Radiance Films head to Italy for WORLD NOIR VOL. 5 (review)

Radiance Films' fifth WORLD NOIR volume returns to post-war Italy for crime in the seedy underbelly.  In THE BANDIT, matinee idol Amedeo Nazzari returns from a German POW camp to a bombed out Turin and falls in with a gang of robbers lead by Anna Magnani.  In AGAINST THE LAW, Marcello Mastroianni is a young shop worker who smuggles currency on the side and becomes the prime suspect when a man carrying American dollars is found murdered.  In FOUR WAYS OUT, a quartet of desperate men (including Italian horror favorite Paul Muller) rob a football stadium and have to part ways while being chased by the cops, and each finds their own sad end in guilt and betrayal.  Behind the scenes Italian film fans will find the talents of Pietro Germi, Alberto Lattuada, and Federico Fellini early in their careers.

REVIEW LINK: Radiance Films (U.K.) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

WORLD NOIR VOL. 5 Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One - The Bandit:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.36:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Italian LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Interview with critic Fabio Melleli
• Interview with actor Amedeo Nazzari's daughter Evelina Nazzari
• Conversation between critic Fabio Melleli and Evelina Nazzari
• Interview with critic Christina Newland 
• Disc Two - Against the Law:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Italian LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Interview with Italian film expert Stephen Gundle
• Interview with critic Manuela Lazic 
• Disc Three - Four Ways Out:
• Italian Version (80 minutes):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Italian LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Italian Theatrical Trailer 
• English Version (75 minutes):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• English LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• English Theatrical Trailer 
• Interview with author and noir expert Imogen Sarah Smith
• Interview with critic Mario Sesti 
• Limited Edition of 3,000 copies presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases for each film and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings, reversible sleeves featuring newly designed artworks based on original posters, and an 80-page bound book including new writing from Roberto Curti, Pasquale Iannone, Beatrice Loayza and Farran Smith Nehme, plus archival writing from Mary P. Wood.