{"id":26970,"date":"2023-09-06T00:32:26","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T07:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=26970"},"modified":"2023-09-06T00:32:26","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T07:32:26","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-borsalino-1970","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=26970","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: BORSALINO (1970)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray is now available from\nArrow Video.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When you think of gangster movies, old James Cagney titles\nsuch as Public Enemy<\/em> or epics like The Godfather<\/em> and Goodfellas<\/em>\nmay initially come to mind. Yet other countries have been producing them for\njust as long. This week, Arrow Video is releasing a high-profile French title\nabout the very same subject. Borsalino<\/em> was a major box office success in\nits homeland, but the US release (through Paramount Pictures) was much less\nwell-received both critically and commercially. The movie has been hard to find\nfor some time, but now Arrow Video is now presenting it on Blu-ray with a sharp\npicture and a few wonderful extras that help place the film in context within\nits genre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set in mob-run Marseille, France in 1930, the story begins\nwith low-level gangster Roch Siffredi (Alain Delon) being released from prison.\nWhen he discovers that his old girlfriend Lola (Catherine Rouvel) has taken up\nwith another small-time hood named Francois Capella (Jean-Paul Belmondo), he\nimmediately confronts his romantic competitor. After a brief fight, the two end\nup becoming friends and partner up. Initially, the pair have fun fixing races,\nas well as helping a client exert control over the local fish market. They are\nsoon noticed by Merello (Arnoldo Foa) and Poli (Andre Bollet), the two crime\nbosses who run the city. As Siffredi and Capella\u2019s stars rise in the business\nand their ambitions grow, violence erupts and the two go to war against their\ncompetitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The movie boasts an unusual combination of dark humor and\nserious drama. Early sections are breezy as the two leads get to know one\nanother and pull off amusing scams (like causing chaos at the aforementioned\nfish market). It\u2019s all a bit leisurely-paced early on, but the approach allows\nfor each character to show their distinctive personalities. Siffredi is serious\nand in many respects icy and desperate for power, while Capella is a charming\nschmoozer more interested in living the high life and romancing ladies than\nbeing all-powerful and controlling the underworld. Both leads get the\nopportunity to make their mark and play well off of each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, the tone shifts as the leads raise the ire of Poli and Capella. The lives of Siffredi and Capella are put in mortal danger, resulting in tense moments as hitmen come after them. The stunts and action are impressively captured and there is even a moment or two that will remind viewers of The Godfather<\/em> (which arrived at theaters in 1972). A shootout in a slaughterhouse is extremely exciting and visually striking, with gunfire and killings set against the backdrop of a meat locker engulfed in flames. Tension even rises between Siffredi and Capella as one figure begins to suspect that the other is making big moves without consulting him. As with other gangster pictures, these leads do lose their innocence and \u201cjoie de vivre\u201d after finding success and the movie closes on a downbeat but appropriate note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is a very good film and I enjoyed it immensely. The characters are well-drawn, the sets and costumes are lavish and, when it arrives, the action is rousing. But it is the second half where the picture really finds its stride and delivers on its promise. As such, one can see why American audiences may have been confused and taken aback by the movie. The reason for the unique approach is abundantly clear after investigating the bonuses. However, to viewers unfamiliar with legendary French stars Delon and Belmondo, the drawn-out, low-key, humorous fist fight at the beginning of the film wouldn\u2019t have made an impression. It\u2019s actually easy to see how US audiences looking for traditional gangster thrills would have had much harder time getting on this film\u2019s wavelength than French or European crowds might have. Still, it\u2019s a winner that delivers the goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As for bonuses, the first is a wonderful commentary track\nfeaturing film scholar Josh Nelson, whose details about the production history\nreally put everything in its proper context. He explains just how big Delon and\nBelmondo were at the time. Delon shepherded this project to the big screen,\nproducing it himself and requesting Belmondo sign on until the co-star\neventually agreed. The two had never co-headlined a movie and the filmmakers\nmade sure to maximize and elongate scenes playing their distinctly different\nscreen personalities off of each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He also goes into Paul Carbone and Francois Spirito, the\nreal-life gangsters who inspired the feature. Their story is even more wild\nthan the one presented in the film, as the commentary details their history,\nlengthy criminal activities and how they met their end. These individuals were\nnasty and cruel, lacking any of the charm of the characters in the movie, but\ntheir true story is fascinating to hear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nelson then details rumors about Alain Delon\u2019s personal\nconnection to members of the Corsican mob and how the actor\/producer came to an\nagreement with them that allowed the production to go forward. It seems that\nthe film was originally written as a direct biopic and Delon ultimately agreed\nto change the names of the main characters as well as the title on their\nrequest. That is, in part, why the final name of the movie is simply Borsalino<\/em>\n(which is the brand name of the popular fedora hats worn by gangsters of the\nera).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If that wasn\u2019t interesting enough, Delon and Belmondo fell\nout and stopped speaking to each other just before the film\u2019s premiere and a\nlawsuit followed that threatened the success of the picture. This was due to a\nmajor dispute about a series of posters Delon approved for the movie\u2019s release\nthat ignored specifications in Belmondo\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As if that wasn\u2019t enough, Nelson\u2019s examination of the\nunderlying themes of the picture are equally engaging, examining the genre as a\nwhole and why it continues to captivate viewers. He notes interviews with other\nfilmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather<\/em> series) who note\nthat these titles are prime examples of literal cutthroat capitalism at its\nworst and the drama that ensues between characters who are trapped in this\nworld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, there\u2019s an enlightening interview with film\nscholar Elizabeth Castaldo Lund\u00e9n, who looks at the movie’s costumes and\ndetails how little wardrobe differences identify specific character traits. And\nthere\u2019s another featurette all about the distinctive score for the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another impressive extra is a special piece on Jean-Paul\nBelmondo and his later titles. While Belmondo was known as both a dramatic and\ncomedic actor, he soon focused on action movies throughout the 1970s and 1980s.\nApparently, he did his own stunts in many of these pulse-pounding thrillers,\nearning admiration from the likes of Jackie Chan and other movie heroes. Clips\nof some of his biggest stunts are shown, including several from a 1975 flick\ncalled The Night Caller<\/em> aka Fear Over the City<\/em>. Inspired by\naction titles of the era like The French Connection<\/em> (but with even\nwilder and more elaborate action sequences), Belmondo plays a cop who goes\nrogue while hunting down a serial killer. Arrow Video, you need to release this\ntitle on Blu-ray as soon as the opportunity arises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, a trailer, image gallery, reversible sleeve with\nnew and original artwork, as well as a double-sided poster with the same images\nare included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Borsalino<\/em> is a highly underrated picture that shows\nthat any country can deliver a stirring mob tale. It has its own quirky\npersonality that slowly charms the viewer before effectively delivering on its\npromise of excitement and personal drama. The Blu-ray itself is incredible,\nfeaturing extras that really help the viewer understand what was happening both\nin-front of the camera and behind-the-scenes. Anyone who collects movies about\nthe mob would be well-advised to pick this release up!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray is now available from Arrow Video. When you think of gangster movies, old James Cagney titles such as Public Enemy or epics like The Godfather and Goodfellas may initially come to mind. Yet other countries have been producing them for just as long. This week, Arrow Video is releasing a high-profile […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":26976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26970\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}