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

ADDITION: Severin Films Blu-ray (December 2024): Severin Films have transferred Rogério Sganzerla's The Red Light Bandit to Blu-ray. It is cited as "scanned in 2K from the original camera negative". The source has plenty of vertical scratches. Lighting indoor is unremarkable and the overall feel is that of an experimental film. The HD presentation appears to be a direct reflection of the, imperfect, source. It's on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate but it seems the film requires restoration. Please see our captures below to get an idea of the 1080P image quality. 

NOTE: We have added 52 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Severin Films use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original Portuguese language. The Red Light Bandit has aggression with some scenes of extensive gunfire. There are also some effects. The film's music is also credited to director Rogério Sganzerla. It carried the uniqueness of the narrative. The overall audio can be as vérité rough as the video - but everything is, essentially, clear and audible. Severin Films offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Severin Films Blu-ray offer Cinema Marginal; a 1/2 hour interview with producer and film conservationist Paulo Sacramento talking about the importance of the film and evolution of the movement. There is also a 25-minute interview with actress Helena Ignez (Embodiment of Evil) entitled "The Anti-Muse". She first appeared on the screen in Glauber Rocha's film Pátio. There is a 2-minute trailer and two short films; Comics (1969) - a 10-minute short documentary on the evolution of comic books in Brazil directed by Rogério Sganzerla. Included is Jairo Ferreira's 40-minute Horror Palace Hotel (filmmakers and critics share a dissatisfaction surrounding Brazilian horror cinema while staying at a hotel) with a 5-minute introduction by filmmaker Dennison Ramalho - known for The Nightshifter (2018), Ninjas (2011) and Nocturnu (1998.)

Rogério Sganzerla was 22-year-old when he directed The Red Light Bandit - considered a classic work of Cinema Marginal aka Novo Cinema Novo, the Brazilian underground filmmaking movement of the 1960s which used inconsistent luminance and unprepared, naturalistic, imagery in an attempt to return to Cinema Novo's original precepts on working-class, disenfranchised characters with social inequity themes. There are elements of experimentation, homage, b-movies and Brazilian sex-comedies (aka 'pornochanchadas' - influenced by commedia sexy all'italiana) in the movement if only hinted at in The Red Light Bandit - which is actually quite a humorous film experience on how a good-looking, un-captured, serial rapist is recognized as a public hero. It's easy to see that Sganzerla was influenced by the aesthetics of Jean-Luc Godard. Once I began to stop taking it so seriously as a hard-nosed crime-thriller I began to enjoy it more. One of the best things about the Severin Films Blu-ray is simply seeing this heralded film. In 2015, The Red Light Bandit was chosen by the Brazilian Association of Film Critics, as the sixth best Brazilian film of all time. It certainly supports repeat viewings. For film students or the adventurous cinephile - this is certainly recommended.

Gary Tooze