{"id":29589,"date":"2024-09-25T02:17:33","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T09:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=29589"},"modified":"2024-09-25T02:17:33","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T09:17:33","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-a-man-on-his-knees-1979","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=29589","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: A MAN ON HIS KNEES (1979)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films is now\navailable.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned in previous reviews, Radiance Films is doing a\nwonderful job of finding older international titles and introducing (or, in\nsome cases, reintroducing) them to cinephiles. Italy is a country that has\nproduced several mob-related movies, but A Man on His Knees<\/em> aka Un\nUomo in Ginocchio<\/em> from Damiano Damiani (The Reunion, The Case is Closed,\nForget It, Mafia, Goodbye & Amen<\/em>) is one that completely passed me by.\nI had never heard of it, and that\u2019s unfortunate, because it\u2019s an incredibly\ncompelling and effective crime movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Radiance Films is making it available to anyone who is\ninterested (and frankly, you should be). Their \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray marks\nthe first high-definition release of the movie anywhere in the world. The\npicture quality is excellent and has been sourced from a 4K restoration taken\nfrom the original camera negative. While the fact that this is available at all\nis something to be grateful for, like other titles from the distributor, it\nalso contains excellent extras that provide further insight into the filmmaker\nand the background of the production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story is set in Palermo, Sicily and introduces viewers\nto troubled protagonist Nino Peralta (Guiliano Gemma). He\u2019s an ex-con\nattempting to go straight after serving a couple of years in prison for\nstealing cars (which were sold on the black market). Now operating his own\ndowntown coffee stand, the man\u2019s focus is on providing for his wife Lucia\n(Eleonora Giorgi) and kids. Unfortunately, his past catches up with him in an\nunexpected manner after a kidnapping and murder plot takes place in the building\nbehind his business. Everyone, from the cops, to some members of warring mob\nfamilies, believe that Nino served as some kind of informant and was involved\nin the crime. When hitman Platamona (Michele Placido) appears in town to\neliminate a series of targets, Nino begins to believe he might be on the list.\nHe talks with his best pal Colicchia (Tano Cimarosa) about what to do next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is an incredibly tense drama about the mob and their\ncontrol over an entire community of people, including both criminals and the\ninnocent. When Nino sets out to talk with mobsters and ask for them to clear\nhis name, they aren\u2019t interested in helping and further incriminate the lead\nwhen they are murdered. As things get more desperate and the protagonist tries\nto confront the hitman, he doesn\u2019t get a straight answer. The\nless-than-trustworthy figure asks for a hefty payment to talk to his employers\nand, should Nino be on the list, try to have his name scratched off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As Nino spends more time with the secretive Platamona, things become even more tense. The lead considers selling his business and losing everything in the process, but keeping his life in order to provide for the kids. He also considers dying, but realizes that the mob or others will likely take his business anyway. The option to return to a life of stealing vehicles is also considered (which may not get him off the hook), but goes poorly. More and more complications arise over the course of the story as it builds to a chilling and violent climax. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The walls always feel like they\u2019re closing around Nino with\nno means of escape. The feature shows just how interconnected the mob is with\nnot only the criminal underworld but the general public, and the effects that\none Don\u2019s random whim has on crooks under duress, as well as average people and\nthe families of the individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The photography is also top-notch, with real locations that\nfeature crumbling walls and gray skies. Nino and the other characters appear to\nbe walking down streets and passing by random locals, adding to the\nauthenticity of the story. The well lived-in apartments also assist in\nmaintaining a realistic tone to the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When events play out, the results are somewhat unexpected\nand result in a few nasty and very ugly confrontations. Nino boldly plots a way\nout to safety, but things don\u2019t necessarily go according to plan. It\u2019s a grim\nstory, but one that makes a lasting impact. In fact, it is rather incredible\nthat the movie isn\u2019t better known in this part of the world, as its themes are\nrelatable and the story is consistently taut from beginning to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The image quality on this Blu-ray is very impressive,\ncapturing all kinds of impressive background details like the distinctive\narchitecture of Palermo. This is a high-quality transfer that looked wonderful\nwhen the Blu-ray was upconverted on a 4K Ultra HD player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extra features also provide plenty of facts about the movie.\nThere is an interview with a film historian who wrote a book on director\nDamiani. He details all of the filmmaker\u2019s mob-related pictures and notes the\nchanges in Damiani\u2019s feelings that occurred over time. While early pictures\nwere a little more sympathetic towards gangsters, Damiani began to note all of\nthe unpleasant and far-reaching effects of the Sicilian mob and wanted to\nportray this. The themes of the picture and the behavior of the characters are\nall discussed, including the slimy, manipulative assassin and the unexpected\nindividuals assisting him. The expert also notes that this movie wasn\u2019t\ninitially popular with the public during its original release, but keeps\ngaining acclaim and a bigger fanbase as the years pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are also a pair of great archival interviews with star\nGiuliano Gemma as well as one with the assistant director. Both note that\nDamiani was very determined to capture a realistic vibe. So, in some of the\nwide shots featuring the actors walking through markets and other busy locales,\nthe cameramen hid and, from a distance, shot the actors moving through real\ncrowds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The star notes that the production built an actual working\ncoffee stand for the film. Once or twice, random people would appear and order\ndrinks from him. The actor obliged, serving them and stating the beverages were\n\u201con the house\u201d. He considered these experiences helpful for his performance.\nUltimately, it all worked well, as Gemma won the Italian equivalent of a Best\nActor Oscar for his work in the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A trailer is also included in the package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, like other Blu-rays from Radiance Films, the case\nincludes a reversible sleeve featuring new and original artwork for the movie\nand a booklet with an essay on the film and its importance in Italian cinema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I was blown away by A Man on His Knees<\/em>. It manages to\ntell a story about the mob from a new perspective and delivers its message in a\nterrifying way. One can completely understand the lead character and the\nturmoil he and his family are randomly put through by horrible characters\n(including some who have been placed in a similar boat). It\u2019s a powerful movie\nthat continues to resonate. The disc is also exceptional and anyone who\nappreciates international cinema or mobster movies is advised to pick this\nBlu-ray up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films is now available. As mentioned in previous reviews, Radiance Films is doing a wonderful job of finding older international titles and introducing (or, in some cases, reintroducing) them to cinephiles. Italy is a country that has produced several mob-related movies, but A Man on His Knees aka Un […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":29596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[110,490,491,492,2933,2949,4910,5077,8715,13862,14123,15658,16584,18368,19574,23486],"class_list":["post-29589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-110","tag-a-man-on-his-knees","tag-a-man-on-his-knees-blu-ray-review","tag-a-man-on-his-knees-review","tag-blasts-from-the-past-2","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-reviews","tag-crime","tag-damiano-damiani","tag-guiliano-gemma","tag-michele-placido","tag-mobster","tag-palermo","tag-radiance-films","tag-sicily","tag-tano-cimarosa","tag-un-uomo-in-ginocchio"],"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\/29589","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=29589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29589\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}