

Unsurprisingly, Top Line was not a big-budget production, so pretty much all of its special effects look rather amateurish. However, this is not a weakness. It is a crucial strength of its unique atmosphere.

Franco is very much in his element, especially after he becomes a moving target, and the hunters make their intentions obvious. However, it has to be said that the crucial reset, where he becomes a moving target, should have occurred at least fifteen, possibly twenty minutes earlier. Some of the material that precedes it is quite dull.

Rossati worked with cinematographer Guglielmo Mancori, who lensed Umberto Lenzi's cult thrillers Orgasmo, So Sweet... So Perverse, and A Quiet Place to Kill.

Top Line Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Top Line arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cauldron Films.

The release is sourced from a recent 2K master, which is good, providing the entire film with a healthy appearance. However, in various areas, it is easy to conclude that the dynamic range of different visuals should be better. In some indoor and darker footage, for instance, certain visuals become a bit flat, so background information is not ideal, and select darker nuances could appear anemic, as well. Also, while I did not encounter any serious anomalies, grain exposure could be more convincing. In some darker areas, the grain becomes a tad noisy. Color balance is fine. However, this is another area where small yet meaningful rebalancing adjustments can be made. Saturation levels, in particular, should be better, and if they are, the dynamic range of many visuals will be superior. Image stability is good. I did not notice any distracting age-related imperfections. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Top Line Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH (for the English track) and English (for the Italian track) subtitles are provided.

I chose to view the entire film with the English track, which should be considered the original track for Top Line. It is a decent track that serves the film mostly well. However, I have to immediately mention something that those of you who collect Italian genre films already know. The English track features original overdubbing, and some of it is rather exotic. Also, it comes with inherited dynamic unevenness that makes some of the action footage sound a bit too aggressive, or at least by 1980s standards, and other parts somewhat subdued. I think that some optimizations could have been made, but the biggest limitations most likely would have been difficult to effectively eliminate.

Top Line Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Black Top! - in this exclusive new program, Franco Nero recalls his involvement with Top Line, which he describes as a "very bizarre film", and the character he plays and his adventures. Nero also shares several very interesting stories about unplanned adventures he had in Colombia, where the film was shot, and the different characters he played over the years. The program was produced by Eugenio Ercolani. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

• The Strange Case of Ted Archer - in this exclusive new program, documentarian and critic Eugenio Ercolani discusses the career and cinematic legacy of Nello Rossati, as well as the qualities of his style and how they are represented in several of his films. In English, not subtitled. (34 min).

• Alien Terminated: The Alien Theories of Top Line - in this exclusive new program, parapolitics researcher Robert Skvarla discusses a fascinating theory that is channeled through the narrative of Top Line. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Eric Zaldivar.

• Cover - a reverisble cover for Top Line, using its alternative international title Alien Terminator.

Top Line Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A very bizarre film. It is how Franco Nero describes Top Line in an exclusive new program included on this release, which is absolutely true. However, the bizarre is of the most attractive kind, once patented by Italian directors, who planted it in various very interesting and effective genre films, which disappeared as the 1980s came to an end. These are the genre films I miss the most these days because they very rarely failed to entertain me. This recent release introduces a slightly rough but still quite good 2K makeover of Top Line, with an excellent selection of exclusive new bonus features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.