Overview: When a series of Supreme court judges are murdered, inspector Rogas (Lino Ventura, Army of Shadows) is sent to discover the truth. A procedural noir soon turns into a labyrinthine conspiracy thriller as corruption and institutional power converge.

An investigative mystery by a titan of the form, Francesco Rosi’s (The Mattei Affair) urgent adaptation of Leonardo Sciascia’s (The Day of the Owl) novel is set to a haunting score by Piero Piccioni (The Tenth Victim) and features legendary stars Charles Vanel (The Wages of Fear), Max von Sydow (The Exorcist) and Fernando Rey (The French Connection).

Blu-ray Verdict: Grab your chins and prepare to do some stroking because we are in serious territory here with Francesco Rosi’s Illustrious Corpses!

No jaw-socking, car chases and even gunfights here, but don’t run off to Maurizio Merli quite yet. What we have here is a nice, thick Spezzatino full of meat (plot), vegetables (twists), and herbs (cameo appearances by various Italian genre actors), all mainly revolving around middle-aged policeman Rogas.

The general tone of the film is set when we see an elderly judge wandering through the Catacombe dei Cappuccini, looking at the corpses and perhaps considering his own mortality. That would be ironic because about a minute after he leaves someone unknown assassin shoots him.

This brings us to Rogas, Italy’s best detective, brought in because killing judges isn’t generally approved. At first Rogas brings in the local mob, but as one Don states: You know you are wasting your time with us. While he’s doing that another judge is killed on a highway, and yet another while Rogas is in the same building. This piles significant pressure on Rogas as the situation becomes, as one person puts it political.

Rogas reckons he’s nailed the case when he starts digging into trials involving all three judges, which leads to him finding a suspect for whom every image has been destroyed, including photo albums and even police documentation. This leads the film into giallo territory for a brief time as we see another judge get stalked and murdered, while Rogas is pushed to look at subversive groups and bag a quick arrest by his superiors.

This two hour long film that has very little action should be snooze-fest, but it is relentlessly fascinating to watch Rogas weave his way through the political labyrinth of Italy’s Years of Lead, speaking with bemused, yet sinister Senators like Fernando Rey (great here), angry, unrepentant judges like Max Von Sydow (also great), and the Communist party (including journalist Luigi Pistilli). You also get cameos from Marcel Bozuffi and Tina Aumont thrown in for good measure.

What also keeps you watching is the ever-growing sense of doom and paranoia that begins to surround Rogas as he loses confidence and trust in every single person he deals with, leaving him constantly looking over his shoulder. There’s a scene where he realizes his telephone is bugged that’s as foreboding as any horror film. I highly recommend this one - it’s dark and complex. Like a Spezzatino! [B.B.]

4K BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
4K restoration of the film by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation
Original uncompressed mono PCM audio
Audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox (2021)
Archival interview with director Francesco Rosi (1976)
Archival interview with Francesco Rosi and Lino Ventura (1976)
New interview with Gaetana Marrone, author of The Cinema of Francesco Rosi (2025)
Trailer
Gallery
Optional English subtitles
Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michael Atkinson, and newly translated writing by and interview with Rosi
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

Official Purchase Link

www.radiancefilms.co.uk