{"id":54100,"date":"2026-07-27T15:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T19:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=54100"},"modified":"2026-07-26T17:37:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T21:37:20","slug":"the-double-1971","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/27\/the-double-1971\/","title":{"rendered":"The Double [1971] [Radiance Films Blu-Ray LE]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A man bleeds out from a shooting in a parking garage and pieces together the details that led to this moment in Romolo Guerrieri’s twisty tale The Double. Now on Blu-ray from Radiance Films.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Film<\/strong><\/p>\n

TW Sexual assault<\/span><\/p>\n

A man, Giovanni (or Frank in the English dub, but I\u2019ll stick to the Italian names), drives his car into a Roman parking garage. As he approaches his stall, an older jacketed man steps out to block him. He flashes that he has seen this man before. The man pulls a gun from the jacket and begins to nervously fire at Giovanni. Some miss. Some hit in just the wrong places. No instant death, but a slow bleed-out. The extended death gives Giovanni the chance to replay moments of his life that might have led to this moment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus is the story for Romolo Guerrieri\u2019s twisty and turny, highly engaging thriller, 1971’s The Double, pulls crime and giallo<\/a> flicks, but ultimately working a personal drama with an edge. It plays like a mixture of Hitchcock<\/a> and Antonioni with a flash of giallo influence. But how it reveals and turns these layers with Sauro Sacavolini & Sandro Continenza\u2019s script (adapting Liero Bigiaretti\u2019s novel \u201cLa Controfigura), moving through time and Giovanni\u2019s life and death, is wonderfully put together, never showing its hand too early but not undoing itself with each subsequent reveal.\u00a0 Of course, as hard as it might be, going to do my best not to make any of those reveals myself. The Double leans on the surprise and the questions, the truths and the lies of memory.\u00a0 Whether it be seeing how it works in the haze at first viewing or seeing how the puzzle fits on second, that\u2019s the film’s job.<\/span><\/p>\n

It pulls the viewer in on a journey of jealousy, death, sexuality, and intrigue. To paint with a wide brush, without drawing those happy little detailed trees, Giovanni is married to Lucia, a waifish young woman twelve years his junior, bright with energy and sexuality. On a trip to Morocco, they meet a bearded and sexy American, Eddie, living on the beach. And her sexy young mother also comes to visit. The film flashes between this trip and their lives before and after in Rome, slyly reveling in the reveals and turns as Giovanni\u2019s injured brain flashes around.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just how engaged Eddie is with the lives of the man, his wife, and Nora, her possibly flirty mom, is a question of memory and asking what and and us think is true is actually true. Thus, the kinda-giallo. The faultines of memory, of desires created by a dying brain, of misrepresenting and truths. This and exploring a man based upon what he thinks about and why after getting shot creates an interesting character study of a guy who hasn\u2019t really done much, sliding through life on family money and a modicum of charm; how he uses sexuality, masculinity, family expectations and the like all come together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The strength is in how Guerriri, with editor Carlo Reali and the writers, puts The Double together. The editing is wonderful, quickly pushed through and invigorating. It\u2019s a master class of putting together something like this. Quick and flashy, but pointed in how it’s used, The Double slides in and around time with ease, using transitions.s in flashes and as scene & character buttons. It\u2019s highly enjoyable to try to figure it out as it goes, and going along with it when just how wrong or right we might be. Carlo Carlini\u2019s cinematography especially works with specific shots to heighten this uncertainty, making it a detail to see who is where and when.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The weakness is our lead, French actor Jean Sorel. It\u2019s a double-edged sword; we can\u2019t have his expressions revealing things for us, but he also comes out so much of a blank, he doesn\u2019 thelp carry the film. Everyone around him has such energy, so his bland stoicness is a sore thumb. Eewa Aulin as Lucia sells so well, as does Lucia Bose as mom Nora, gripping to try to read.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Double, directed by Romolo Guerrieri, is a highly compelling film of a man flashing to his murder and the hows that get there, turning mystery tropes around to a new spin. Beautifully shot and deliriously edited, it\u2019s a solid flick.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Package<\/strong><\/p>\n

Radiance gives The Double its world Blu-ray premiere. It comes on a single disc with the title on a basic green background. The clear Blu-ray case has a double-sided sleeve. One with just images, as normal for Radiance, and one with a standard poster style and information. All the art is based on the original art. Inside is a booklet (more later). Radiance also has their standard Obi strip. Limited to 3000 copies, it has spine number 182, and is all region.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Presentation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Radiance gives The Double a 4k restoration from the original negative. Another great-looking transfer, highlighting the beauty of its on-location shooting (with a few sound stages), especially Morocco. Wow. It keeps things crisp and detailed but holding the 70s grit of the time, place, and genre. A fantastic design. The quick edits hold it without bleed and loss. The audio is the original mono and, well, it\u2019s an Italian film in the post-dub time, so it sounds as best as it can.\u00a0 The Double is available in English and Italian. Subtitles are in English.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Features<\/strong><\/p>\n

Commentary (new)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tim Lucas gives a great commentary on getting into the details of how it plays out, how the crafting of the crew makes it work, the themes, and the stylish choices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Romolo Geurrieri and Ewa Aulin (both archival and new as it\u2019s two interviews from 2013 and 2017, newly edited to one program)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The director and the star talk this film, how it came to fruition (for him) and her career at this point (her). A bit light but interesting (14m)<\/span><\/p>\n

Stephen Thrower (new)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Thrower (So recently heard on the Severin Threads 4k) gives a great appreciation of the film, focusing around its series of titles. Thrower does what he does best, getting into an introspective detail, giving a better look at the film.\u00a0 (26m)<\/span><\/p>\n

Stills<\/span><\/p>\n

Booklet<\/strong><\/p>\n

Radiance includes a 20-page stapled booklet. With the regular cast\/crew\/photos is joined by an essay. \u201cCompelled to Death in The Double\u201d by Nathaniel Thompson. Thompson explores the Italian cinematic world of the time, with influences of gialli, Antoniolini, and Hitchcock, with the big shifts in cinema then, and some of the social themes of the era coming in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Double is the sort of film Radiance excels in promoting to the world. It’s a little niche, but highly engaging in how it uses genre tropes and expectations. They put together a good disc with a great transfer and nice collection of features.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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