Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Ugly, Dirty and Bad Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 23, 2018

Ettore Scola's "Ugly, Dirty and Bad" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement. The supplemental features on the disc include a remastered trailer for the film and exclusive audio commentary by professor Richard Pena. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

True love

The house -- a wooden shack with piles of garbage inside and around it -- is on a hill overseeing the entire city and Giacinto Mazzatella (a brilliant Nino Manfredi) owns it. But he is a stranger there and each night he goes to bed with a loaded rifle beside him. He has to do it because he is surrounded by four generations of family members and relatives who are waiting for the right opportunity to steal his savings, a small packet with a million lire wrapped in a waterproof plastic bag. If they get the money, he is gone. Forever.

While waiting for the old man to make the wrong move, the family members do what they can to survive. One is a beggar and thief in the heart of the city; another is a male prostitute picking up clients at a notorious plaza; one has joined a gang of rowdy bikers; a girl has started ‘working’ for a pornographic magazine. A few can’t stand their misery, but many of them enjoy being players in the game of life because they are making up their own rules and inventing their wins.

While wandering around the nearby hills Giacinto encounters Iside (Maria Luisa Santella), a fat prostitute without a pimp, who treats him the way he has dreamed of under a giant billboard and the two spend a night out in the city. Feeling relaxed and happy for the first time in decades, Giacinto then invites Iside to come back with him to the house and become part of his family. The prostitute’s arrival enrages Giacinto’s wife and in a matter of hours she convinces all of the freeloaders around her that the time to get rid of Giacinto for good has finally come. A ‘perfect plan’ is promptly created to get the job done, but much to everyone’s surprise the head of the family proves a lot smarter and more difficult to kill than they had anticipated.

The title of Ettore Scola’s film, Ugly, Dirty and Bad, actually sums up perfectly what takes place in it. It is a fearless condemnation of the post-war Italian society and its values that flattens the protective walls of decency and exposes its rotten bottom as it was. Of course, the film does it with a terrific sense of humor, but its language and visuals are genuinely disturbing.

What makes the film incredibly effective, however, is its refusal to politicize any of its revelations. It places the grotesque in front of the camera and then leaves it to the viewer to ponder how a contemporary European society can become so comfortable tolerating such shocking poverty and moral degradation. (The most outrageous of Emir Kusturica’s films, which are also his best, do precisely the same but while employing a unique Serbian sense of humor that in return gives them their Balkan flavor. See Black Cat, White Cat).

Manfredi, a true giant of post-war Italian cinema that rivaled Marcello Mastroianni and Toto, is sensational as the slightly deranged drunkard who always has to be a few steps ahead of his family and relatives to survive. However, while he is unquestionably the star of the film, it has to be underscored that he is surrounded by truly incredible actors that make it easy for him to excel. Giovanni Rovini who plays the senile Grandma Antonecchia, for instance, does such incredible things and with such ease that he should have been declared a national treasure.

Dario Di Palma’s lensing gives the film a fluid, very naturalistic appearance which the Neorealist movement frequently favored.

*Film Movement’s release is sourced from a 2K remaster that was prepared for the 40th anniversary of the film’s theatrical release.

Ugly, Dirty and Bad 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, Ettore Scola's Ugly, Dirty and Bad arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement.

The release is sourced from a recent 2K remaster that was prepared to celebrate the film's 40th anniversary. It is a decent remaster that offers the best technical presentation of the film to date, but it is not immaculate. If I had to guess I would say that it was struck from an interpositive because the density levels on display are not optimal, but it is also possible that a different element was accessed. Regardless, the film looks slightly softer than it should, and during the darker/nighttime footage there is light black crush that sneaks in. There are no traces of sharpening adjustments. Colors appear healthy, but there are some inconsistencies with specific nuances that lead me to believe that some LUT values are not entirely correct. The good news is that overall balance remains decent. Image stability is excellent. There are no large cuts, debris, damage marks, stains, or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Ugly, Dirty and Bad Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is stable, clean, and nicely balanced. There are certain segments where Armando Trovajoli's score adds to the atmosphere, but it does not have the preeminent role that other scores from the great maestro have in classic and popular genre films. There are no traces of age-related imperfections in the background.

Ugly, Dirty and Bad Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - newly remastered trailer for Ugly, Dirty and Bad. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (4 min).

• Commentary - professor of film studies Richard Pena discusses the style and tone of Ugly, Dirty and Bad, some of its social themes, and the legacy of director Ettore Scola.

• Booklet -14-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by Ronald Bergan.

Ugly, Dirty and Bad Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The only other director that has come close to matching the fearless deranged brilliance of Ettore Scola's Ugly, Dirty and Bad is Serbian auteur Emir Kusturica. I have a very old theory that a viewing of Ugly, Dirty and Bad is what assured Kusturica that he could go as far as he did in gems like Black Cat, White Cat and Time of the Gypsies because even though they come from another period, the only difference I could see is that these films promoted a more wicked Balkanized sense of humor. Film Movement's release was one of my favorite in 2016, which is why I placed it on my annual Top 10 list. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.