Wake Up and Kill Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Wake Up and Kill Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 24, 2017

Carlo Lizzani's "Wake Up and Kill" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of German label Subkultur Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original restored Italian trailer for the film; exclusive new video interview with actress Lisa Gastoni; exclusive new video interview with artist Giannetto De Rossi; promotional materialsl and more. In Italian, with optional English and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The lovers

Wake Up and Kill tells the story -- or at least part of it -- of Luciano Lutring, a handsome thief from Milan who became known in Italy as Il solista del mitra (The Machine Gun Soloist) because he liked to carry his weapon in a violin case. During the early 1960s, Lutring also committed a number of robberies in France, where he was eventually arrested. After serving 12 years in La Santé, he was pardoned and returned home to Milan, where in 2013 he died at the age of 75.

The opening sequence shows Lutring (Robert Hoffmann, Spasmo, Grand Slam) and a few of his friends heading to San Remo to have a good time. Here Lutring meets the beautiful cabaret singer Yvonne Pasini (Lisa Gastoni, Grazie Zia, La Seduzione) and the two quickly become lovers. For a while Yvonne reluctantly follows Lutring while he robs stores in Italy and France, assuming that it is only a matter of time before he makes enough and they settle down back in Milan. But when it becomes clear that he would not stop, she contacts Inspector Moroni (Gian Maria Volontè, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion), who agrees to do his best to get him alive and send him to prison.

The film was directed by Carlo Lizzani, who was an outspoken communist and proponent of Italian neorealism. The bulk of it is quite raw and intense, but it lacks the focus of Francesco Rosi’s films from the same period. (During the early 1960s, the Neapolitan director single-handedly legitimized the semi-documentary technique with Salvatore Giuliano, Hands Over the City, and The Moment of Truth).

During the first two acts Lizzani’s camera follows the two lovers with obvious affection. For a while they look like odd admirers of Bonnie and Clyde trying to get a taste of the dangerous life their idols lived. But Lutring frequently abuses Yvonne and eventually she begins to question their relationship. At this point Lutring already routinely acts like an angry animal and the gap between him and Yvonne becomes even bigger. Then one of Yvonne’s former lovers, also a shady character with a long record, reappears and further complicates matters.

The third and final act is rather chaotic, but it is easy to tell that this was Lizanni’s intent -- it feels like one is viewing clips from an unreleased documentary feature. Lutring is constantly on the run while Yvonne secretly exchanges information with Inspector Moroni. The front pages of big European newspapers also announce where Lutring’s latest job was. The film ends with the well documented big shootout in Paris where Lutring is seriously injured, but his capture isn’t shown.

Wake Up and Kill is clearly a product of its time. It was released shortly after the events in Paris and quickly became a big hit in Italy. Gastoni even won Silver Ribbon for Best Actress from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists. Considering the amount of talent that was involved with it, however, today the film feels slightly underwhelming -- it is a bit dry, hasty, and despite Ennio Morricone’s solid contribution lacks the atmosphere that could have also made it a big hit overseas.

Subkultur Entertainment's release of Wake Up and Kill contains the longer Italian cut of the film, which runs at approximately 124 minutes, and a shorter German theatrical cut, which is approximately 107 minutes long.

Wake Up and Kill 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, Carlo Lizzani's Wake Up and Kil arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Subkultur Entertainment.

The release uses as a foundation the same 2K master that Arrow Video accessed when they prepared this release of Wake Up and Kill in 2015, but the end result here is drastically different. The entire film has a much better color grading and far more convincing dynamic range. Depth, in particular, is very impressive, and there are also entire sections where fluidity is substantially better. (You can see the improved dynamic range if you compare screencaptures #1 from the two reviews). The new color grading also supports a wider and nicer range of highlights. There are absolutely no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Image stability is excellent. Finally, it would appear that some additional work was done on the master to remove some of the tiny flecks that were present on it. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Wake Up and Kill Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, German: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, German: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (optimized). Optional English and German subtitles are included.

The Italian and the German tracks have post-production overdubbing, which is why there are some minor fluctuations in terms of dynamic intensity and depth. The native qualities of the original Italian track, however, wonderfully reproduced. Thee are no audio dropouts, pops, cracks, or digital distortions to report.

Wake Up and Kill Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Blu-ray

• Birth of a Star - in this new video interview, Italian actress Lisa Gastoni explains how she entered the film business and discusses her involvement with Wake Up and Kill. The interview was conducted exclusively for Subkultur Entertainment. In Italian, with optional English and German subtitles. (28 min).

• Luck, Passion & Joy - in this new video interview, make-up artist Giannetto De Rossi remembers the socio-cultural environment in which Wake Up and Kill emerged and discusses Carlo Lizzani's persona and working methods. The interview was conducted exclusively for Subkultur Entertainment. In Italian, with optional English and German subtitles. (18 min).

• Trailer - restored original Italian trailer for Wake Up and Kill. Music only. (4 min).

• Gallery - a large collection of archival production stills and promotional materials for Wake and Kill. With music. (10 min).

• German Version (1967) - German theatrical version of Wake and Kill. Fully restored. In Italian, with optional English and German subtitles. Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0./1080p. (107 minutes).

• Booklet - 14-page illustrated booklet with writings on the film. In German.

DVD

• German Version I - dubbed German version of Wake Up and Kill. Not subtitled. (84 min).

• German Version II - dubbed German VHS version of Wake Up and Kill. Not subtitled. (79 min).

Wake Up and Kill Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are two films about the handsome Milanese thief Luciano Lutring and they are very different. The first was Carlo Lizzani's Wake Up and Kill, which was recently restored in 2K. It is an entertaining but slightly uneven film that utilizes the semi-documentary technique Francesco Rosi legitimized during the early 1960s to tell the thief's story. The second is José Giovanni's The Gypsy with Alain Delon, but this film has not yet transitioned to Blu-ray. Frankly, both films are worth seeing because of the talent that contributed to them, but the definitive film about Lutring and his legacy has not yet been made. In any event, fans of European crime films should consider adding Wake Up and Kill to their collections.

This recent release of Wake Up and Kill from German label Subkultur Entertainment is sourced from the same 2K restoration that was used to produce the U.S. release of the film, but now the film has a drastically different and far more convincing appearance. Also included on it are two very informative exclusive new video interviews with Lisa Gastoni and make-up artist Giannetto De Rossi, both with optional English subtitles. This is the release of Wake Up and Kill to own. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.