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Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero in three Mafia Tales by Damiano Damiani [3 X Blu-ray]
 

The Day of the Owl aka Mafia (1968) Coming to individual Blu-ray in September 2024 HERE


The Case is Closed, Forget It (1971)  Coming to individual Blu-ray in September 2024 HERE

 

 How to Kill a Judge (1975) Coming to individual Blu-ray in September 2024 HERE

 

 

The most American of directors according to celebrated critic Paolo Mereghetti, Damiano Damiani (A Bullet for the General) nevertheless surveyed his own country’s mafia history unlike anyone before him, to critical and box office success. Three such classic films are collected in this Blu-ray box set, presented from new restorations.

The Day of the Owl stars Franco Nero as a police chief who, while investigating the death of a construction worker, goes up against corrupt officials and a ruthless mafia boss (Lee J. Cobb). Adapted from the celebrated novel by Leonardo Sciascia (Illustrious Corpses, Todo Modo), The Day of the Owl was the first book to openly deal with organized crime in Sicily. A prestigious production, it was in the running for best film at the Berlin Film Festival and found wins at home in the David di Donatello Awards for Claudia Cardinale, Nero, Damiani, and Best Production.

Nero portrays a simple man thrown in jail for a misdemeanor in The Case Is Closed: Forget It. Inside, he sees the grim reality of life behind bars, where the mafia controls everything. A powerful production with Nero on top form and supported by a strong cast including Riccardo Cucciolla (Rabid Dogs) and John Steiner (Tenebrae), the intensity of Damiani’s film places it among the finest prison dramas. Presented in Italian and for the first time with the original English dub.

In How to Kill a Judge, Nero plays filmmaker Giacomo Solaris, whose latest film features a judge corrupted by the mafia and who is later found murdered. The real judge the character is based on seizes the footage, but is later killed in the same way. Feeling a degree of responsibility, Solaris investigates, but as the assassinations increase around him, will he reach the source of the conspiracy? Full of twists and a fascinating meta-commentary on cinema, Damiani points the camera at himself and the genre as he investigates the social impact of mafia violence, a fitting end to this survey of Damiani’s Cosa Nostra.

Posters

Theatrical Release: February 17th, 1968 - February 5th, 1975

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Review: Radiance Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Radiance Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime

The Day of the Owl (Italian): 1:48:40.555

The Day of the Owl (Export): 1:43:11.852
The Case is Closed, Forget It: 1:46:10.989
How to Kill a Judge: 1:50:42.719

Video

The Day of the Owl (Italian version):

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,891,673,242 bytes

Feature: 32,485,125,120 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.81 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

The Day of the Owl (Export version):

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,891,673,242 bytes

Feature: 30,852,858,816 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.82 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

The Case is Closed, Forget It (1971):

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,614,462,848 bytes

Feature: 34,374,669,696 bytes

Video Bitrate: 37.66 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

How to Kill a Judge (1975):

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 43,661,282,867 bytes

Feature: 32,815,254,912 bytes

Video Bitrate: 32.98 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate The Day of the Owl (Italian) Blu-ray:

Bitrate The Day of the Owl (Italian) Blu-ray:

Bitrate The Case is Closed, Forget It Blu-ray:

Bitrate How to Kill a Judge Blu-ray:

Audio

The Day of the Owl

DTS-HD Master Audio Italian 1458 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1458 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
DUB:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1479 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1479 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
 

The Case is Closed, Forget It

LPCM Audio Italian 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
DUB:

LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit

 

How to Kill a Judge

LPCM Audio Italian 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
DUB:

LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit

Subtitles English (translated), English (SDH), None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Radiance Films

 

Edition Details:

 

The Day of the Owl
• New interview with star Franco Nero, featuring archive footage of Damiano Damiani and Leonardo Sciascia discussing The Day of the Owl (2022, 17:21)
• Archival interview with Franco Nero, writer Ugo Pirro and production manager Lucio Trentini discussing the making of The Day of the Owl (2006, 26:34)
• Archival interview with Claudia Cardinale from Belgian TV in which she discusses her long and storied career (2017, 22:20)
• Identity Crime-Sis: filmmaker and Italian crime cinema expert Mike Malloy discusses The Day of the Owl in the context of the formation of the Italian crime film genre (2022, 20:04)
• Casting Cobb: A Tale of Two Continents: A video essay by filmmaker Howard S. Berger looking at actor Lee J. Cobb's career transition from Hollywood to Italy and the archetypes he tended to play (2023, 32:36)
• Trailer (2:51)

The Case is Closed: Forget It
• New interview with star Franco Nero discussing The Case is Closed: Forget It (2022, 14:26)
• Archival documentary on the making of The Case is Closed: Forget It featuring actor Corrado Solari, assistant director Enrique Bergier and editor Antonio Siciliano (2015, 28:09)
• Italy’s Cinematic Civil Conscience: An Examination of the Life and Works of Damiano Damiani: A visual essay on the career of Damiani Damiani by critic Rachael Nisbet (2023, 35:29)
• Trailer (3:13)

How to Kill a Judge
• New interview with star Franco Nero discussing How to Kill a Judge (2022, 12:59)
• Lessons in Violence: A new video essay on How to Kill a Judge by filmmaker David Cairns (2023, 21:38)
• New interview with Alberto Pezzotta, author of Regia Damiano Damiani, who discusses Damiani’s contribution to the mafia and crime genres and the reception of his films in Italy (2022, 34:23)
• English Trailer (3:42)
• Italian Trailer (3:42)

Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters for each film
Limited edition 120-page book featuring new and archival writing on the films by experts on the genre including Andrew Nette on Leonardo Sciascia’s The Day of the Owl; Piero Garofalo on The Case is Closed: Forget It; Paul A. J. Lewis on depictions of the mafia in each of the films within this set; Shelley O’Brien on each of the scores; a newly translated archival interview with Damiani; Nathaniel Thompson on Franco Nero; Marco Natoli on Damiani’s place within the cinema politico movement in Italian cinema; a critical overview for each the films by Cullen Gallagher and credits for each film
Limited edition of 3000 copies (each for the UK and US), presented in a rigid box with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings


Blu-ray Release Date: June 19th, 2023

Custom Blu-ray Case

Chapters 12 / 12 / 12 / 12

 

Alternate (reversible) Covers included:

 

 

The Day of the Owl aka Mafia (1968) Coming to individual Blu-ray in September 2024 HERE


The Case is Closed, Forget It (1971)  Coming to individual Blu-ray in September 2024 HERE

 

 How to Kill a Judge (1975) Coming to individual Blu-ray in September 2024 HERE

 

Comments:

June 5th UPDATE from Radiance: ""Hi everyone, we have an update on Cosa Nostra release date. Unfortunately the Blu-ray for The Day of the Owl was found to have one minute of dialogue missing. This scene occurs at a seamless branching point and was missed by our QC operator (the subtitles were present but just wouldn't play so passed our subtitle QC earlier in the process). Upon discovering this we immediately rectified the issue and put a disc replacement programme in place for our stock at our warehouses in the UK and the US. This process is ongoing but will mean a short delay to the release date in the UK (approx. 2 weeks) and the US (approx 4 weeks)."

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

ADDITION: Radiance Films Blu-ray (May 2023): Radiance Films have transferred three films - The Day of the Owl aka Mafia (1968,) The Case is Closed, Forget It (1971) and How to Kill a Judge (1975) - in their Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero in three Mafia Tales by Damiano Damiani Blu-ray Package. It is cited as being from a "2K restoration of The Day of the Owl from the original negative presented in the original Italian version (109 mins) and the shorter export cut with English audio (103 mins), 2K restoration of The Case is Closed: Forget It from the original negative presented with Italian and, for the first time, English audio options, 2K restoration of How to Kill a Judge from the original negative presented in Italian and English audio options". The Case is Closed, Forget It is the weak link looking somewhat softer (and only 16-bit audio) with a shade muddier contrast than the other two. It's not a deal-breaker but is obvious. The Day of the Owl and How to Kill a Judge look solid in 1080P with balanced colors - maybe a shade pale - but pleasing detail in the film's relevant close-ups. They looked clean and consistent on my system.    

NOTE: We have added 134 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Radiance Films use three different audio transfers for the films. For The Day of the Owl it is DTS-HD Master dual-mono tracks for the original Italian and English DUB (both 24-bit.) The Case is Closed, Forget It (1971) using DTS-HD Master (only 16-bit) transfers for the original Italian and English DUB while How to Kill a Judge (1975) has linear PCM dual-mono tracks (24-bit) for the original Italian and English DUB. The films have aggressive sequences with reasonable intensity but the tracks offer, authentically, modest depth. The score on The Day of the Owl was by the Italian composer, pianist and conductor, Giovanni Fusco (The Confession, L'Avventura, The Red Desert, L'Eclisse, Hiroshima Mon Amour, Il Grido) sounding intense at times, and for The Case is Closed, Forget It we get a score by the iconic Ennio Morricone (Who Saw Her Die?, The French Conspiracy, 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, U Turn, Stay As You Are etc. etc.) sounding buoyant and effective. Lastly on How to Kill a Judge the score was by frequent mondo, giallo, horror, and 'pasta' film composer Riz Ortolani (Lightning Bolt, Killer Crocodile, The Pyjama Girl Case, The Valachi Papers, Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eyes, The McKenzie Break, Day of Anger, Il Sorpasso, Woman Times Seven, Cannibal Holocaust, The Voyeur, Mondo Cane) providing support for the film. All sound clean, with typical DUB sync issues, but reasonably consistent in the lossless transfers. Radiance Films offer optional English (translation), and English (SDH), subtitles (see samples below) on their Region FREE Blu-rays.

The Radiance Films Blu-ray offers no commentaries but a host of other valuable supplements. On The Day of the Owl Blu-ray there is a new 17-minute interview with star Franco Nero, featuring archive footage of Damiano Damiani and Leonardo Sciascia discussing The Day of the Owl and there is a 26-minute archival interview with Franco Nero, writer Ugo Pirro and production manager Lucio Trentini discussing the making of the film from 2006. I enjoyed the archival interview with Claudia Cardinale from 2017 Belgian TV in which she discusses her long and storied career for in excess of 22-minutes. Always lovely. Identity Crime-Sis has filmmaker and Italian crime cinema expert Mike Malloy discussing The Day of the Owl in the context of the formation of the Italian crime film genre - 20-minutes from 2022. Casting Cobb: A Tale of Two Continents is a new 1/2 hour video essay by my buddy Howard S. Berger looking at actor Lee J. Cobb's career transition from 'Hollywood to Italy' and the archetypes he tended to play. Lastly on that BD disc is a trailer for The Day of the Owl

On the The Case is Closed: Forget It Blu-ray we spend another 1/4 hour in a new interview with star Franco Nero discussing The Case is Closed: Forget It from 2022. The guy is timeless. There is a 1/2 hour archival documentary on the making of The Case is Closed: Forget It featuring actor Corrado Solari, assistant director Enrique Bergier and editor Antonio Siciliano from 2015 as they share their recollections on the production aspect of the film. Italy’s Cinematic Civil Conscience: An Examination of the Life and Works of Damiano Damiani is a new 35-minute visual essay on the career of Damiani Damiani by Rachael Nisbet, critic film critic and co-host of the Fragments Of Fear Giallo Podcast. Lastly on this Blu-ray is a trailer for The Case is Closed: Forget It.

On the How to Kill a Judge disc there is another new, 13-minute, interview with star Franco Nero discussing How to Kill a Judge where he recalls specifics on the production. Lessons in Violence is a new 20-minute video essay on How to Kill a Judge by filmmaker David Cairns who looks at Damiani's unique approach to filmmaking. There is also a new 1/2 hour interview with Alberto Pezzotta, author of Regia Damiano Damiani, who discusses Damiani’s contribution to the mafia and crime genres and the reception of his films in Italy from 2022. Included is both an English and Italian trailer for the film.

The package has reversible sleeves (see above) featuring designs based on original posters for each film plus a limited edition 120-page liner notes book featuring new and archival writing on the films by experts on the genre including Andrew Nette on Leonardo Sciascia’s The Day of the Owl; Piero Garofalo on The Case is Closed: Forget It; Paul A. J. Lewis on depictions of the mafia in each of the films within this set; Shelley O’Brien on each of the scores; a newly translated archival interview with Damiani; Nathaniel Thompson on Franco Nero; Marco Natoli on Damiani’s place within the cinema politico movement in Italian cinema; a critical overview for each the films by Cullen Gallagher and credits for each film. It is housed in a limited edition rigid box with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

Radiance Films' Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero in three Mafia Tales by Damiano Damiani Blu-ray package is not adhering to a strict classification of 'Poliziotteschi' films (see our review of Arrow's Years Of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977 boxset) although they certainly do relate to polizia "police" and detective fiction crime - albeit they are more specifically Mafioso-topic focused. Damiano Damiani, part of the 'Group of Venice', has a style that has described him as "the most American of Italian directors" by Italian film critic Paolo Mereghetti and "a bitter moralist hungry for old purity" by none other than Pier Paolo Pasolini (see Pasolini 101.) He made almost 40 features. The Day of the Owl aka Mafia is, debatably, the best film of the set (or The Case Is Closed, Forget It) and is based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Leonardo Sciascia, adapted for the screen by Damiani and Ugo Pirro and is the first in director Damiani's 'Mafia trilogy'. It has the appealing cast of Nero, gorgeous Claudia Cardinale, and, brief pivotal appearances by Lee J. Cobb. The Case Is Closed, Forget It is based on the novel Tante Sbarre (trad. "Many Bars"), written by Leros Pittoni and has Nero as an architect put in prison for traffic violations. While incarcerated he sees the sad reality of life behind bars including corrupt staff + inmates, and an damaged judicial system manipulated by the pervasive Mafia. It's quite a good film on Italian prison life. How to Kill a Judge (The Murder of a Magistrate or Why Does One Kill a Magistrate?) is the final chapter in Damiani's trilogy about the Mafia, after The Day of the Owl and Confessions of a Police Captain. The film centers on events that spark the murder of a judge who gets too friendly with the Mafia but the governing corrupt politicians induce cover-ups which expose a viscous circle to the societal malaise. Radiance Films' Blu-ray package of Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero in three Mafia Tales by Damiano Damiani Blu-ray package is wonderfully complete with accoutrements - each film has optional English DUBs, exhaustive supplements including modern Nero interviews, visual essay gold, and a 120-page book, plus HD presentations indicative of the theatrical appearance. Franco Nero fans will not be able to resist this set and the Italian crime-cinema here is top shelf. It's very strongly recommended! Wow - Radiance Films once again proves they are the 'real deal'. What great news for physical media personal archivists.

Gary Tooze

 

 


Menus / Extras

 

The Day of the Owl

 

The Case is Closed, Forget It

How to Kill a Judge


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

The Day of the Owl aka Mafia (1968)

 

Subtitle samples (English translated and English SDH)

 

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The Case is Closed, Forget It

 

Subtitle samples (English translated and English SDH)

 

(CLICK to ENLARGE)

 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


How to Kill a Judge

 

Subtitle samples (English translated and English SDH)

 

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Examples of NSFW (Not Safe For Work) Blu-ray - (Mouse Over - click to enlarge)

 

 


 

More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE

 

The Day of the Owl aka Mafia (1968):

 

The Case is Closed, Forget It

How to Kill a Judge

 

 
Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Radiance Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray


 


 

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