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

ADDITION: Arrow Blu-ray (June 2021): Arrow have transferred five Poliziotteschi films to one package containing three Blu-rays entitled Years Of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977. It is cited as being "High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all five films, restored from the original camera negatives, including a brand new 2K restoration of Colt 38 Special Squad exclusive to this release". It is quite a daunting package. All made in about a 4-year span, it's no wonder they have similar quality elements... and it's no surprise that Arrow's transfers are at the high end. Grain is frequently evident, there is usually minimal depth bit surprisingly rich colors and the older the film - the more fader it can appear with less layered contrast (density of the print.) Overall they looks great and fairly consistent in 1080P. No strong complaints of digitization or damage. The Camewra Oscura BD of Highway Racer reviewed HERE, looks almost exactly the same from our software. It does have a higher bitrate but we found no significant differences in the a/v. There are comparison captures below. 

NOTE: We have added 102 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-rays, Arrow use a DTS-HD Master mono tracks (24-bit) in the original Italian language (with an English option for Colt 38 Special Squad.) As could expect, there is extensive violence in the form of guns beatings, assaults and more. These are carried with authentic mono hollowness but suit the films well via in the purity of the lossless transfers. There are fitting, often unique, scores by Franco Campanino (Amazonia: The Catherine Miles Story) on Savage Three (1975), Mario Molino (The Angels from 2000) on Like Rabid Dogs (1976), a Giallio-esque score by Stelvio Cipriani (The Night Child, Nightmare City, The Blood Stained Shadow, Killer Cop, Rabid Dogs, Baron Blood, A Bay of Blood) on Colt 38 Special Squad (1976) and Highway Racer (1977), plus Riz Ortolani (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) on No, the Case is Happily Resolved (1973). Yes, that is Grace Jones, performing and singing I Still Get the Blues and I'll Find My Way to You in Colt 38 Special Squad. The audio is relatively clean, dialogue post-syncing occasionally awkward but consistent in clarity. Arrow offer optional English subtitles (and SDH on Colt 38 Special Squad) on their three Region FREE Blu-rays, available in North American and Europe.

The Arrow Blu-ray offers no commentaries but a wonderful 20-minute visual essay by critic Will Webb entitled Poliziotteschi: Violence and Justice in the Years of Lead. He gives an excellent overview of the genre. It is located on the third Blu-ray and he discusses the themes found in Poliziotteschi; ultra-violent, vigilante behavior, good men dispensing justice, macho, cop-dramas during the 70's. It usually has the same group of cast/actors, deeply focused on spectacle (flashy car chases, gritty action and causal misogyny). He informs us that the genre contains about 100 films and he examines the political background in Italy during this time showing corruption, organized crimes and much more. It is very informative. There are a mass of interviews (often from Camera Obscura, No Shame etc.) with the likes of director Vittorio Salerno, actress Martine Brochard on Savage Three, actor Joe Dallesandro also on Savage Three (for over 40-minutes), cinematographer Romano Albani and historian Fabio Melelli, assistant director Claudio Bernabei on Like Rabid Dogs. From composer Stelvio Cipriani we get an Introduction and 25-minute interview. There are more; an interview with editor Antonio Siciliano on Colt 38 Special Squad, historian Roberto Curti on Highway Racer, and with director Vittorio Salerno on No, the Case is Happily Resolved. There are also trailer for 3 of the films, Poster galleries and we can see a 4-minute alternate ending on No, the Case is Happily Resolved. The extensive package has reversible sleeves featuring original artwork includes a booklet featuring new writing by Troy Howarth, Michael Mackenzie, Rachael Nisbet, Kat Ellinger and James Oliver.   

Firstly, I was shocked at how very good these films are in Arrow's Blu-ray package of Years Of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977. It is book-ended by two strong and entertaining efforts; Savage Three from 1975 and the less typical No, the Case is Happily Resolved from 1973. The latter being the least violent (after the initial brutal beating of a half-naked woman) and becomes a mystery/thriller with efforts to expose the real killer. Colt 38 Special Squad should get a nod to as a dynamic Dirty Harry-style of cops ending criminal activity (and often the perpetrators!) without going by the book. A solid cop-actioner. This films are a strong reflection of the social and political attitudes of 70's Italy. The genre does have similarities to Giallo , with less infused style (dissimilar to Pasta westerns but in-line with the gratuitous violence), and you may require a thick skin to accept the extensive, and less-explained, misogynistic angles. Political / police corruption is not as heavy as themes in some other efforts I have seen in the genre and era, and only moderate focus on organized crime, police procedural - more involving terrorism and senseless serial killing. This follows in the wake of other Blu-rays like Brothers Till We Die (Umberto Lenzi), Luciano Ercoli's Killer Cop, Sergio Martino's Silent Action, and Syndicate Sadists (also Lenzi). Perhaps an acquired taste but I thought these were an excellent, varied, initiation for many to dive into Poliziotteschi and Arrow is continuing their stacked, detailed and efficient Blu-ray boxsets - one of the very best production companies in existence. For fans who embrace this, or are even neophytes, this is strongly recommended to both groups!    

Gary Tooze