Two years before his international, Oscar-winning sensation INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION
(1970), director Elio Petri directed this very offbeat horror effort, a strange
amalgam of experimental film, arthouse aesthetics and wacked-out gothic chiller,
which could only have been made at the tail-end of the ’60s (i.e., at the
height of the so-called “Psychedelic Era”).
In their continuing forays into the MGM vaults, Scream Factory have now
decided to revisit this riveting film on Blu-ray, in an edition which also
includes some illuminating extras.
Franco Nero stars as Leonardo Ferri, a talented avant-garde painter who
is, quite clearly, going through a mental breakdown and is suffering from a
number of nightmares, usually revolving around his lover and manager, Flavia (played
by Vanessa Redgrave, his long-time real-life main squeeze). On her half-hearted
and rather deceitful recommendation, Leonardo leaves the hustle’n’bustle of big
city life to set up shop out in the idyllic countryside at a rundown villa, a
place which he finds himself inexorably drawn too. However, instead of focusing
on his work here, he instead obsesses over the villa’s previous owner—as well
as a potentially spectral apparition on the premises—as his dreams and reality
collide and coalesce into a living nightmare…
The opening credits set the quirky, unconventional tone by immediately
drawing the viewer into the film’s skewed version of reality. Jump-cuts, scratches on the emulsion, erotic
artwork and random bits of film leader unspool against one of Ennio Morricone’s
more outlandish film scores; as Troy Howarth points out in his excellent
commentary, anyone expecting a conventional horror film will surely be
disappointed. Petri’s film is filled
with enigmas, which may—and probably will—confound
many viewers who are searching for a more standardly linear and coherent
narrative. Particularly perplexing is the first act, in which Nero’s character lapses
into and out of his various dream states, hallucinations and other inexplicable
situations (“I don’t know what’s happened to me! I’ve got to get away!”). There’s an interesting dynamic going on between
Nero and Redgrave as well, with Nero as the tortured, mentally-unstable artist
and Redgrave as the somewhat unscrupulous capitalist who doesn’t seem all that
concerned with her client’s / lover’s increasingly unhinged condition, just so
long as he keeps on painting. Although usually regarded as a ‘horror’ film—there
is a spooky séance which amps-up the
horror aspect considerably—Petri’s unique take on the material (based on
British author George Oliver Onions’ 1911 novel The Beckoning Fair One) is quite unusual, almost experimental in
nature and quite chaotic at times, qualities which definitely augment the
potency of Nero’s unbalanced character.
A QUIET PLACE IN THE COUNTRY (1968) first appeared on DVD in 2007 through the Italian
label Eagle Pictures, but as expected, the disc only had an Italian language
option. In 2011, MGM (through their “Made-On-Demand”
program) released it as a DVD-R, containing a very handsome 16x9 transfer which
retained the film’s original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio. Said disc also
featured the English-dubbed version (whereon both Nero and Redgrave each provided
their own post-synched voices), as well as an Italian-language version with
English subtitles too. Scream Factory’s Blu-ray is a welcome upgrade from MGM’s
now-obsolescent DVD-R edition, and the jump to HD is a noticeable improvement. In
spite of some speckles and instances of dirt here and there, it’s difficult to
gauge the immediate improvement during the film’s distinctive opening credits,
but it’s definitely sharper, with punchier colours. The DTS-HD MA mono audio also sounds clear
and free of distortion, and it only enhances Morricone’s highly unconventional
if wholly appropriate score.
Extras include the aforementioned feature-length audio commentary
courtesy of author and film historian Troy Howarth, who discusses all sorts of
details about the cast and personnel, as well as aspects of the film
itself. He talks about Onions’ novel (“a
classic of its kind”) and how director Mario Bava also expressed interest in adapting
it for the screen, but as Howarth points out, Bava thought that Petri’s film
(quote) “was quite beautiful” even though it bears little to Onions’ original
story. He goes on to discuss the characters’ various motivations, including
Nero’s (quote) “mental anguish” and Redgrave’s (quote) “real and selfless”
character motivations. It’s another excellent fact-filled commentary, and an
essential listen to help unravel the film’s rather labyrinthine structure. In Journey
into Madness (32m07s), an on-camera interview produced by Freak-O-Rama and
directed by Federico Caddeo, Franco Nero discusses his early years in the
business and how he was persuaded to star in Sergio Corbucci’s DJANGO (1966) at the insistence of
Petri; plus how shooting with Petri was (quote) “a great experience” and how
each of his films differ distinctly from one another. He also speaks warmly about his long
off-and-on relationship with Redgrave; relates some funny anecdotes about
painter Jim Dine, who was hired as a consultant to help Nero learn how to paint;
and Sergio Corbucci’s THE MERCENARY
(1968), which was originally slated for direction by Gillo Pontecorvo and was due
to star James Coburn in a role which ultimately went to Tony Musante. The interview concludes with Nero’s expressing
his reverence for Petri, including saying that “his movies will stay [i.e., be around] forever”.
Even if A QUIET PLACE IN THE COUNTRY may be a disorienting
and baffling viewing experience for some, it’s great to see most of Elio
Petri’s eccentric filmography finally
making its way to U.S. shores with the respect his films so thoroughly deserve,
of which Scream Factory’s newest Blu-ray is no exception. Order it from
DiabolikDVD or Amazon.
