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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (May 2022): Kino have transferred Sergio Sollima's Violent City (European Cut) to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "2K Restoration". There is a second Blu-ray disc that shares a 4K Restoration of Città violenta (Italian cut) and an HD Master of The Family (US cut) from a 2K Scan of a 35mm Print. These are two other versions of Violent City. For Città violenta a text screen in Italian (no subtitles) tells us "The 4K restoration of Violent City was carried out by Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna starting from the original Techniscope camera negative and the Italian sound negative, both made available by Unidis Jolly Film. The processes were carried out at the Lilmmagine Ritrovata laboratory in Bologna. Restoration carried out with the contribution of the Ministry for cultural heritage and activities and for tourism." Bottom line, I suppose, is that the Violent City version looks the best in 1080P in this package, although it can have a few inconsistencies looking dull in spots. There are speckles. Someone may have been leaning on the color knobs in the Citta violenta 4K restoration as it is unnaturally vibrant. Lastly, The Family has a lot of marks, scratches etc. including removing some of the more graphic sequences. Nice to have all three but I enjoyed Violent City the most and it had the best 1080P image on a lone dual-layered Blu-ray disc with a max'ed out bitrate.      

NOTE: We have added 78 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) For Violent City in the mostly English language with some scenes being in Italian. This includes dialogue between Bronson and Ireland. Città violenta is similarly encoded in straight Italian while The Family has 16-bit DTS-HD Master English. Like its video, it can have some rough patches. The film(s), itself, has many aggressive moments that come through with surprisingly intensity. There is a car race and a car chase that also carry depth but neither as much as the wonderful score is by iconic Ennio Morricone (Grand Slam Revolver, The Great Silence, Who Saw Her Die?, The Black Belly of the Tarantula, The Fifth Cord, Luna, Danger Diabolik, Two Mules For Sister Sara, A Bullet for the General, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, The French Conspiracy, U Turn, Stay As You Are etc. etc.) that is rhythmic and repetitive using distorted electric guitars, reminding me of a more intense Danger Diabolik. It runs in various renditions throughout with alternate beats. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray. For Violent City you can choose English throughout or for the Italian (most DUBs.) For Città violenta it has optional English subtitles and there are no subtitle options on the fully English language The Family.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Paul Talbot (author of Bronson's Loose! The Making of the Death Wish Films and Bronson's Loose Again! On the Set with Charles Bronson.) He is 'the man' when it comes to Bronson films detailing the Violent City's history and trivia, identifying the tarantula sequences as similar solitary figure of death akin to former hitman Jeff Heston (Bronson,) noting George Savalas (Telly's brother) and a lot of keen information on Bronson, the man and his career, as well as much more. He identifies the cars, locations (filmed mostly in New Orleans, the U.S Virgin Islands, and Cinecittà Studios in Rome,) gun calibers, the DUB'ing actors while filling the commentary with edifying factoids. He's always well-researched and fabulously impressive. The first Blu-ray also has a, vintage, 15-minute interview with co-writer/director Sergio Sollima entitled Shooting Violent City. It is in Italian with English subtitles. Also on this disc is a trailer for Violent City. The package has a reversible sleeve (see below) and an o-card slipcase.

The second disc has a trailer and two radio spots for The Family as well as Charles Bronson Theatrical Trailers.

Sergio Sollima's Violent City is a strong example of the director's astute work and a neo-noir gem with Bronson. It incorporates a non-linear flashback structure. Jon Voight and Sharon Tate were initially considered for the leading roles. The the Kino Blu-ray package has it all - three versions of the film, and an expert commentary. Charles Bronson or Sollima fans and those keen on Euro-crime thrillers should check this beauty out - the Morricone score really advances the intensity. I can't get it out of my head. Absolutely recommended!

Gary Tooze