Illustrious Corpses
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Synopsis
When a series of Supreme court judges are murdered, inspector Rogas (Lino Ventura, Army of Shadows) is sent to discover the truth. A procedural noir soon turns into a labyrinthine conspiracy thriller as corruption and institutional power converge. An investigative mystery by a titan of the form, Francesco Rosi’s (The Mattei Affair) urgent adaptation of Leonardo Sciascia’s (The Day of the Owl) novel is set to a haunting score by Piero Piccioni (The Tenth Victim) and features legendary stars Charles Vanel (The Wages of Fear), Max von Sydow (The Exorcist) and Fernando Rey (The French Connection).
Picture 9/10
Radiance presents Francesco Rosi’s political thriller Illustrious Corpses on Blu-ray, delivering the film on a dual-layer disc in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The 1080p/24Hz high-definition presentation is sourced from a 4K restoration carried out by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata, scanned from the original 35mm negative.
The film was previously released on Blu-ray in North America by Kino using the same restoration. I haven’t seen that disc myself, but based on screen captures I was able to look at online, it appears to exhibit the familiar Ritrovata look, namely, that heinous yellow-green tint that plagues far too many of their restorations. Happily, Radiance appears to have corrected for this, and the colors here look markedly better. The image still leans a bit in that direction, but without tipping into that sickly green cast, resulting in something that feels more photographic and appropriate to the period. Blues actually exist, with skies reading properly blue, skin tones look far less jaundiced, and whites are convincingly white rather than piss-yellow. Black levels are generally strong as well, though some darker sequences can appear a bit mushy, likely more a limitation of the original photography than the restoration itself.
The restoration work has otherwise been extremely thorough, scrubbing away damage and debris, but that would mean little if the encode weren’t up to the task. As is typical for Radiance, it absolutely is. Grain is rendered cleanly and consistently, detail levels are strong throughout, and the image never feels over-processed. Between the excellent encode and the significantly improved color grading, this ends up being a genuinely impressive new presentation of the film.
Illustrious Corpses - Screen Captures
Audio 6/10
The film’s monaural Italian soundtrack is presented in 2.0 lossless PCM, and it ends up sounding surprisingly good. Dialogue comes through clearly with decent range and fidelity, and there are some punchy louder moments, most notably the gunshots, which have real snap as the film’s unfortunate judges are taken out one by one. While some dubbing is inevitably apparent, it’s far less distracting than expected (and Rosi notes in an included interview that he generally preferred live sound to post-synced dialogue). All in all, a pleasantly surprising track.
Extras 8/10
Radiance packs in a strong slate of supplemental material, starting with Alex Cox’s audio commentary, originally recorded for the Kino release. While the track does peter out a bit as it approaches the climax, I nonetheless enjoyed it quite a lot overall. Cox points out how unusual the film is within Francesco Rosi’s body of work, likening it more to American conspiracy thrillers such as The Manchurian Candidate or Seven Days in May than Rosi’s more typical docudrama-style films. That said, he also highlights the director’s familiar thematic concerns and stylistic signatures, including the use of non-actors (if alongside well-known performers in this case).
Throughout the commentary, Cox discusses the film’s technical construction, plotting, and structure, carefully unpacking the evolving conspiracy while also grounding the film in Italy’s political climate of the period, including references to the “Years of Lead.” The track moves at a good pace and is densely packed with worthwhile observations, segueing smoothly from one topic to the next. That’s what makes it a bit odd when longer stretches of dead air begin creeping in toward the end, especially since the film’s conclusion invites comparison to another conspiracy thriller Cox is clearly fond of (having provided a rather bonkers interview for a Blu-ray release of that film), which he only mentions in passing here. Still, he does ultimately wrap things up well, reiterating what Rosi’s film is driving at and touching on its reception at the time of release.
A new 29-minute interview with Gaetana Marrone helps fill in some of the historical and critical gaps. She discusses Rosi’s career leading up to the film and how Illustrious Corpses differed from his earlier work, which includes the fact it was based on a very popular novel. Marrone also addresses how Italy’s political climate had shifted significantly between the book’s publication and the film’s release, particularly with regard to corruption and the growing influence of the mafia. She then turns her attention to specific scenes, the performances, and the film’s deliberately flat visuals.
Together, the two deliver on the academic angle, and are then supplemented by brief French television interview excerpts from around the time of the film’s release—one featuring Rosi alone, the other with Rosi and Ventura together—in which the director and star discuss the film’s subject matter and their collaboration. The disc rounds things out with the theatrical trailer and a stills gallery featuring international lobby cards, posters, and two production photos.
This limited edition also includes a 31-page booklet, opening with an essay from Michael Atkinson that situates the film alongside other politically charged and paranoia-driven works of the era (both in and outside of Italy). That’s followed by a reprinted essay by Rosi himself, along with an interview conducted by Andrée Tournès in which the director expands on his intentions, including his decision to anchor the narrative around an honest policeman and his reasons for altering the novel’s ending. As usual with Radiance, the booklet is packed with excellent material and strongly caps off the supplements for this release.
Closing
An excellent new edition, highlighted by a terrific new presentation.
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