THE FACTS OF MURDER (1959)
Label: Radiance Films
Region Code: A,B
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 114 Minutes 42 Seconds
Audio: Italian PCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Director: Pietro Germi
Cast: Pietro Germi, Claudia Cardinale, Claudio Gora, Franco Fabrizi, Cristina Gaioni, Eleonora Rossi Drago, Saro Urzì, Nino Castelnuovo, Rosolino Bua, Loretta Capitoli, Nanda De Santis
Extras:
The noir-ish crime-thriller The Facts of Murder (1959), directed by Pietro Germi and adapted from author Carlo Emilio Gadda's novel, gruff, cigar-munching Inspector Ingravallo (Petro Germi,The Railroad Man) has been called to an apartment building in Rome to investigate a robberty. The victim is Antoine (Lldebrando Santafe, The Climax), a thinly guised homosexual man keen to maintain his privacy and avoid making headlines.
Once there Ingravallo begins to question the neighbors of the victim, including neighbor Liliana Banducci (Eleonora Rossi Drago, In the Folds of the Flesh), and her pretty maid
Assuntina (the stunning Claudia Cardinale, The Day of the Owl). Assutina's boyfriend Diomede (Nino Castelnuovo, Strip Nude for Your Killer) is suspected as the culprit, but eventually cleared when he reveals he's spent the night with an older American tourist.
The mystery depends when during the investigation when Illiana is found murdered by sleazy wanna-be doctor Valdarena (Franco Fabrizi, What Have They Done to Your Daughters?). Her husband Remo (Claudio Gora, Seven Blood-Stained Orchids) is out of town on business at the time of the murder and is notified, returning by train, and becoming a suspect. There's no shortage of red-herrings in this murder-mystery, the flick is bathed in the shadowy style of a noir with the red-herring and suspense that makes it a bit of a low-key giallo as well
The cast is absolutely terrific, filled with interesting characters with shady motivations and immoral actions that come into play, other characters that populate the mystery are , the bread-munching Detective Saro (Saro Urzì, The Godfather) who has a baguette in his mouth as often as Ingravallo does a cigar, offering some comic relief, as well as an voluptuous blonde lolita named Virginia (Cristina Gaioni, Andy Warhol's Frankenstein) who has an intimate with connection to the victim and her husband.
A truly wonderful murder mystery that has elements of noir, giallo, and murder-suspense, handsomely shot and expertly crafted it balances humor, mystery and suspense deftly, with a thoroughly enjoyable turn from the director as the non-nonsense Inspector Ingravallo who is willing to bend the rules a bit to get the bottom of the murder-mystery at hand. This is about as perfect a murder-mystery as you will ever see, and I am pleased to see it get such a wonderful Blu-ray from Radiance Films. It's already on my list of favorite Film Discoveries of 2024!
Audio/Video: Previously available on Radiance's World Noir Volume 1 UK boxset, The Facts of Murder (1959) gets a standalone release from Radiance Films in 1080p HD framed in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio, advertised as being a "New 4K restoration of the film by L'Immagine Ritrovata at the Cineteca di Bologna". It's a stellar black and white image with nicely resolved grain, excellent contrast and some nice depth and clarity. The black levels are fantastic, and the source is nearly flawless. Audio comes by way of PCM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well preserved, the sometimes chaotic Italian dialogue exchanges sound excellent, as does the score by Carlo Rustichelli (Lucio Fulci's White Fang).
Radiance includes a handful of excellent extras, starting of with the 47-min Interview with Pietro Germi expert Mario Sesti (2023) wherein the film critic discusses Pietro Germi career with emphasis on The Facts of Murder; then onto
the 39-min The Man With the Cigar in His Mouth - a 1997 documentary about Pietro Germi featuring interviews with his colleagues and collaborators including Mario Monicelli, Claudia Cardinale, Stefania Sandrelli, Giuseppe Tornatore among others, which was directed by Mario Sestoe, and finishing up with the 19-min What's Black and Yellow All Over? All Shades of Italian Film Noir - visual essay by Paul A. J. Lewis on the presence of noir trends in Italian cinema and the evolution of the genre.
The single-disc release arrives in a clear full-height Scanavo packaging with a Reversible Sleeve of Artwork, plus Radiance's signature Removable OBI Strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings if you so wish. Tucked away inside is a 16-page Illustrated Booklet featuring writing on the film by film historian/journalist Roberto Curti, The Facts of Murder and Hybridization of Italian Cinema plus cast and crew info, transfer notes, acknowledgement and release credits.
Special Features:
- New 4K restoration of the film by L'Immagine Ritrovata at the Cineteca di Bologna, world premiere on High Definition Blu-ray (1080p)
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- New interview with Pietro Germi expert Mario Sesti (2023) (46:36)
- The Man With the Cigar in His Mouth - a documentary about Pietro Germi featuring interviews with his colleagues and collaborators including Mario Monicelli, Claudia Cardinale, Stefania Sandrelli, Giuseppe Tornatore among others (Mario Sesti, 1997) (38:51)
- What's Black and Yellow All Over? All Shades of Italian Film Noir - visual essay by Paul A. J. Lewis on the presence of noir trends in Italian cinema and the evolution of the genre (2023) (18:40)
- 16-page Illustrated Booklet featuring writing on the film by film historian/journalist Roberto Curti, The Facts of Murder and Hybridization of Italian Cinema plus cast and crew info, transfer notes, acknowledgement and release credits.
Screenshots from the Radiance Films Blu-ray:
