Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973–1977 from Arrow

[Akijama]

Rehttps://www.diabolikdvd.com/product/...-ray-preorder/

Description
”The 1970s were a time of intense uncertainty and instability in Italy. Political corruption and widespread acts of left and right-wing terrorism, alongside a breakdown in social cohesion and a loss of trust in public institutions such as the government and police, created a febrile atmosphere of cynicism, paranoia and unexploded rage. Throughout this period, these sentiments found expression in a series of brutal, often morally ambiguous crime thrillers which tapped into the atmosphere of violence and instability that defined the so-called Years of Lead.

This box set gathers five films from the heyday of the “poliziotteschi” – the umbrella term used to describe this diverse body of films. In Vittorio Salerno’s Savage Three (1975) and Mario Imperoli’s Like Rabid Dogs (1976), random acts of violence committed by vicious young sociopaths threaten the fragile fabric of respectable society. In Massimo Dallamano’s Colt 38 Special Squad (1976) and Stelvio Massi’s Highway Racer (1977), renegade cops battling against red tape and political corruption turn to new and morally dubious methods to dispense justice. Finally, class dynamics are explored in Salerno’s No, the Case is Happily Resolved (1973) as an innocent man finds himself under suspicion for a savage crime committed by a highly respected member of society.

Decried by critics for their supposedly fascistic overtones, the poliziotteschi were in fact more ideologically varied and often considerably more nuanced than such superficial readings would suggest, and proved a huge hit with theatergoers, who responded to their articulation of present-day social concerns. Featuring an impressive line-up of Euro-cult stars, including Joe Dallesandro (The Climber), Ivan Rassimov (Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key), Maurizio Merli (Violent City) and Enrico Maria Salerno (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), this collection of stylish, hard-hitting Euro-crime thrillers showcases the range and breadth of the genre and is a must-have for newcomers and grizzled veterans alike.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

– 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

– Original lossless mono Italian audio

– Original lossless mono English audio on Colt 38 Special Squad

– English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks

– Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack on Colt 38 Special Squad

– New visual essay by critic Will Webb

– Interview with director Vittorio Salerno and actress Martine Brochard on Savage Three

– Interview with actor Joe Dallesandro on Savage Three

– Interview with cinematographer Romano Albani and historian Fabio Melelli on Like Rabid Dogs

– Interview with assistant director Claudio Bernabei on Like Rabid Dogs

– Like Rabid Dogs music sampler

– Interview and introduction by composer Stelvio Cipriani on Colt 38 Special Squad

– Interview with editor Antonio Siciliano on Colt 38 Special Squad

– Interview with historian Roberto Curti on Highway Racer

– Interview with director Vittorio Salerno on No, the Case is Happily Resolved

– No, the Case is Happily Resolved alternate ending

– Trailers

– Poster galleries

– Reversible sleeves featuring original artwork for all five films

– Booklet featuring new writing by Troy Howarth, Michael Mackenzie, Rachael Nisbet, Kat Ellinger and James Oliver”

THIS IS A PREORDER DISC THAT IS DUE TO BE RELEASED ON OR ABOUT 6/22/21

ALL ITEMS ORDERED TOGETHER WILL BE CHARGED AT THE TIME OF THE ORDER

AND SHIP TOGETHER WHEN EVERYTHING IS IN STOCK. PLEASE PLACE MULTIPLE

ORDERS IF YOU WISH TO HAVE ITEMS SHIPPED AS THEY ARRIVE

WE ONLY OFFER STORE CREDIT FOR THE CANCELLATION OF ANY PREORDER

ALL DETAILS, INCLUDING RELEASE DATE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

[DukeTogo84]

Bit confused by the wording, but does Colt 38 Special Squad have the Italian audio or is it just English?

EDIT: NM, Arrow's website mentions all 5 have Italian audio.

[Member-222782]

This sounds like a great release but I'll wait until there's a better-organized list of specs for each film and pics of individual art/box art before I take it all in.

[whysleep]

Two films per disc sounds less than optimal, and it's odd how the exclusive Colt 38 wasn't the one to get a disc all for itself.

[pixote]

If this is spread across 3 discs how can they have reversible sleeves with original artwork for all 5 movies?

[whysleep]

Originally Posted by pixote

If this is spread across 3 discs how can they have reversible sleeves with original artwork for all 5 movies?

Two reversible artworks, for you to chose which of the two movies on the disc to prioritize. But you'll only be able to display three artworks at a time.

[pixote]

Originally Posted by whysleep

Two reversible art works, for you to chose which of the two movies on the disc to prioritize. But you'll only be able to display three artworks at a time.

But none of the covers in the photo are original posters and there’s 5 of them, where are the other 5 getting printed?

[whysleep]

Originally Posted by pixote

But none of the covers in the photo are original posters and there’s 5 of them, where are the other 5 getting printed?

I'd assume the five covers on the photo are all there is, with two of them being reversible.

[DukeTogo84]

Arrow is pretty good with compression. The Sister Street Fighter set looked great and there was one disc that had three movies n it.

[HuggyBear73]

How's ..CASE RESOLVED?

That's the only one I haven't seen?

I wasn't too crazy about the others.

[crikan]

Bummer. I got excited thinking we're getting 5 new Euro-crime films only to find I already have 4 of them. And I'll likely buy this box just for one film.

[DukeTogo84]

Trailer is up

Years of Lead Official Trailer - YouTube

[jjk]

Gotta love Diabolik's early shipping on Arrow ...

Items shipped via USPS on June 10, 2021 with tracking number xxx
As a reminder, here are your order details:
Product
Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973–1977 (Limited Edition Arrow US) (Blu-Ray) Preorder

[McWestern]

Man, Arrows trailers are really looking really good. The ads they did for this "Battle Royale" and "The Daimijin Trilogy" are top notch. I dig the subtitles for all the information. I've only seen Highway Racer but I really want to check out Massimo Dallmano's Colt 38 Special Squad a movie I've been trying to track down for a few years. Excited to see Diabolik is shipping so I won't have to wait too much longer.

[hanshotfirst1138]

A little off-topic, but where would one find Krimis on DVD in English or with subs?

[slybone]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

A little off-topic, but where would one find Krimis on DVD in English or with subs?

I’ll admit that I am no expert at all on the genre, in fact I only have one Krimi title on DVD that I know of, “The Dead Eyes of London” from Alpha Video, in English language, no dubs or subs. It’s available fairly cheaply here: https://www.oldies.com/product-view/4330D.html or I see that it’s available to stream on YouTube for free, I would imagine that there are other Krimi films on YT also.

My only other exposure to the genre is from the bonus DVD disc from Severin’s “All the Colors of Giallo” set. That DVD has a Krimi trailer compilation (which looks to be a great sampling of the genre) plus a featurette on the genre.

Hope that helps!

[amputd]

Looks good.

https://insidepulse.com/2021/06/08/b...ers-1973-1977/

[jcs913]

Posted this in the Arrow thread, but might be helpful in here..

Finished my Lead set off yesterday. The first 4 movies in the set absolutely kick ass!! The last film (No, the case is happily resolved) ...not so much. I would almost be tempted, but technically would be wrong and say it is not a true poliziotteschi. It just didn't check some boxes I like out of the genre. The other 4, especially Highway Racer, which is one I have seen before, are genre defining efforts. Great stunts, chases, violence, sleaze, etc... If I got a little more out of the last film, this may be favorite Arrow box set of all-time. But it's still right up near the top. Fantastic PQ/AQ as expected from Arrow. Enjoy folks..

[Ben_C]

Originally Posted by amputd

Looks good.

https://insidepulse.com/2021/06/08/b...ers-1973-1977/

“All the transfers are rather top notch for films from the ’70s”

That’s all we get with regards to PQ from that review? Jeez.

[Member-222782]

I would've gotten my set today but the bumbling USPS sent it to Warrendale, clear across Pennsylvania near the Ohio border lol (I'm in NYC). Not really a big deal but the longer these packages are out there, the more chances for damage or worse, getting permanently lost.