NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Radiance Blu-ray (September 2024): Radiance have transferred Damiano Damiani's A Man on His Knees to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "New 4K restoration from the original negative". The restoration was made from the original picture and audio negatives deposited at Mediaset. The 1080P exports wonderful rich, consistent, textures. Colors are true and there is depth in outdoor sequences. This looked beautifully film-like on my system with minor contrast fluctuation in the later scenes. This did not deter my enjoyment. 

NOTE: We have added 46 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Radiance use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original Italian language. A Man on His Knees has aggressive moments and intent - much of the gore being off-screen. The score was by Franco Mannino (The Driver's Seat, Visconti's L'innocente and Conversation Piece, John Huston's Beat the Devil, and Riccardo Freda's Murder Obsession) supporting the tension. Radiance offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Radiance Blu-ray offer relevant supplements. In a newly filmed, 24-minute, interview with Alberto Pezzotta, author of Damiano Damiani oltre la regia, filmed exclusively for Radiance in June 2024, he discusses A Man on His Knees in the context of depictions of the Mafia on screen, the production and its place within Damiani's career. There are also three archival interviews, with star Giuliano Gemma, director Tano Cimarosa and assistant director Mino Giarda who discusses their experiences making A Man on His Knees, and working with Damiano Damiani as well as their feelings about the film. These run separately but almost 3/4 hours in total. The package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista and a booklet featuring new writing by Roberto Curti (Italian Giallo in Film and Television: A Critical History.)

Damiano Damiani's A Man on His Knees - fits in the Poliziotteschi genre (60's + 70s Italian crime films.) Pier Paolo Pasolini referred to Damiani (Goodbye and Amen, A Bullet For a General, The Day of the Owl, The Most Beautiful Wife, How to Kill a Judge) as "a bitter moralist hungry for old purity". A Man on His Knees has a very effective build as we learn about the characters and dire-ness of the circumstances. It also has a twisty, less-predictable conclusion. The Radiance Blu-ray is at their usual high standard and the film is very much worth seeing and owning, imo. Recommended to fans of gripping 70's Italian thrillers.

Gary Tooze