Cinematographe will release a Limited Edition Blu-ray of Howard W. Koch's Badge 373 (1973), starring Robert Duvall, Verna Bloom, Henry Darrow, Eddie Egan, and Luis Avalos. The release is scheduled to arrive on the market on March 31.
Description: Following the death of his partner, brash NYPD cop Eddie Ryan (Robert Duvall, The Godfather) swears vengeance, going on a violent quest through the streets of 1970s New York City to find his assailants. His methods prove so hostile, and racist, that he is forced to resign from the police, rendering him a vigilante hellbent on justice. Ryan's pursuit of take-no-prisoners fury puts him in the crosshairs of drug kingpins and revolutionaries, not to mention the very department that he was once a part of.
Inspired by real life NYPD detective Eddie Egan, who was also the inspiration for William Friedkin's The French Connection (1971) and its non-fiction source, Badge 373 is a much more raw portrayal of inner city violence and New York at a point of transition going into the mid-1970s. Long living in the shadow of Friedkin's film, as well as other more popular New York City set cop films of the era (including the same year's Serpico, by Sidney Lumet), Badge 373 is a vital time capsule of old New York, anchored by a fiery performance from Robert Duvall and energetic direction from noted New Hollywood producer Howard W. Koch (A New Leaf). Cinématographe is proud to present this long underseen entry in 70s crime cinema in a brand new 4K restoration from its original camera negative.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE CAMERA NEGATIVE, with original mono theatrical soundtrack
New audio commentary by film historian Steve Mitchell
A Kernel of Truth - a new video interview with retired NYPD detective Randy Jurgensen, friend of Eddie Egan and technical advisor on the film
Police Film Protection - a new video conversation between Jason Bailey, author of Fun City Cinema: New York City and the Movies That Made It, and Cinématographe's Justin LaLiberty
Craftsman Kingmaker: Howard W. Koch and the Art of Getting It Done - a new video essay by Daniel Kremer
New text essays by Mark Asch, author of New York Movies; film critics Paul Corupe and A.S. Hamrah; and Cinématographe's Justin LaLiberty