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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "The Police Accuse: The Secret Service Kill" or "Chopper Squad" or "I Accuse" or "Silent Action")

 

Directed by Sergio Martino
Italy 1975

 

From maverick filmmaker Sergio Martino (Torso) comes his most explosive and provocative film, Silent Action.

When high-ranking military officials turn up dead, all from apparent suicides or suspicious accidents, it's down to Inspector Giorgio Solmi (Luc Merenda, The Violent Professionals) to find out what's happened to them. Aided by Captain Mario Sperli (Tomas Milian, Almost Human), the two men soon find themselves during a deadly political scandal that threatens to bring Rome to its knees.

Making its global HD debut, Fractured Visions are proud to present Silent Action (A.K.A. The Police Accuse: The Secret Service Kill), a bold and uncompromising take on a startling true story, lovingly restored and featuring a host of new bonus material.

***

A number of unexplained military deaths hit Italy and are ruled to be accidental or suicides, but police inspector Giorgio Solmi suspects otherwise. When a mysterious wealthy electrician is seemingly murdered by a female escort, a sinister plot slowly begins to unravel.

Posters

Theatrical Release: April 5th, 1975

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Review: Fractured Visions - Region FREE - Blu-ray

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Fractured Visions - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:33:58.160 (4% PAL Speedup)        
Video

2.35:1 1080i Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,399,839,447 bytes

Feature: 21,217,523,712 bytes

Video Bitrate: 24.98 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

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

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

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

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Fractured Visions

 

2.35:1 1080i Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,399,839,447 bytes

Feature: 21,217,523,712 bytes

Video Bitrate: 24.98 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

Audio Commentary with Tough-guy film expert Mike Malloy
The Age of Lead: 1970s Italy (55:36)
Directing the Strategy: A interview with Director Sergio Martino (13:05)
Luc Unleashed: A interview with Actor Luc Merenda (18:45)
Sergio and I: A interview with Composer Luciano Michelini (18:35)
Archival interview with Luc Merenda (13:16)
Archival featurette: The Milian Connection (50:46)

Collector’s Edition Slipcase
Original Soundtrack CD
Special Collector’s Booklet with new essays by Eugenio Eroclani and Francesco Massaccesi


Blu-ray Release Date:
April 6th, 2021
Custom Blu-ray Case with LE slipcase

Chapters 8

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Fractured Visions Blu-ray (April 2021): Newcomer Fractured Visions, for their first Blu-ray release, have transferred Sergio Martino's Poliziotteschi genre Silent Action to BD. This is the Italian version of the film. It is cited as being from a "2K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative", but is unfortunately in 1080i (PAL timing) and suffered the associated weaknesses. Many of the Blu-rays we review from this era, out of Italy, look similar - a waxy appearance that doesn't export much, if any, grain. I have the feeling this has not been digitized in a blanket fashion as there are superior sequences where the image can look pleasing in the higher resolution. Despite the DNR-ish look, it didn't appear fatally unwatchable on my system, but those with a sensitivity to this softer image, exporting less depth, should take this as somewhat of a caveat. It is in the 2.35: aspect ratio and has a supportive bitrate on a dual-layered disc. The 1080i is unfortunate - there has been speculation it is from Raro's DVD HD Master (Thanks Eric!).

NOTE: We have added 50 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Fractured Visions offer linear PCM 2.0 channel tracks (16-bit) in both the original Italian and an English DUB. There is an overabundance of aggressive effects, car crashes, gunfire etc. and they remain hollow-ish and flat in the uncompressed transfer. The score is by Luciano Michelini (The Suspicious Death of A Minor, Island of the Fishmen) and is fairly typical of the genre - which, in its own way, helps enhance the film's charisma. An original soundtrack CD is included as a second disc in the package. Fractured Visions offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Fractured Visions Blu-ray is staked and offers a commentary by Mike Malloy. He is the director of "Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s" and we've appreciate his work on other similar genre Blu-rays like Syndicate Sadists, Brothers Till We Die, The Tough Ones, and Gang War in Milan. He is very knowledgeable on Poliziotteschi and shares interesting details - he's fun and informative - a great choice for this commentary. Included is a lengthy documentary. The Age of Lead: 1970s Italy runs shy of an hour and discusses the period of social and political turmoil in Italy that lasted from the late 1960s until the late 1980s, marked by waves of both far-left and far-right incidents of political terrorism. We get input from historians Francesco M . Biscione and Eugenio Ercolani (writer and director) and Giampaolo Erolani who talk about the films - crime films, noirs and poliziotteschi, that emerged from this time period. It has both English and Italian (plus English subtitles - as do all extras) and is well-done with a lot of information. Directing the Strategy is a 13-minute interview with Director Sergio Martino - always a pleasure to hear from. There is an archival featurette: The Milian Connection running over 50-minutes by No Shame Films, directed by Leopoldo Ciccarelli. Luc Unleashed is a 19-minute interview with actor Luc Merenda, running about the same length is Sergio and I: an interview with composer Luciano Michelini and lastly is a shorter archival interview with Luc Merenda for over a dozen minutes. The package has a collector’s edition slipcase, a special collector’s booklet with new essays by Eugenio Eroclani and Francesco Massaccesi plus the aforementioned second disc soundtrack CD. Whew.     

Although there is not an abundance available on Blu-ray, I have grown to appreciate the Poliziotteschi genre - more each time I see one. Like their cousin the 'Pasta western', these have a identifiable style, often dealing in moral corruption and have plenty of violence. There are usually political and mob themes. Fractured Visions' Silent Action Blu-ray has Sergio Martino's effective filmmaking and a girth of extras, and CD soundtrack, to introduce any cinema fan to this neglected genre. Despite my reservations on the image, and its 1080i transfer, this will be worth picking up to those who wish to expand their horizons of 70's Italian films and there turbulent history. We look forward to more from Fractured Visions.

Gary Tooze

 


Menus / Extras

 


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Distribution Fractured Visions - Region FREE - Blu-ray


 


 

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