This Arrow Films release of The Assassin (L’Assassino) is pretty damn good offering great video and audio transfers and while the features aren’t particularly remarkable, this relatively unknown Italian crime-thriller-drama can perhaps find a new audience.
The Assassin
(L’Assassino)
(1961)
Genre(s): Thriller, Crime
Arrow Films | NR – 97 min. – $39.95 | April 18, 2017
Date Published: 04/25/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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ABOUT THIS RELEASE
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Released within months of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and Antonioni’s La Notte, Elio Petri’s first feature, The Assassin (L’Assassino) also stars Marcello Mastroianni, this time as dandyish thirtysomething antiques dealer Alfredo Martelli, arrested on suspicion of murdering his older, far wealthier lover Adalgisa (MICHELINE PRESLE). But as the increasingly Kafkaesque police investigation proceeds, it becomes less and less important whether Martelli actually committed the crime as his entire lifestyle is effectively put on trial. Best known for Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and The Tenth Victim, Petri was one of the finest and yet most underrated Italian directors of the 1960s and 70s. Highly acclaimed on its original UK release but unjustly neglected since, L’Assassino is a remarkably assured debut from one of the cinema’s sharpest chronicles of Italian social and political realities. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.0/5 |
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This two-disc release (BD+DVD) comes in a clear HD Keep Case and inside is a booklet with an essay by Petri expert Camilla Zamboni as well as Petri’s own critical analysis of 1950s Italian cinema, plus a selection of contemporary reviews. Also included is reversible artwork, revealing the original Italian poster. Features are a bit on the limited side, but there’s an Introduction by Pasquale Iannone (9:39; HD) from 2014; Tonino Guerra: A Poet in the Movies (51:15; SD) is a 2008 documentary about the Italian screenwriter; lastly is the Theatrical Trailer (3:45; HD). |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Arrow Films releases The Assassin onto Blu-ray presented with a 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer culled from the original camera negative and scanned at 2K resolution. The picture for the most part does look good: detail appears sharp and black tones are stark looking crushed. There were a few minor dust marks but otherwise it’s a clean transfer. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The disc comes with an Italian-language PCM Mono 2.0 track which outputs fine dialogue levels and does have some minor depth for ambient noises, all funneled through two channels. As with the picture, this got some minor work, taken from a 35mm negative and digitally remastered. Doubtful this has ever sounded, or looked, better… |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
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Overall, this Arrow Films release of The Assassin (L’Assassino) is pretty damn good offering great video and audio transfers and while the features aren’t particularly remarkable, this relatively unknown Italian crime-thriller-drama can perhaps find a new audience as it is worthy of a viewing. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.