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Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero In Three Mafia Tales By Damiano Damiani Blu-Ray Review – Sometimes Crime Does Pay

By Dillon Gonzales
September 6, 2023
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The Day of the Owl stars Franco Nero as a police chief who, while investigating the death of a construction worker, goes up against corrupt officials and a ruthless mafia boss (Lee J. Cobb). Adapted from the celebrated novel by Leonardo Sciascia (Illustrious Corpses, Todo Modo), Day of the Owl was the book first to openly deal with organized crime in Sicily. A prestigious production, it was in the running for best film at the Berlin Film Festival and found wins at home in the David di Donatello Awards for Claudia Cardinale, Nero, Damiani, and Best Production.

Nero portrays a simple man thrown in jail for a misdemeanor in The Case is Closed: Forget It. Inside, he sees the grim reality of life behind bars, where the mafia controls everything. A powerful production with Nero in top form and supported by a strong cast including Riccardo Cucciolla (Rabid Dogs) and John Steiner (Tenebrae), the intensity of Damiani’s film places it among the finest prison dramas. Presented in Italian and for the first time with the original English dub.

In How to Kill a Judge, Nero plays filmmaker Giacomo Solaris, whose latest film features a judge corrupted by the mafia and who is later found murdered. The real judge the character is based on seizes the footage, but is later killed in the same way. Feeling a degree of responsibility, Solaris investigates, but as the assassinations increase around him, will he reach the source of the conspiracy? Full of twists and a fascinating meta-commentary on cinema through the film-within-the-film, Damiani points the camera at himself and the genre as he investigates the social impact of mafia violence, a fitting end to this survey of Damiani’s Cosa Nostra.

For thoughts on Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero In Three Mafia Tales By Damiano Damiani, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/mpIRV9Y4wVs?si=s15DPOsq53ZeGZIa&t=50]

Video Quality

The Day Of The Owl, The Case Is Closed: Forget It and How To Kill A Judge debut on Blu-Ray courtesy of Radiance Films with 2K restorations of the Original Camera Negative. These three films share many of the same qualities, so they will be discussed as a group with any notable differences pointed out. The first thing you will notice with all three films is how much care has been taken to deliver a practically perfect viewing experience. You may spot a few fleeting specks in these new transfers, but these restorations have ameliorated many of the biggest issues for a clean and consistent transfer for each of these.

The new transfers retain the natural grain structure which resolves favorably with no clumping or swarming even in the most potentially problematic backgrounds. Each transfer preserves the carefully crafted and impeccably executed cinematography. There is a world of subtle detail to be seen for the first time in the clothing, production design and natural environments. There is rarely any softness in the original photography thanks to the stable condition of the material. Colors are convincingly saturated with hues permeating the screen. The contrast is formidable in all environments with rich, stable highlights and no ugly instances of black crush. Even the shadowy moments in prison in The Case Is Closed: Forget It present some rewarding depth to the image. Radiance Films has delivered a mighty visual presentation which continues their streak of making our jaw drop.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray set comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mono track for The Day Of The Owl, and an LPCM 2.0 track for The Case Is Closed: Forget It and How To Kill A Judge. Each film is presented in the original Italian (with optional English subtitles) and an English dub (with optional English SDH subtitles). Although we always recommend sticking with the original language option, considering some actors like Lee J. Cobb are Americans dubbed over in Italian, some may want to hear these performances in English. No matter which route you go, all of these tracks handle the material admirably.

Dialogue always holds up with distinct clarity and without any signs of damage or distortion. Important exchanges never get overwhelmed by the sound effects or the score. These individual narratives allow for thoughtful deployment of environmental sounds and other textural elements. The scores created for these three features come through without signs of weakness. Every element appears to come through with an unparalleled fidelity and nearly nothing in the way of age-related wear and tear. You could not ask for more from Radiance Films.

Special Features

The first-pressing of the Radiance Films Blu-Ray box set of Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero In Three Mafia Tales By Damiano Damiani includes an 80-page book featuring new writing on the film by experts on the genre including Andrew Nette, Paul A. J. Lewis, Nathaniel Thompson. The on-disc special features are as follows:

The Day of the Owl

Italian Version (1:48:40) and English Version (1:43:11)

Franco Nero: A new 17-minute interview with star Franco Nero in which he discusses the sensibilities of director Damiano Damiani, his initial reason for turning down The Day of the Owl, some scary moments that were spawned by the film, memories of his fellow performers and more.

Franco Nero, Ugo Pirro, Lucio Trentini: A 27-minute archival documentary from 2006 in which Nero, screenwriter Ugo Pirro and production manager Lucio Trentini delve into the creation of this film, working with Damiani, the work of Claudia Cardinale and Lee J. Cobb, the reserved nature of the production and more. These interviews were filmed separately and stitched together.

Claudia Cardinale: A nearly 23-minute interview from 2017 which takes place in a taxi in which the legendary actress discusses her pride in being Italian, her early life, what it was like to work with various directors, memories of her famous co-stars and much more that gives a nice overview of her life.

Identity Crime-sis – An Italian Genre Finds Itself: A new 20-minute featurette in which filmmaker and Italian crime cinema expert Mike Malloy discusses the genre of Italian crime film, the period of transition that opened up the popularity of the genre, the different variants within the genre, the place of The Day of the Owl, the themes examined and much more that makes for a fun watch.

Casting Cobb – A Tale Of Two Continents: A new 33-minute video essay from filmmaker Howard Berger who discusses the transition of Lee J. Cobb into Italian cinema, the characteristics his characters often took on, how his mythos evolved with each role and more that is a treat for Cobb fans.

Trailer: The three-minute trailer is provided.

The Case Is Closed: Forget It

Franco Nero: A new 14-minute interview with star Franco Nero in which he discusses his character in The Case Is Closed: Forget It, memories of his fellow performers, working with real inmates, shooting on the prison set, the film’s reception and more.

Enrique Bergier, Corrado Solari and Antonio Siciliano: A 28-minute archival documentary from 2015 in which assistant director Enrique Bergier, actor Corrado Solari and editor Antonio Siciliano delve into the origins of the story from the original novel, the work of Franco Nero, warm personal memories from the production, the casting of the film, the dubbing of the picture and more.

Italy’s Cinematic Civil Conscience – An Examination of the Life and Works of Damiano Damiani: A new 36-minute video essay from critic Rachael Nisbet which provides a deep exploration of filmmaker Damiano Damiani, his early life and entry into art, recurring themes and motifs throughout his work, unusual entries in his filmography and more.

Trailer: The three-minute trailer is provided.

How To Kill A Judge

Franco Nero: A new 13-minute interview with star Franco Nero in which he discusses the adaptation of this film from the novel, the occasional duplicitous nature of producers, where this fits into the career of his friend and director Damiano Damiani, memories of his fellow performers, his work in the latter part of his career and more.

Lessons In Violence: A new 22-minute video essay from filmmaker David Cairns which provides an analysis of the filmmaking style of Damiano Damiani, recurring themes and motifs throughout his work, how How To Kill A Judge goes against genre conventions and more.

Alberto Pezzotta A new 35-minute interview with Alberto Pezzotta, author of Directed by Damiano Damiani, who explores the filmmaker’s contribution to Italian cinema, why he considers him to be underappreciated, the themes that flow throughout his career, his collaborations with Franco Nero and much more that is worthwhile.

Trailers: There is an English Trailer (3:42) and Italian Trailer (3:42) provided here.

Final Thoughts

Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero In Three Mafia Tales By Damiano Damiani is a really entertaining and diverse collection of films that show how a single topic can be explored in a multitude of equally compelling ways. There is no loss in quality between three tales, and Franco Nero reminds you why he became such a prolific player in international cinema. The supporting ensemble also proves to be a standout with figures such as Claudia Cardinale and Lee J. Cobb never failing to impress. Radiance Films has released a Blu-Ray set featuring a terrific A/V presentation and some wonderful special features. If you are a fan of crime films, you will not want to pass this up. Highly Recommended

Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero In Three Mafia Tales By Damiano Damiani is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Radiance Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.