During the debut year for physical media boutique Radiance Films, a distributor interested in lesser-available/known international cinema, they released a wonderful three-film collection of director Damiano Damiani’s film dubbed “Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero in three Mafia Tales by Damiano Damiani.” These films each involved the mafia (as one can imagine from the name), but each one is different in tone and approach, their only other connective aspect being their leading man, Franco Nero (Django; John Wick: Chapter 2). Now, in their sophomore year, Radiance Films releases yet another Damiani film, a first-time home release for the strangely comedic spy thriller Goodbye & Amen (1977) starring Tony Musante (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), Claudia Cardinale (8 1/2), John Steiner (Tenebre), and John Forsythe (Scrooged). Accompanied by the usual refinements, Radiance Films once more creates an opportunity for cinephiles new and old to explore a tale of espionage and intrigue that they may have missed before.
On the eve of kicking off a covert operation, CIA agent John Dannahay (Musante) finds his plans disrupted when a shooter at a hotel is identified as a colleague within his Rome-based office. With two people dead, the police swarm the hotel, seemingly trapping the shooter within. As both the local police and American government officials work to resolve the situation, Dannahay works to close things quickly in order to save his own operation, and his career, from imploding.
Based on the above summary, one wouldn’t expect such varying and yet well-blended tones throughout the film. Opening with a long establishing shot of Rome, we’re eventually brought to John who then goes into a private meeting with his team where we learn about the long-gestated plot to overthrow an African-based government. From here, it shifts to a man we don’t see loudly fighting with a woman (whom we also don’t see) as their child plays soccer in a beautifully manicured lawn. We don’t know the connection here and presume it to be some kind of mild distraction for John, as he finds himself pulled into the martial squabble since the man is a colleague of his. But what does any of this have to do with Africa and the mission? Piece by piece, scene by scene, Damiani and co-writer Nicola Badalucco (Death in Venice) balance the drama of a marriage in dissolution with spy thrills, only to throw a little situational comedy into the mix once our shooter finds himself stuck in the hotel he fired his first shots from. This is not to suggest that Goodbye & Amen is a comedy in a hijinks or slapstick way, rather, that it’s far more sardonic and dark, using humor to make light of tense situations. As the shooter, Steiner is incredibly compelling, portraying an individual who’s hard to excite or confuse, laser-focused on the task at hand. As the mystery of the film starts to come into focus, Steiner’s performance enables us to see that, despite the horrible things he’s done, he’s as much a victim as the people he’s killed.
Now, this reviewer hasn’t read the source material, Sulla pelle di lui by author Francis Clifford (The Naked Runner), so I don’t know if this is part of the original novel, but there’s an interesting overlap between what Steiner’s shooter represents and one of his hostages, Jack (Gianrico Tondinelli), who is an actor by trade. Given the nature of filmmaking to utilize individuals for as long as they prove financially viable, one can’t help but thing of Jack and the shooter in a similar way — their value is only as strong as their usefulness. If one looks to the dual strikes of 2023 with the Writers and Screen Actors Guilds trying to gain an improved financial position, as well as safety and security (among many other things) to benefit not just the top earners but background performers, noticing a correlation between our shooter (who sees himself as a victim of being cast aside without care or concern despite once being valuable) and that of Jack, who finds himself repeatedly humiliated throughout his time as a hostage, even being dressed up in a situation that may play out in one of his films, a growing sense arises that perhaps Damiani is trying to satirize moviemaking. It’s nowhere near as flashy as Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010), which, itself, utilizes the tools of filmmaking in order to pull off a heist of the subconscious, but one can certainly see the connective tissue as the film plays out, even in the way John transforms from sympathetic figure to malevolent director. This isn’t just something one imagines as there’s a moment when Anna Zinnemann’s Renata (the woman we heard arguing earlier) is watching two televisions simultaneously and where I know one is playing Damiani’s The Case is Closed, Forget It (1971), I’m fairly certain the other is a scene from Damiani’s The Day of the Owl (1968). Even if it’s just one film, the director is inserting himself and his work directly into the narrative of the film, blending reality with fiction to create his own universe. In my curiosity, I put on the included new audio commentary from Eurocrime experts Nathaniel Thompson and Howard Berger and, though they don’t specifically identify the films, they do discuss the same theory expressed above. For more on what they think, you need only select this option before playing the film. I find this theory makes the film even richer and interesting an experience than the film itself already is.
Since this is a first-time restoration, we’re going to explore that aspect first, before getting into the packaging and bonus materials.
The liner notes in the booklet indicate that the original camera negative was scanned in 2K resolution at Cinema Communications laboratory in Rome, then restored by Radiance at Heavenly Movie Corporation. Additionally, both color grading and the Italian mono soundtrack was completed by Radiance. This first-time home release does include an English audio track, however, and this is explained both on the disc in the audio menu as well as in the booklet, the English audio was heavily damaged and is as complete a restoration as could be made given the condition of the source material. They describe it as a “curio,” something to be appreciated as an option, but, perhaps, not given the full weight as one might in a regular restoration. Considering the quality of the audio and video in the completed restoration, one is willing to forgive what can’t be helped in favor of being excited to have access to this film at all. Don’t mistake that to mean that the video and Italian audio elements are not up to the usual Radiance level, because they are very much. If one were to compare the video at the bottom of this review, a YouTube clip of the first four minutes of the film, one will notice a distinct lack of sharpness in focus, a haze in the video elements, and a general flatness in the colors. This is all rectified in the restoration, providing a brand-new clarity to the same sequence. It still possesses the aura of the period, retaining its specific visual language and style, just cleaned up to play better on modern home entertainment systems. Similarly, there’s a solid balance with the sound, so that once you set the audio, you really don’t need to adjust it from there, a rare feat with restorations lately.
In terms of the packaging and bonus materials, Goodbye & Amen follows the usual high standards of past releases. Limited to 3,000 copies, the packaging features the usual removable OBI strip, brand new art inspired by the final confrontation sequence that’s reversible to depict the original poster for the film, a booklet with release/restoration information and an essay, and three new materials to enhance appreciation for the release. The included essay is written by Italian Studies and Film Studies expert Dr. Lucia Rinaldi and explores the film as a piece within Damiani’s larger group of work, while offering context for the film itself. In terms of on-disc materials, there’re two new and one archival piece. The archived piece from June 2013 is a 24-minute interview with actor Wolfango Soldati (Keoma), who played C.I.A. operative Harry Lambert, discussing his involvement making the film. Brand new for this release is the aforementioned feature-length audio commentary and a 39-minute sit down with editor Antonio Siciliano (The Sunday Woman; How to Kill a Judge), who discusses his lengthy career in filmmaking, his collaborations with Damiani, and what it was like to work on this film specifically. There’s certainly plenty here to enhance any watch, new or old, and learn something perhaps previously unconsidered.
At the start of her essay, Dr. Rinaldi refers to Goodbye & Amen as “one of his lesser works.” Having watched the film after exploring the prior Damiani collection, I couldn’t help but notice how many actors, in roles large and small, had worked with the director prior. With both of these things in mind, a theory forms that both of these things might very well be why Radiance Films selected this specific work in Damiani’s filmography to restore next. It references directly films in the “Cosa Nostra” collection, which is a bit of self-referential fun for the director, but are also now easily found by new viewers looking to explore those films. Additionally, Radiance is great about restoring films that make viewers feel like they are discovering something, or, at least, being a part of that discovery. So selecting a film that’s tied to their collection and is also on the more obscure side feels of intelligent design.
In any case, those who enjoyed the “Cosa Nostra” collection will want to jump on this one and those who enjoyed this should absolutely snag the collection when you can. If you’re neither of these and either want to experience Damiani’s work without the hefty price tag of the collection or are interested in an engaging spy thriller, jumping in on Goodbye & Amen will undoubtedly leave you satisfied.
Goodbye & Amen Special Features:
- *NEW* 2023 restoration of the film from the original camera negative presented with Italian and, for the first time on home video, English audio options
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- *NEW* Audio commentary by Eurocrime experts Nathaniel Thompson and Howard Berger (2023)
- *NEW* 2023 interview with editor Antonio Siciliano (39 min)
- 2013 archival interview with Wolfango Soldati (24 min)
- New and improved English subtitles for Italian audio and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for English audio
- Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Italian crime cinema expert Lucia Rinaldi
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
Available on Blu-ray February 13th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Radiance Films Goodbye & Amen webpage.
For more information, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group Goodbye & Amen webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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