Reviews & Columns |
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
DVD Talk Forum |
|
Resources |
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
Columns
|
|
Stunt Squad
Crime is up on the streets of Italy, with the local gangsters knowing no bounds in their enforcement of protection payouts and drug-running. A particularly ruthless band of criminals heads around to noncompliant businesses and places bombs in their pay phones, which explode in the middle of the day and kill innocent bystanders (including, of course, a little old lady). Police Inspector Grifi (Marcel Bozzuffi, best known as Fernando Rey's right-hand man in The French Connection) is put in charge of the case, but finds himself unable to deal with such extreme tactics. He insists upon bringing in an outside squad not bound by the badge to help fight fire with fire, with his sights set specifically on Valli (Vittorio Mezzogiorno), a smarmy pretty boy directly responsible for most of the bombings. Valli is a wild man, with no moral code whatsoever, and as Grifi hones in on Valli, Valli hones in on Grifi.
It's a fine premise for a movie, except the advertised stunt squad is little more than cops on motorbikes. Maybe cops on motorbikes weren't a thing in Italy back in 1977, but they really don't have any other particular skill or talent, and most of the film's action scenes consist of the guys on the motorcycles going really fast trying to catch someone in a car. We see the stunt squad training, firing guns into bullseyes while jumping off ramps and whatnot, but I can't recall a single instance of a motorcycle squad member actually firing his gun while on his motorbike in the entire movie. Instead, Grifi follows along in a car and fires his gun out the window for what seems like a really long time before anything actually happens. The stunt squad is also not actually introduced until roughly 40 minutes into the movie, which is a long time to wait for the people the film is named after.
Throughout, there are political and social concerns mingling throughout the story, but none of it is particularly engaging, seen by an American in 2014. The film builds to a moment that is unquestionably some sort of commentary on the state of crime in Italy at the time, and it's a reasonably thrilling moment in and of itself, but none of the foundation for that moment works, limiting the enjoyment one gets out of it to a single scene. Even if it did work, there's still just too much of it for what is supposedly an action movie, with scene after scene of the characters sitting around talking. One of the worst and most misleading moments comes near the end of the movie, when one of Grifi's superiors tells him he can do whatever it takes to have Valli apprehended in 48 hours. It sounds like a chance for Stunt Squad to really cut loose, but the next time we see Grifi nearly ten minutes later, he's standing around waiting for something to happen.
There are a couple of moments when Stunt Squad delivers the kind of wicked thrills the title implies, such as when one of Grifi's friends walks into a restaurant and sees Valli sitting at a nearby table, or the aforementioned final scene and all the scenes leading up to it (the inciting incident for the finale's action is so good I'm angry it's wasted on a movie this boring). There are also a couple of car crashes to lift the spirit with some metal-rending action, but they're few and far between. Fans of the genre might find something to like here, but modern audiences are likely to just be baffled: this is a slow, weighty, and unengaging would-be thriller that trades car chases for conversations about bureaucracy.
The Blu-ray
Stunt Squad follows Raro Video's usual template, which emphasizes the director's name right on the front cover and generally utilizes original poster artwork. This time, it's a daring motorcycle stunt over a backdrop of explosions and car chases. The single-disc release comes in an Infiniti Blu-ray case, and there is a short booklet inside the case with a brief essay by author Mike Malloy.
The Video and Audio
Although this disc is billed as a new HD restoration, no mention is given of the source (i.e. "original elements" or some such description). Presented in 1.85:1 and slightly windowboxed beyond that, this 1080p VC-1 transfer looks like many transfers of Italian movies. The scan causes the grain to behave oddly, splitting the details of the image into something that resembles a Seurat painting rather than a film-like texture. Skin appears smeary and lacking in texture, and all surfaces frequently lack fine detail. In close-ups, things improve, but there's still a sense that the original appearance of the negative is not being captured properly through this transfer. Colors can appear a touch over-saturated, and crush is also occasionally prevalent (at about 14 minutes in, note the pitch-black void of a police officer standing in the shadows of an otherwise lit-up hallway). As with many of this films, this will also undoubtedly be a night-and-day improvement over DVD or even VHS versions fans have clung to until now, but there are some distinctly familiar video issues plaguing this transfer.
Sound is an adequate LPCM 2.0 stereo track. It sounds muddy and muffled, but generally not so much that the sound or dialogue seems unnaturally distorted or incoherent (although, of course, to be fair, I'm reading the subtitles rather than trying to decipher what's being said). Much like the picture, it's not exactly ideal, but it's understandable that this might be the best one can expect. English subtitles, as mentioned, are provided, as well as an unusually quiet LPCM 2.0 English dub.
The Extras
One brief extra is included: an introduction (6:19, HD) by filmmaker Mike Malloy, the same man who wrote the booklet. It's pretty goofy, with Malloy sitting on a motorcycle, decked out in a leather jacket, holding a revolver. Still, his enthusiasm is appreciated. He talks a bit about the promise of Stunt Squad compared to what it is, which is appreciated (even though I don't quite share his belief in the potency of the film's subtext). He also intentionally avoids covering the same topics he covers in the booklet. No trailer for Stunt Squad is included.
Conclusion
Stunt Squad sounds like a hoot, but it's a dull movie that has its mind in other places than the title would suggest. Raro Video presents the film on Blu-ray with the best transfer and audio the movie is ever likely to get, but both are plagued with transfer issues that will be familiar to fans of Italian cinema. Skip it.
Please check out my other DVDTalk DVD, Blu-ray and theatrical reviews and/or follow me on Twitter.
|
Popular Reviews |
Sponsored Links |
|
Sponsored Links |
|
Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices
|