| Notes | “You can’t backstab someone like Ugo Piazza! You’d better not even touch someone like Ugo Piazza!”
The first part in director Fernando Di Leo’s Milieu Trilogy, Milano Calibro 9 is a gritty, ultra-violent masterpiece and an essential entry in the canon of the poliziottesco sub-genre (Italian crime thriller).
Released after a three-year term in prison for a bungled robbery, Ugo Piazza plans to lead the straight life for a while. But no sooner is he back on the street than he’s picked up by a bunch of hoodlums under the employ of his former boss, 'the Americano’ – among them, the psychopathic Rocco – who are convinced that Ugo stole $300,000 from them. The gang forces Ugo to resume working for them in the hope that he’ll eventually lead them to their missing loot.
Eschewing the sleazier, more exploitative approach of some if its poliziotteschi peers, Milano Calibro 9 delivers an altogether more thoughtful approach to its subject matter - although Di Leo is not averse to show-stopping gun fights and long, lingering shots of the lovely Barbara Bouchet (Don't Toture a Duckling, The Black Belly of the Tarantula).
EXTRAS:
Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
Original Italian and English soundtracks in mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
Newly translated subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
Calibro 9 – 2004 making-of documentary featuring interviews with director Fernando Di Leo, stars Barbara Bouchet and Philippe Leroy, and others
Fernando Di Leo: The Genesis of the Genre – documentary charting the filmmaking career of the Milano Calibro 9 director
Scerbanenco Noir – a look at the work of Italian crime writer Georgio Scerbanenco, author of the original Milano Calibro 9 novel
Gastone Moschin audio interview
Italian Violenta - Matthew Holness, writer and star of cult series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, offers up an appreciation of Milano Calibro 9 and the Italian poliziotteschi sub-genre
US Trailer
Italian Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist |
