Arrow Video Brings the Tale of Luciano Lutring to Blu-ray
Released by: Arrow Video
Release Date: November 24, 2015 (US) / November 23, 2015 (UK)
Production Year: 1966
Region Code: A + B
Running Time: 1:37:38 (English Version) / 2:03:51 (Italian version)
Audio: English LPCM Mono (English version) / Italian LPCM Mono (Italian version)
Video: 1080p (1.85:1 Aspect Ratio)
Subtitles: English SDH
THE FILM - [ 3 / 5 ]:
During the 1960s Luciano Lutring committed more than one hundred armed robberies in Italy and on the French Riviera. To the media he was the ‘machine gun soloist’, a name he’d earned as he kept his weapon in a violin case. To the public he was a romantic figure, one who only targeted the wealthy, stealing more than 35 billion lire during his criminal career.
Wake Up and Kill was the logical extension of such fame. It became the first feature to commit Lutring’s story to celluloid, shooting having begun mere months after his eventual arrest. Capitalizing on the breakthrough success of his performance in French television’s "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe," Robert Hoffmann is perfect as Lutring, bringing just the right amount of charisma and youthful exuberance to his first major big screen role.
Directed by Carlo Lizzani ("Requiescant" which we also reviewed), scored by the legend Ennio Morricone, penned by the future screenwriter of "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion," and featuring that film’s star, Gian Maria Volonté, in a key supporting role, Wake Up and Kill’s true-crime thrills serve as an enthralling dry run for the poliziotteschi movies that would follow a few years later.
The longer original Italian language version of "Wake Up and Kill" has a running time of 2:03:51 while the shorter English language cut runs 1:37:38. I thought that the longer version tends to get a little boring at times, so the English cut does feel like a tighter film and of course moves at a brisker pace with the reduced run time. I tend to prefer more footage in films mostly because of that need to see more, however in this case as sometimes with others, I feel that less is more. So while some parts of the story may be truncated, the quicker pace is more appealing to me.
Ennio Morricone's score is as usual, a joy to listen to and helps provide added tension and drama in the right places, specially at the end of the film when things come to a head and Lutring is literally running for his life. Robert Hoffman is terrific in his portrayal of Luciano Lutring. At times he is very charismatic and likable and at others he is downright despicable and loathsome. Lisa Gastoni plays Yvonne, also known as Angela, as a woman who has very bad taste in men as she goes from being the girlfriend of a known criminal to thinking she found her knight in shining armor in Lutring, only to find out he is far from the wholesome hero she thought he was.
AUDIO - [ 3 / 5 ]:
"Wake Up And Kill" features two LPCM audio tracks with each track appearing on their respective versions of the film. The audio has the typical odd sound to it due to the method of recording audio often used during the time period. While the audio may not wow you, it is above average and also sounds fairly clean. I cannot speak for the Italian version since I do not speak it but the English version was easy to hear and understand. I did think that sometimes the sound effects were a little louder than they should be but it was not a real problem. I did not encounter any issues with the audio in the form of drop outs, hissing or other problems. Both versions of the film have English subtitles available.
VIDEO - [ 4 / 5 ]:
"Wake Up And Kill" comes to Blu-ray thanks to Arrow Video via a brand new 2K restoration from the films original camera negative. The film is presented in 1080p with a 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. First off, the picture quality overall is very good. There are some areas that may draw complaints such as the drab colors during most of the film and the amount of film grain present. In both cases I think both are there for legitimate reasons. Color appearing in this type of film from this era were often subdued and not bright and bold. As for the film grain, that is inherent in the film stock that was used and speaking for myself, I would rather have excess grain than have an attempt to clean it up using some type of DNR. You may be able to see some of what I am talking about in the included screenshots.
Otherwise the film does feature a fair amount of detail throughout and a significant amount of fine detail in close ups. In darker scenes black levels are a bit muddled at times and are not particularly strong. They do fare better in brighter scenes. There are many instances of white specks appearing throughout the film.
SPECIAL FEATURES - [ 2 / 5 ]:
Unlike typical Arrow Video releases that are chock-full of extras, this release is notably light in that department. However there are two cuts of the film included as previously mentioned.
This release also features reversible cover art including the original art and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist.
Illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by Robert Curti, author of Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980
Trailer - (1:18)
IN CONCLUSION:
Another nice release by Arrow Video. The film looks very good thanks to their new 2K scan from the original camera negative. While light on extras, this Blu-ray features the original Italian version as well as the English cut of the film. If you enjoy poliziotteschi type films, I think you will like this one too. This Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack is available in the US and UK.
OVERALL RATING - [ 3 / 5 ]