The Suspicious Death of a Minor is an uneven but still entertaining enough Italian crime-drama that excels more on the performance of its lead, Claudio Cassinelli.
The Suspicious Death of a Minor
(1975)
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller
Arrow Video | NR – 100 min. – $39.95 | October 3, 2017
Date Published: 09/24/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.25/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Undercover cop Paolo Germi (CLAUDIO CASSINELLI) is on the trail of a Milanese criminal outfit following the brutal murder of an underage prostitute. But a killer-for-hire is on the prowl, bumping off witnesses before they have a chance to talk… Quick Hit Review: I’m normally a fan of these kind of films and while it’s described as a giallo, this is far more of a gritty crime drama which, in itself, would be fine if not for the wildly chaotic tones where we get a main character whose glasses continually get broken, a crappy car the doors of which fall off, and a chase sequence that seemed to belong in a Pink Panther movie than an Italian crime-drama. All that said, the core of the story is compelling enough and I did enjoy the performance from Claudio Cassinelli, so it is passable entertainment, nothing more than that, however. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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This two-disc release is housed in a wide HD Keep Case and comes with a 20-page essay booklet and a standard DVD Copy. The features are on the lighter side, but does include an Audio Commentary with Troy Howarth, author of ‘So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films’, who is a staple on these Arrow Video releases; also included is a new Interview (42:54; HD) with co-writer/director Sergio Martino and the Trailer (3:27; HD). Also included is reversible cover artwork revealing the original Italian poster art. |
VIDEO – 4.25/5 |
| The Suspicious Death of a Minor arrives on Blu-ray through Arrow Video presented with a 1080p high-definition transfer and shown in its original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio. As with most Arrow releases, this underwent a restoration treatment: the original 35mm camera negative was scanned at 2K and numerous instances of dirt, scratches, debris and other flaws were repaired or removed, and image stability was improved. Although the notes mention some damage and color fading, I didn’t notice it myself. As it is, the colors are fairly bright and I was impressed with detail that was rather sharp and nicely defined throughout. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The disc includes both an Italian and English language PCM Mono tracks, remastered from the optical sound track negatives, and while it’s nothing extraordinary, it does provide good dialogue levels through that central channel. There is some okay depth when it came to things like the car chases, the score and the variety of blood-curdling screams. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
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Overall, The Suspicious Death of a Minor is an uneven but still entertaining enough Italian crime-drama that excels more on the performance of its lead, Claudio Cassinelli. The Blu-ray released by Arrow offers up good video and audio transfers and an okay selection of bonus features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.