Verdict
Summary
An early Italian polizieschi dramatic thriller with a devastating core that gives it a considerable relevance, Confessions of a Police Captain packs a punch that has a cynical power that should still resonate. Balsam, in particular, really “brings it” to the table with his gritty, no-nonsense performance, and Nero provides the stalwart support. Director Damiano Damiani directed.
Radiance Films brings Confessions of a Police Captain to a limited edition (3000 units) Blu-ray in a strong 2K restoration. Bonus features include an interview with Nero and supporting actors and contributors to the film, as well as a booklet, a reversible sleeve, and more. This one is numbered #165 on the spine.
Plot:
A district attorney presses in on his investigation of a police captain who may either be corrupt or a vigilante.
Review:
Police captain Bonavia (Martin Balsam) has seen it all in Palermo, where the mob run things outside the law, including recruiting corrupt police officers and destroying all the good and righteous men in the city. When Bonavia has an unhinged criminal released from a mental institution, the convict, who has a motive for going after the top Mafioso in the city, heads straight for the Mafioso and creates a massacre, shooting and killing a handful of people, but unfortunately the convict is killed before he can kill the mobster. This creates a stir; the city’s district attorney Traini (Franco Nero) investigates the entire situation, starting with why Bonavia had the man released from incarceration in the first place. Traini, an incorruptible man, believes Bonavia may have had ulterior motives for what he did, and as he presses into the police captain and his way of doing things, he uncovers a very unconventional approach to the way Bonavia has been operating. Is he corrupt? Or is he a vigilante, using people (such as the mentally unstable convict) to get rid of the Mafia trash in the city? When Traini gets close enough to build a case against the police captain with evidence to put the captain in prison, Bonavia goes rogue and commits murder in plain sight, ensuring that he’ll go to prison for life, which will be short-lived if he ever sees the inside of a prison’s walls.
An early Italian polizieschi dramatic thriller with a devastating core that gives it a considerable relevance, Confessions of a Police Captain packs a punch that has a cynical power that should still resonate. Balsam, in particular, really “brings it” to the table with his gritty, no-nonsense performance, and Nero provides the stalwart support. Director Damiano Damiani directed.
Radiance Films brings Confessions of a Police Captain to a limited edition (3000 units) Blu-ray in a strong 2K restoration. Bonus features include an interview with Nero and supporting actors and contributors to the film, as well as a booklet, a reversible sleeve, and more. This one is numbered #165 on the spine.
