DVD Corner

The Red Light Bandit Blu-ray Review

“The Red Light Bandit” is a choppy, but admirable Brazilian film.

Written and directed by Rogério Sganzeria, 1968’s “The Red Light Bandit” is based on the real-life criminal of the same name who struck São Paulo in the 1960’s. The story centers on the titular bandit who robs the rich, murders and rapes women, spends his loot, and continually evades the police (including Detective Sade). He basically does what he wants. Elsewhere in the story are subplots involving Janet (a love interest of sorts), a corrupt politician (J.B. da Silva), the Black Hand gang, and UFOs (yes, you read that right). 

“The Red Light Bandit” is an underground Brazilian film that was part of the Cinema Marginal movement which is relatively unknown in the U.S. It’s a sort of guerilla filmmaking style that emphasizes social and political messages particularly about Brazil at the time of the film’s production in the 60’s. In this particular film, Sganzeria creates a rather oddball story that is part crime thriller, part western, part biopic, and part film noir all rolled into one. It’s a wild, frantically edited, repetitious, and entirely exhausting affair, but it deserves credit for originality. Although the narrative goes off the rails in the final act to say the least, the fresh and unusual storytelling style stands out here particularly with the newsreel esque dual narrators. It’s up for debate whether or not it works, but it’s these kind of risks that cinema is sorely lacking in this day and age.

While more of a cinematic ride than a character piece, star Paulo Villaça has plenty to work with as the deranged, murderous, introspective, but always charismatic bandit. He leads a majority of the story as the audience embarks on this crime-filled rampage with him in a “Natural Born Killers” like fashion.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.33:1. How does it look? Scanned in 2K from the original camera negative, the B&W film is still in pretty rough shape here with scratches, lines, and jumpy frames. Still, it’s clear the restoration team did the best with what they had here and it’s 

Audio Track: Portuguese Mono. How does it sound? The audio fares better here although there are still defects to be had (expect lots of crackles).

Extras:
* “The Red Light Bandit” trailer
* 2 short films titled “Comics” (a 10 minute short about comic history by Rogério Sganzeria) and “Horror Palace Hotel” a 40 minute short about Brazilian cinema by Jairo Ferreira. An intro to “Horror Palace Hotel” by Brazilian filmmaker Dennison Ramalho is also included.
* “The Anti-Muse”- A 24 ½ minute interview With actress Helena Ignez. Conversations range from Cinema Novo to her career and Brazil and her connection to the Cinema Marginal movement.
* “Cinema Marginal”- A 31 minute interview with producer/film conservationist Paulo Sacramento who discusses the Cinema Marginal movement over numerous film clips of this genre.   

October 24, 2024 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Brazilian Film, Cinema Marginal, Crime Thriller, Severin, The Red Light Bandit Blu-ray Review