{"id":33403,"date":"2026-04-24T01:27:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T08:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=33403"},"modified":"2026-04-24T01:27:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T08:27:54","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-confessions-of-a-police-captain-1971","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=33403","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN (1971)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

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While I like to think that I have seen a great many pictures\nfrom around the world, I must officially thank Radiance Films for introducing\nme to a great many new ones\u2026 some of which I had never even heard about. Over\nthe past few years, the distributor has been digging deep into the career of\nItalian filmmaker Damiano Damiani, bringing attention to titles like The Day\nof the Owl, The Case is Closed: Forget It, How to Kill a Judge, Goodbye &\nAmen, <\/em>and A Man on His Knees<\/em> to name but a few. Typically, these\npictures were highly critical of extremist governments and their practices,\nexposing corruption among high-ranking officials and sometimes shocking\naudiences while doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, I was lucky enough to reconnect with an old friend\nfrom Italy, who actually brought up Damini in passing during a conversation.\nThe director\u2019s work is extremely well-respected across the ocean and has only\nrisen in esteem over the years. But were it not for all of these releases, I\nwouldn\u2019t have had much to say to my pal about the writer\/director. Thankfully,\nI could actually talk about some of Damiani\u2019s titles with him and not\ncompletely embarrass myself. So, once again, thank you Radiance Films.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, the distributor is presenting Confessions of a\nPolice Captain<\/em>, which was made during a particularly prolific period for\nthe moviemaker. It\u2019s another exceptional title that was a huge hit during its\noriginal release and is now rightly considered a classic in its homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The story is set in Palermo, Sicily, and introduces\nstraight-laced and idealistic state prosecutor, Deputy D.A. Traini (Franco\nNero). The Attorney-General of Italy assigns him to investigate a recent crime\nthat actually appears tied to a significant figure in the police force. It is\nrevealed that Captain Bonavia (Martin Balsam), who has a grudge against local\nland developer\/mobster\/union buster Ferdinando Dubrosio (Luciano Caternacci)\nmay have had an institutionalized man released from custody. This crazed figure,\nMichele Li Puma (Adolfo Lastretti), whose sister Serena (Marilu Tolo) once\ndated Dubrosio, sought revenge on the mobster for a past wrong, attempting to\nkill him. But the assassination attempt fails, with someone having tipped\nDubrosio off about the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Traini is forced to figure out the details of exactly what\nhappened and becomes determined to prosecute Captain Bonavia for the crime. He\nalso searches for Selena, who knows intimate details about Dubrosio\u2019s criminal\nactivities. While Bonavia tries to cover his own tracks, Dubrosio sends goons\nout to find witnesses to his past crimes and stop those who get too close to\nlearning about his brutal activities. Even Traini, who only seeks proper\njustice, finds his ideals being tested when he experiences subtle bribes that\nappear to be made in order to keep him passive in his investigation. The movie\nclimaxes with a major reveal about whom the snitch revealing information to\nDubrosio really was, which essentially ends any kind of high-mindedness the\nlead previously held about his work and those around him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a lot going on in the story and it\u2019s all\nimpressively delivered, as viewers see layers of corruption unveiled that rise\nhigher than initially anticipated. The movie also features incredible\nperformances from its cast, who are all at odds with each other and in constant\nconflict. Damiani\u2019s characters always seem a little more authentic and\nnaturalistic than other pictures from this era (he frequently used regular\npeople with the right look to play supporting characters in his films like cops\nor thugs), and that is the case again here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are also a couple of shocking moments, including the\nslaying of a very young witness, that linger in the memory. And for the first\ntime viewer, it\u2019s honestly difficult to predict exactly how things will pan\nout. The photography is great and the finale is impressively bleak, making a\nlasting impression on the viewer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who appreciate crime movies that delve into deeper\nsocietal issues within a country and its government, this is a wonderful film.\nIt delivers all you would hope to see in a crime picture, along with an added\nlayer of disillusionment and critique of those in power. The film really makes\nan impression, particularly in today\u2019s day and age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The picture on this Blu-ray is excellent. A 2K restoration\nwas delivered to Radiance Films, and while the disc may not contain the\ncrispest image ever committed to Blu-ray, the title looks better than ever. It\nis a very clean and clear picture with a few specs here and there, but no\nsignificant flaws and a minimum amount of natural grain. The exteriors of\nPalermo and the more remote areas in Sicily look quite impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As far as extras go, there is plenty of excellent material.\nThe first bonus is a lengthy interview with star Franco Nero, who discusses his\nworking relationship with Damiani and their three collaborations. He was cast\nearly on, and notes several big-name actors who were considered to play Captain\nBonavia. One was Anthony Quinn, whom Damiani didn\u2019t think properly understood\nthe role. Then came Ben Gazzara, who loved the script, but at the end of the\nday left as well. Martin Balsam eventually stepped in and took the part,\ncontinuing to appear in a number of Italian pictures afterward. Nero notes that\nBalsam was a wonderful collaborator and that his exceptional performance\ninspired him to try and match the actor\u2019s intensity. In the process, Nero\ndelivers one of his most memorable roles. Overall, the speaker tells great\nstories about his experiences and is wonderful to listen to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Actually, it seems that everyone on-set thought both Balsam\nand Nero were incredibly kind and generous performers. Co-star Michele Gammino\ndiscusses his work on the film and how he ended up getting involved with\nDamiani. Originally a voice-over actor, he had done dubbing work for Damiani on\nprevious pictures. The director took a liking to Gammino, stating that he was\ngoing to cast the voice-actor in his next project. The performer was shocked\nwhen the filmmaker not only kept his word, but continued casting him in\nsupporting roles on future projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film\u2019s editor, Antonio Siciliano, also discusses his\nworking relationship with Damiani. He talks about finding a specific rhythm for\nthe editing based on the performances and line delivery of actors in each\nscene. Since he was editing in Rome and the film was being shot in Sicily, he\nwould get daily cassette tapes from Damimi with instructions on which takes the\ndirector liked best. The editor was amused that in a couple of instances his\ndirector would simply complain on the tape about troubles he was experiencing\nduring the shoot. Siciliano also goes into the ending of the picture, noting\nthat he decided to edit it a few different ways, suggesting a particular finale\nfor the film that Damiani liked and ultimately okayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is also a lengthy appreciation of the film\u2019s composer\nRiz Ortolani (Don\u2019t Torture a Duckling, House on the Edge of the Park, Zeder<\/em>).\nThe music expert goes over Ortolani\u2019s career and the common elements in his\nscores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, there is a gallery of stills, posters and\nother promo material for the title. A booklet is also included, with detailed\nessays on the picture and its importance and relevance today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confessions of a Police Captain<\/em> is a remarkable film.\nIn fact, it\u2019s so strong that, over 55 years later, it\u2019s a surprise that no one\nin North America ever considered remaking it. But that\u2019s likely a good thing,\nas it\u2019s hard to imagine a revised version being as powerful as the original. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who appreciates Italian cinema should certainly pick\nit up. And who knows? Should you ever run into a movie enthusiast from this\npart of the world, you may even find yourself talking about it. Take it from\nme, it\u2019s best to get a drop on as many Damiani titles as you can so you know\nwhat to say!  In the end, this is a very important film in the country\u2019s\ncatalog and Radiance Films has done another excellent job with this \u201cLimited\nEdition\u201d Blu-ray.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films is now available for purchase. While I like to think that I have seen a great many pictures from around the world, I must officially thank Radiance Films for introducing me to a great many new ones\u2026 some of which I had never even heard about. Over the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[101,2933,2939,4731,4732,4733,4910,5077,7822,9907,10039,10042,13305,16212,16584,18368,22825],"class_list":["post-33403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-101","tag-blasts-from-the-past-2","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-2","tag-confessions-of-a-police-captain","tag-confessions-of-a-police-captain-blu-ray-review","tag-confessions-of-a-police-captain-review","tag-crime","tag-damiano-damiani","tag-franco-nero","tag-investigation","tag-italian","tag-italy","tag-martin-balsam","tag-police","tag-radiance-films","tag-sicily","tag-thriller"],"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\/33403","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=33403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33403\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}