I’ve come to being a Franco Nero fan very late in life. Yes, I had seen him in Die Hard 2: Die Harder and other of his American films, but it wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I began to see the bulk of his important work. What always surprises this reviewer is how Nero is able to go from bad ass genre films to weighty dramatic work and still bring the gravitas and star power within both. Never so apparent than in director Damiano Damiani’s masterpiece crime drama Confessions of a Police Captain. Nero is not only matching wits against a corrupt police officer (Martin Balsam) but also the entire corrupt system.
Damiani’s film gives you what you initially think is an open-and-shut case. Balsam’s Commissioner Bonavia has a man released from a mental institution (that’s a nice word for it). The man, once released, goes about arming himself and eventually killing an office full of innocent people. As Nero’s Deputy D.A. Traini is brought in, we think it is a simple case of corruption and Bonavia getting the payoff or angling to help a mob boss. As Traini begins to investigate and get closer to Bonavia as both an associate and a suspect, lines begin to blur and may not be as simple as one once thought.
Confessions of a Police Captain is the kind of sobering dark crime drama that eschews action and bullets for corruption and mystery. There aren’t any simple answers in Damiani’s Palermo. Bonavia is both hero and criminal, both as bad and better than the mafia led by Ferdinando Lomunno (played brilliantly by Luciano Catenacci). As Traini begins to see what he thinks is a clear picture, the film dives deeper into the murky history before he took his job, giving a picture that enlightens as much as it enrages.
As the film ends and Bonavia’s fate has been sealed, Traini and the audience aren’t sure justice has been served or ever will be. It is only in the final seconds of the film that we both see how deep the corruption has bled into the system. It is in those final moments that Confessions of a Police Captain ascends to the heights of truly great crime films. The kind that scars because justice is sometimes not served.
The Transfer
The 2K restoration is an excellent representation of the film. The image is nearly flawless without a scratch or blemish throughout the runtime of the film. The color reproduction, contrast levels, and grain structure are all beautifully rendered on Blu-ray. Radiance Films continues to astound with their excellent work, bringing the best transfers to physical media.
The Extras
They include the following;
Interview with actor Franco Nero
Interview with actor Michele Gammino
Interview with editor Antonio Siciliano
Interview with film score expert Lovely Jon about Riz Ortolani’s score
Gallery
Interview with actor Franco Nero (29:15) – in this all new interview ith the star he begins with how his first interaction with director Damiano Damiani began when he was an assistant director then moving onto their first true collaboration in Nero’s post-Camelot era. The star goes onto discuss how they eventually began to work with Martin Balsam after a few other famous American stars turned out to not be the right choice; how this film cemented his image as a “man of the law” and the respect the role earned him within the judicial community; some of the real life judges he played in films; how Damiani cast Luciano Catenacci who was an art director and not an actor but became one post this role; a larger discussion of the entire cast and his recollections of them personally and professionally; Damiani’s knack for casting non-professional actors and being able to get wonderful performances out of them throughout their collaborations through the years; the personal tragedy that befell him during the production; working with Martin Balsam on this and other projects; what ended their professional collaborations; life after their films and his films after and his legacy; and much more. In Italian with English subtitles.
Interview with actor Michele Gammino (22:47) – in this all-new interview with the actor, Gammino begins with discussing how his role came to him by director Damiano Damiani working with him on voice over. The actor goes on to discuss his relationship with Damiani both professionally and personally; working with Martin Balsam and how he was a mentor of sorts to the actor; growing up in Palermo where the film takes place and the accuracy of the issues the film depicts; working with the various cast and crew on the film; working with Damiani; and much more. In Italian with English Subtitles.
Interview with editor Antonio Siciliano (26:49)- in this all-new interview with Siciliano, the editor opens with a discussion of working at a studio facility led to his work with director Damiano Damiani and a longer collaboration with him. Siciliano goes on to discuss the professional nature of their relationship and collaboration over ten films; his first impressions of the screenplay for Confessions of a Police Captain; the way that Damiani would send him audio tapes with instructions; the challenges that Martin Balsam and Franco Nero’s acting styles posed to the editing and how he solved that issue; the other editing decisions made that affected the tone of the story; the different endings and the one that they eventually chose; testing screening for the film and a very famous Italian director who was on hand and his thoughts on the film; and much more. In Italian with English subtitles.
Interview with film score expert Lovely Jon about Riz Ortolani’s score (31:00) – in this all-new interview with Lovely Jon, the expert begins with an overall look at Riz Ortolani’s style and his score and what differentiates him from his contemporaries in Italian Score. Lovely Jon goes on to discuss Ortolani’s personal history and how that relates to the composer’s passions for music and specifically classical music; his education in music and eventually working in a symphony; his early composing work and examples of his compositions; the reason why he did not work as much as Morricone and his other contemporaries; his style of juxtaposition and how that influenced even modern era; a discussion of Ortolani’s career including both his Italian and English Language work – including his iconic work in Don’t Torture a Duckling and Cannibal Holocaust; a dissection of Ortolani’s work on Confessions of a Police Captain– who was Damiani’s third choice who had not worked with him prior; and much more.
Gallery – the gallery consists of 79 behind-the-scenes stills, production stills, and poster art.
The Final Thought
Radiance Films has provided this truly special film with a feature-filled special edition. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
Martain Balsam and Franco Nero star in the polizieschi, Confessions of a Police Captain. New to Blu-ray from Radiance Films.
The Film
I’ve come to being a Franco Nero fan very late in life. Yes, I had seen him in Die Hard 2: Die Harder and other of his American films, but it wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I began to see the bulk of his important work. What always surprises this reviewer is how Nero is able to go from bad ass genre films to weighty dramatic work and still bring the gravitas and star power within both. Never so apparent than in director Damiano Damiani’s masterpiece crime drama Confessions of a Police Captain. Nero is not only matching wits against a corrupt police officer (Martin Balsam) but also the entire corrupt system.
Damiani’s film gives you what you initially think is an open-and-shut case. Balsam’s Commissioner Bonavia has a man released from a mental institution (that’s a nice word for it). The man, once released, goes about arming himself and eventually killing an office full of innocent people. As Nero’s Deputy D.A. Traini is brought in, we think it is a simple case of corruption and Bonavia getting the payoff or angling to help a mob boss. As Traini begins to investigate and get closer to Bonavia as both an associate and a suspect, lines begin to blur and may not be as simple as one once thought.
Confessions of a Police Captain is the kind of sobering dark crime drama that eschews action and bullets for corruption and mystery. There aren’t any simple answers in Damiani’s Palermo. Bonavia is both hero and criminal, both as bad and better than the mafia led by Ferdinando Lomunno (played brilliantly by Luciano Catenacci). As Traini begins to see what he thinks is a clear picture, the film dives deeper into the murky history before he took his job, giving a picture that enlightens as much as it enrages.
As the film ends and Bonavia’s fate has been sealed, Traini and the audience aren’t sure justice has been served or ever will be. It is only in the final seconds of the film that we both see how deep the corruption has bled into the system. It is in those final moments that Confessions of a Police Captain ascends to the heights of truly great crime films. The kind that scars because justice is sometimes not served.
The Transfer
The 2K restoration is an excellent representation of the film. The image is nearly flawless without a scratch or blemish throughout the runtime of the film. The color reproduction, contrast levels, and grain structure are all beautifully rendered on Blu-ray. Radiance Films continues to astound with their excellent work, bringing the best transfers to physical media.
The Extras
They include the following;
Interview with actor Franco Nero (29:15) – in this all new interview ith the star he begins with how his first interaction with director Damiano Damiani began when he was an assistant director then moving onto their first true collaboration in Nero’s post-Camelot era. The star goes onto discuss how they eventually began to work with Martin Balsam after a few other famous American stars turned out to not be the right choice; how this film cemented his image as a “man of the law” and the respect the role earned him within the judicial community; some of the real life judges he played in films; how Damiani cast Luciano Catenacci who was an art director and not an actor but became one post this role; a larger discussion of the entire cast and his recollections of them personally and professionally; Damiani’s knack for casting non-professional actors and being able to get wonderful performances out of them throughout their collaborations through the years; the personal tragedy that befell him during the production; working with Martin Balsam on this and other projects; what ended their professional collaborations; life after their films and his films after and his legacy; and much more. In Italian with English subtitles.
Interview with actor Michele Gammino (22:47) – in this all-new interview with the actor, Gammino begins with discussing how his role came to him by director Damiano Damiani working with him on voice over. The actor goes on to discuss his relationship with Damiani both professionally and personally; working with Martin Balsam and how he was a mentor of sorts to the actor; growing up in Palermo where the film takes place and the accuracy of the issues the film depicts; working with the various cast and crew on the film; working with Damiani; and much more. In Italian with English Subtitles.
Interview with editor Antonio Siciliano (26:49)- in this all-new interview with Siciliano, the editor opens with a discussion of working at a studio facility led to his work with director Damiano Damiani and a longer collaboration with him. Siciliano goes on to discuss the professional nature of their relationship and collaboration over ten films; his first impressions of the screenplay for Confessions of a Police Captain; the way that Damiani would send him audio tapes with instructions; the challenges that Martin Balsam and Franco Nero’s acting styles posed to the editing and how he solved that issue; the other editing decisions made that affected the tone of the story; the different endings and the one that they eventually chose; testing screening for the film and a very famous Italian director who was on hand and his thoughts on the film; and much more. In Italian with English subtitles.
Interview with film score expert Lovely Jon about Riz Ortolani’s score (31:00) – in this all-new interview with Lovely Jon, the expert begins with an overall look at Riz Ortolani’s style and his score and what differentiates him from his contemporaries in Italian Score. Lovely Jon goes on to discuss Ortolani’s personal history and how that relates to the composer’s passions for music and specifically classical music; his education in music and eventually working in a symphony; his early composing work and examples of his compositions; the reason why he did not work as much as Morricone and his other contemporaries; his style of juxtaposition and how that influenced even modern era; a discussion of Ortolani’s career including both his Italian and English Language work – including his iconic work in Don’t Torture a Duckling and Cannibal Holocaust; a dissection of Ortolani’s work on Confessions of a Police Captain– who was Damiani’s third choice who had not worked with him prior; and much more.
Gallery – the gallery consists of 79 behind-the-scenes stills, production stills, and poster art.
The Final Thought
Radiance Films has provided this truly special film with a feature-filled special edition. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
Radiance Films’ Blu-ray Edition of Confessions of a Police Captain is April 21st.
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