The Five Days — The Five Days( UHD, Blu Ray & CD)
Appearing in 1973, between two Giallo classics Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971) and Profondo Rosso (1975). The Five Days was Dario Argento’s one and only departure from the thriller/ horror genres he’s most known for. It’s a period-based drama-comedy set in the final days of the Italian Revolution in 1848. And it’s well shot/ executed film that’s alive with moments of comedy- be it playful visual, slapstick, lightly sleazed or very darkly hued, satire, and dabs of bloody red violence. Here from the fine folks at Severin is the truly definitive version of this lesser-known Argento film. The three-disc set features three discs a UHD, a Blu-ray, and CD. It features a wonderfully clean & defined 4k scan of the picture, a great selection of new extras, and a CD full of music.
The Five Days (aka Le Cinque Giornate, The Five Days of Milan) was released to big screens in Italian on the 20th of December 1973. It was filmed in both Milan and Pavia. With the film been scripted by Argento, Enzo Ungari (The Last Emperor, Art Of Love) and Luigi Cozzi (Hercules, Starcrash and Contamination). And I must say it very competently executed period piece, with some great use of the camera- oh, and at points, it’s decidedly amusing- which is not something you normally expect from Mr Argento.
The film opens inside a prison cell in Milan. The date is 1884, and the country is in its final days of revolution- as the Italians finally want rid of the ruling Austrians. In the cell, with around ten or so other men is Cainazzo (Adriano Celentano) a cocky/ thinking on his feet crook. And from his first appearance on screen, we get a feel of his personality/self-preservation- as while slumbering he kills a rat- thrown into the air, before it drops into the mouth of one of his cellmates. There is a fair bit of banter about the revolution, as we get a wonderful smooth panning shot around the cell. Then all of a sudden, a cannon bull smashes through the prison wall. Cainazzo is first to his feet, taking advantage of a downed old man to jump to freedom.
He quickly makes his way back to his gang's hideout- stripping more fancy shoes and threads from a deadman for himself. Fairly soon the revolution is in full flow, and Cainazzo makes his way out into the city. While dodging bullets and explosions- he gets introduced to needy, naive, maybe slightly simple Romolo (Enzo Cerusico) who’s a baker that has recently come to work in the city from Rome.
The film unfolds in a decidedly episodic manner- as the pair get involved with one situation after another. They stop to help a heavily pregnant woman & land up helping her to give birth. They help build a furniture & finery wall for a flirting aristocrat. They get shot at, while playful darting back & forth through the city streets. They are forced to join the ragtag band of revelationist. Get their end away with a widow, and eat lots of food. But along with all the playful banter & action- we also get pitch-black lines of humour- like the pair being knocked out by the feet of a hanging man, and vigorous debates on a dying man’s last words. As well as brief dives into pathos & troubling death.
To begin with, Celentano as Cainazzo has a cocky swagger/ devil may care-bravado, and he rather reminds me of a young Steve Jones from The Sex Pistols. Whereas Cerusico as Romolo is a bumbling idiot- who can’t even get his new buddy's name right. But as the film processes and the pairs' trail/ tribulations wear on them both, we get two rewarding character arches.
This release is my first ever taster of the film- and I must admit I was somewhat apprehensive, as period drama is not what you expect from Argento. And I’m not the biggest fan of straight-period drama- but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. As the just over two-hour film keeps you entertained, amused, thrilled, and at points thoughtfully troubling. So, I’d certainly say The Five Days is certainly one of the big surprises of Argento’s filmopghy.
Moving onto this three-disc set. And the first disc in the set is the Ultra HD- which features a new 4k scan of the film, as well as a commentary track by genre experts/ track old hands Troy Howarth & Nathaniel Thompson. The second disc is the Blu-Ray (this is region A locked)- this once again features the new 4k scan of the film, the commentary and a good hefty shove full of new extras. The final disc in the set is the CD- this takes twenty-seven tracks, and just over seventy-eight minutes of music- featuring the film soundtrack by Giorgio Gaslini, as well as seven bonus tracks from other projects the composer worked on with Argento at the time.
The new 4k print looks simply beautiful- with wonderfully defined colours & tones. The film features nice clear and clean English subtitles in yellow. With the audio balance between the dialogue and music being perfectly realised. Really this is a true joy to watch.
Moving onto extras- and first off, we have the track from Messrs’s Howarth & Thompson- and as usual, this is a thoroughly researched, highly informative, and light banter-lined track- really these guys are one of the gold standards in the commentary game. They begin by talking about the Sergio Leone-like credits & the opening stylish tabular, which would be used heavy in the director's next film Profondo Rosso. They discuss the film's use of often vulgar humour- and how there are subtle touches/ undertones in all of the directors' films aside from The Stendhal Syndrome. We find out this aside from his most recent film Dark Glasses, this is the only film the director shot in Italian. They discuss where Argento's career was at this time, and that the film was originally going to be directed by Nanni Loy (The Four Days Of Naples). We find out the film had a ten-week shoot- and it was purely funded by Italian finance. They comment on bit part actors & give bios. We find out that during this period the director was a communist- and point out subtle political undertones in some of his later films, though this was his only overtly political film. Later on, they comment on the film's new transfer, and how it’s really opened up the film, making it on par with the other respected Italian period films of the time- we also find out this is the first time it’s ever had English subtitles. They discuss the film's themes, and much, much more. This is most definitely a track I will return to!.
Otherwise, on the new extras side of things, we get a good pile of worthwhile/ interesting content. Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution (35.20) which is a very in-depth interview with Argento about the film, and how it came about. The Battle For Freedom (29.44) another in-depth interview with screenwriter Luigi Cozzi- discusses the script, its historic groundings, etc. For The First Time (10.36) interview with Executive Producer Claudio Argento. An Italian Story (15.58) Interview with Actress Carla Tatò. Home Delivery (17.48) Interview with Actress Luisa De Santis who played the pregnant woman in the film. 174 Years Ago (27.41) another in-depth interview with production manager Angelo Iacono. Between Flies and Profondo (12.52) which finds respected critic/ Argento biographer Alan Jones talking about the film- and sadly he is none too positive about it, but I guess it’s nice to get another opinion on the film. Lastly, we get TV Spots and a trailer.
The CD is entitled Giorgio Gaslini For Dario Agento. It features all seventeen tracks from the score for The Five Days- these move from very grand and ornate orchestra cues featuring nice marching percussion & chanting voices. Onto brighter & buoyant string-led cues, though to Italian drinking songs. Onto more elegant & vibrate classical cues played on Synclavier synthesizer- these rather brought to mind the work on the 1984 Frank Zappa album Francesco Zappa.
After this we get two tracks from La Porta Sul Buio (Door Into Darkness) which was a 70's Italian TV series Agento produced/ presented- he also directed one his own episodes, and that is where these tracks come from. The first track is a very bound & dramatic piano, and light string sear led cue. And the second moves from demented harpsichord and piano-led- later going all bass bound, snaking percussion, and weaving flute bound. The disc is finished off with a selection of six tracks Gaslini composed for Profondo Rosso. So, overall this CD is an excellent addition to this release- featuring a good chunk of music unheard by many.
With this release of The Five Days, Severin has well and truly gone to town to give us the definitive version of this lesser seen & engaging deviation in Agento’s cinematic oeuvre. Featuring a truly gorgeous 4k print, a brimming selection of interesting extras, and of course the excellent CD to boot. Clearly a five out of five release.