Steven Seighman
Over the past several years, U.K.-based Radiance Films has become one of the most trusted Blu-ray labels around. Their releases span a wide range of genres from around the world. Each one is meticulously created from transfer to audio, to the special features, to the stunning packaging. The label’s two latest titles, each making its Blu-ray debut, demonstrate what the company does best: Romolo Guerrieri’s The Double (1971) and Shuji Terayama’s The Boxer (1977) are rediscovered genre films with growing cult status.
THE FILMS
The Double
Based on the novel La Controfigura by Livero Bigiaretti, The Double is an atmospheric story of paranoia and mystery that feels more like an Italian soap opera than the Giallo genre. In the opening scene in an underground parking lot, a bearded stranger shoots the lead character, an aspiring architect named Giovanni (Jean Sorel). As he lies there, dying, the film unfolds through flashbacks in his mind—whether the events presented actually happened or not is left to the viewer to decide. His thoughts go to his young wife Lucia (Ewa Aulin), a free spirit he desperately wants to control. Then to her mother, Nora (Lucia Bose), the true object of his desire. Then to Eddie, a handsome Vietnam vet who has caught the eye of both women and provoked Giovanni’s envy.
What unfolds inside these memories is a story of jealousy, financial ruin, lust, and murder. The narrative is nonlinear, with most scenes dreamlike and chopped up in ways reminiscent of a Nicolas Roeg film. This makes every plot point disorienting and questionable in its authenticity. But whether the puzzle pieces come together to reveal an honest picture of Giovanni’s life is incidental. The ride is worth the price of admission.
Director Romolo Guerrieri made one of Italian Giallo’s foundational films in 1968 with The Sweet Body of Deborah. The Double was released three years later, during this genre’s heyday, but is a scaled-back version of its usual tales. The body count is low, the blood is at a minimum, and the story relies more on vibes than on actual plot. Still, if you’re a fan of that genre and of striking visuals, this beautiful restoration is worth your time.
The Boxer
As Japanese directors go, Shūji Terayama is not the most recognizable. His largely avant-garde work incorporates striking surrealist visuals and very little consideration for narrative structure. Which can be a real barrier to entry. The Boxer, however, is accessible. While it still relies on breathtaking cinematography, its straightforward narrative lures viewers in to the director’s vast creative playground.
Much like it was in America, the 1970s were a time of reinvention for the Japanese film industry. Rote studio films no longer appealed to moviegoers, and companies like Toei Company, which made The Boxer, were forced to pivot. Toei in particular experimented with genre pictures filled with sex and violence, which worked for a few years. But by 1977, the company needed a new approach and invented its own versions of Hollywood blockbusters that got Japanese moviegoers into theaters. The first success that year: The Japanese Godfather, an obvious nod to the Francis Ford Coppola classic. However, subsequent reimaginings of films like Jaws (The Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds) and The Exorcist (Curse of the Dog God) did not fare as well. Nor did the studio’s Rocky-coded film, The Boxer.
Terayama’s film is less like the Stallone story than it is Ryan Coogler’s spin-off, Creed. The Boxer follows Hayato (Bunta Sugawara), a retired boxer who puzzlingly left the sport mid–title bout. Years later, his marriage has failed and he lives in a boarding house with a bedraggled dog, spending much of his time drinking. Tenma (Kentarô Shimizu), a rookie boxer with a disabled foot, seeks out the legend to train him. After some resistance, Hayato gives in and eventually a genuine mentorship forms as the two make their way to a raw and beautiful third-act fight.
While there are similar beats to both Rocky and Creed in The Boxer, Terayama and his cinematographer Tatsuo Suzuki make this film wholly their own through visual flair. The camerawork is poetic, the colors vivid, and many shots feel like a photograph. These things work to elevate a relatively conventional script, and turn this into an elegant mainstream film that might finally get its due thanks to this release from Radiance.
THE DISCS
The Double
For its first-ever Blu-ray edition, The Double received a 4K transfer from the original film negative by Video Mercury. Unlike its Giallo contemporaries, this film was shot in very bright conditions, which gives viewers a good look at the on-screen qualities. Colors are rich, details are sharp, and despite a few muddled moments, the print is incredibly clean.
While the look of the film is great, so, too, are the audio options: both Italian and English tracks, each offered in uncompressed LPCM 1.0 mono. In the latter, the dialogue fades slightly into the background, giving way to the bold music and ambient sound. This in no way affects the viewing experience, but is noticeable in comparison to the Italian track, which is more balanced.
The Boxer
This disc contains a strong high-definition transfer provided by Toei. Its dynamic range makes for a beautiful and vivid picture. The sound comes via the original mono audio track for the film. New to this edition is a new English subtitle translation.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The Double
Minimal special features here, but inside each is quite a lot. First, an audio commentary from Tim Lucas, the founder of the famed “Video Watchdog” column and the author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark and the Studies in the Horror Film series book on Videodrome. Lucas’s commentary covers The Double’s place in history, shooting locations, and the careers of the filmmaker and stars, while also unpacking the film’s themes in the context of that moment in culture.
Second, a 14-minute archival interview with director Romolo Guerrieri and actress Ewa Aullin, who plays Lucia in the film—newly edited for this edition. In it, the director praises everyone involved in the making of The Double, and wonders if the film will be better received in the present day than it was in 1977; Aulin discusses her rise as a starlet in the Italian film industry during that decade.
Third, and probably the most interesting special feature: a 26-minute appreciation of The Double by critic Stephen Thrower, who examines the meaning of the word “double,” and how its translations in various languages muddle its meaning in relation to this film. He analyzes the ways this film is different from its Giallo contemporaries and also touches on the themes and relationship dynamics of the characters.
Inside the accompanying booklet is an essay by Nathaniel Thompson, the founder of the film review website Mondo Digital. The essay examines director Guerrieri’s place alongside contemporary Michaelangelo Antonioni, and how this film fits into the Giallo genre. Thompson also shares his thoughts on the film’s plot and characters.
Standard Radiance Films bells and whistles are also included, such as a reversible slip sleeve and a removable OBI strip.
The Boxer
Here, again, viewers won’t find an overwhelming amount of special features. Radiance has included an interview with composer J.A. Seaver, newly recorded for this release. He touches on his experience with Terayama while making The Boxer. But much of what he discusses is his lengthy creative relationship with the director through the years. The two of them worked on many projects together, primarily for the stage.
The centerpiece of the special features, “The Year Toei Failed,” a 12-minute video essay from critic Tom Mes, looks at the studio’s tumultuous run in the 1970s. Experimentation and exploitation ruled the decade until a return to big-budget studio fare with The Fall of Akō Castle in 1978 righted the ship.
Inside the case is a nicely designed booklet with new writing from film scholar Maria Roberta Novielli, whose essay “The Performance of the Body” thoughtfully looks at how Terayama uses the body: to symbolize many things and to tell a story based on its interaction with the spaces around it.
Artwork based on the film’s original posters lines the film’s reversible slip sleeve; as with most Radiance Films limited editions, the OBI strip is removable, providing an unobstructed view of the art.
The releases of both The Double and The Boxer are limited to 3,000 copies.
