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Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: July 16, 2013.
Director: Mario Bava
Cast: Riccardo Cucciolla, George Eastman
Year: 1974/2002
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The Movie:
The plot of Mario Bava's Rabid Dogs (or, if you prefer, Kidnapped, which is how it is presented here) is deceptively simple. In short, a trio of men (Maurice Poli, Aldo Caponi and Luigi Montefiori) who attempt a daring robbery of a payroll truck hijacks a car and its drive, Riccardo (Riccardo Cucciolla) after they screw up their getaway plan. They bring with them a female hostage named Maria (Lea Lander) and force the man to drive them out of the city, really giving him no choice but to comply. Complicating the matter is the fact that the man also has a very sick boy with him who is in dire need of medical attention. As the road trip progresses, tensions start to rise with the various people inside the vehicle caught in a game of wits until it all boils up to a shocking conclusion.
In order to fully appreciate the movie one has to first understand where Bava was at around the time that the film was made. His last picture, Lisa And The Devil, was a very personal project that wound up a complete disaster from a financial standpoint and the last few film's he'd made prior to that hardly set the box office on fire. It was as if Bava's style had gone out of style and so the director decided that for his next project he needed to go in a very different direction. Casting problems and budgetary restraints plagued the production but photography was finished on schedule but by then, it didn't matter. The production had gone bankrupt and the rough cut of the movie that Bava had assembled was confiscated and there it sat, unfinished, until Lea Lander eventually rescued the work print from the producer's creditors years later. By the time this happened, Bava had passed away from a heart attack at the age of sixty-five. Lander and Mario's son, Lamberto Bava, used Mario's original script and shot an opening scene for the picture and then scored and pieced together using the materials that they had available. The results of this project saw the light of day on a DVD released by the long defunct Lucertola which was only in print a short time and then after that through Anchor Bay. If that weren't enough, a few years ago in 2002 Lamberto and longtime Bava producer Alfredo Leone decided that the Rabid Dogs cut wasn't good enough so they took it all back to the editing room once more, added in some different footage and completely rescored the film. This new version of the film was titled Kidnapped.
So how is the movie? The Rabid Dogs cut, which is not included here, is a dirty, tense and very mean spirited film but at the heart of it all is an extremely well written and tightly directed story made all the more interesting by some very believable performances. It's a very strong film that doesn't pull any punches and that features one of the best and most effective twist endings in crime movie history. You can feel these characters sweat as the tension builds amongst them and Bava seems to be controlling every facet of their development very, very tightly. Everything feels very bitter and very angry here and while it certainly doesn't make for happy viewing, the results are nothing short of compelling. While the cinematography is still top notch, it's nothing like the painterly visuals that Mario Bava was known for; instead it feels dirtier and as such is very much in keeping with the tone of the story. It's a very low-fi film, there aren't really any effects set pieces and the bulk of the movie simply takes place inside a car (not an easy task - for proof of this see the recent Penny Dreadful!).
Those who haven't seen the Rabid Dogs can claim that ignorance is bliss, but those familiar with the old Lucertola release will no doubt prefer the Rabid Dogs cut to the Kidnapped cut. Differences are fairly minor but they should be noted. First and foremost is the fact that composer Stelvio Cipriani did finish some music that was used in Rabid Dogs but never really came close to finishing his work on the film. This has changed with the Kidnapped edit, and here Cipriani brings much more to the film than he did in the rough cut, for better or worse. Some scenes are missing, such as the pinball scene, but it also adds some bits and pieces in the form of some more recently shot material courtesy of Lamberto. Most of these scenes add nothing, but nor do they really hurt the film save for a bit tacked on to the ending. In its rough cut, the ending of Rabid Dogs hurts. It's a completely effective sucker punch and it makes you feel something. By adding to this and slapping some additional footage on (the vagueness is intentional here to avoid spoilers), the film has effectively had its balls cut off. It's a shame that for whatever reason, be it a rights issue or licensor Alfredo Leone's personal preference, that only the Kidnapped version has been brought to Blu-ray.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Kidnapped looks really good on Blu-ray in AVC encoded 1080p high definition framed at 1.85.1 widescreen. Those who have seen the film before on DVD will definitely notice the improvement here. The framing looks very good here and close up shots show nice facial detail and very lifelike skin tones, no trace of waxiness here at all even if some scenes do look a bit soft. The elements used for the transfer were obviously in pretty nice shape as there isn't much at all in the way of serious print damage. No obvious edge enhancement or filtering has been applied here, and we wind up with another film like offering that improves on pretty much all aspects of previous DVD releases. Contrast also appears more natural here, and the picture has some good depth to it.
The only audio option on the disc is an LPCM Mono track in Italian with optional subtitles provided in English only. This isn't a particularly exciting track but for an older Mono mix, it leaves little room for complaint. The levels are nicely balanced, the dialogue is easy enough to understand and whatever hiss does make it into the mix is minimal. The score sounds good as well, it's got some nice push and momentum behind it when the movie asks for it during some of the more tense scenes. This isn't a fancy mix but it suits the movie just fine.
The Anchor Bay DVD release included a Tim Lucas commentary and a featurette entitled
End Of The Road: The Making Of Rabid Dogs And Kidnapped. Neither of those has been carried over to this Blu-ray, and extras this time around are limited to a collection of trailers for Mario Bava titles currently being handled by Kino, menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
At the risk of writing a review that focuses on what the disc isn't rather than what it is, the omission of the Rabid Dogs cut is a pretty glaring one, as is the lack of extra features. As it stands right now, this is the only high definition version available, and the improvement in both the audio and video departments is appreciated, but obviously those who prefer the original version of the movie are out of luck here. A shame, as this is one of Bava's most interesting films, a brutal and relentless exercise in what sometimes feels like an exercise in effectively minimalist filmmaking.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
