Blood and Diamonds (1977) {88 Films Blu-ray Review}

In the 1970s Italian filmmakers brought the world crime thrill rides. One of the best to bring Italian films to the silver screen was screenwriter and director Fernando Di Leo. He wrote the screenplays for such classics as A Fist Full of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, The Return of Ringo, Kiss Kiss.. Bang Bang, Johnny Yuma, Navajo Joe, just to name a few.  

Now Physical Media heavyweight 88 Films have been giving foreign films deluxe Blu-ray releases. Classic Cinema + got the pleasure to review two of those Blu-rays featuring Kung Fu classics, The Chinese Boxer and Disciples of Shao Lin. Now it is time for Fernando Di Leo's Italian thriller from 1977 entitled Blood & Diamonds to shine in HD.

A man is arrested for committing a robbery and is sentenced to five years in prison. After serving his sentence and leaving, the former convict is determined to take revenge on the traitors who reported him to the authorities.

Blood & Diamonds is the sequel to Caliber 9 (1972), but you don't need to see that film to watch this one. The script is good, while not as good as some of his other work. Claudio Cassinelli is pretty impressive in the lead role, but I think for me the highlight was seeing Martin Balsam, known for playing the detective in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho or playing Murray Archie Bunker's partner in the bar in the sitcom Archie Bunker's Place.

Blood and Diamonds comes to Blu-Ray thanks to the good folks at 88 Films. The film is presented in 1080p in it's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. But the best part is it is from a 4K master of the original negative. The audio options are the original Italian and English dub version. both are in LPCM 2.0

This new 4K master is truly amazing. The colors are bright and vibrant and the picture is crisp and clear. But a simply gorgeous master is not all that is included on this Blu-ray release. 88 Films added some really cool bonus features to this Blu-ray release. Take a look at what is included.

* Audio Commentary: Film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson deep dive into this film. 

* Down By Di Leo – A Journey Of Love Discovering Fernando Di Leo: An over hour and a half Italian documentary. The film has been upscaled to HD and Dolby Digital 2.0 audio in the original Italian with optional English subtitles. 

* Blood And Di Leo – A Portrait By Luc Merenda: A near 20-minute interview with actor Luc Merenda. 

* Italian Opening, Intermission and Closing Titles

* Original Trailer: The three-minute Italian trailer with optional English subtitles. 

* Booklet: This release comes with a bound booklet featuring the essays “Diamonds and Bills” by Francesco Massaccesi, “Forgotten Gem” by Andrew Graves, and “Roma Calibro 9” by Rachael Nisbet. 

*Reversible artwork for the Blu-ray insert. 

So as you can see 88 films have really went above and beyond and made a deluxe Blu-ray release that will keep you entertained. Italian movie fans are going to be thrilled with this new Blu-ray. The bonus features are great and the 4K master truly looks spectacular.

If you love Italian crime thrillers this deluxe edition Blu-ray of Blood & Diamonds maybe just what you are looking for to add to your collection. Head over to Amazon and order your copy today.

Out of 4 Film reels (4 being the best) 88 Films Blu-ray of Blood & Diamonds receives...