Giancarlo Bizanti (Gian Maria Volontè) is the editor-in-chief of the fiery Italian newspaper “Il Giornale”. When a teenage girl is found murdered, the far right-leaning owner of the paper works with Bizanti to undermine the police investigation by casting doubt on the main suspect, influencing a key witness and leading a conflicting campaign against a left-leaning radical in a bid to destroy the credibility of a left-wing senator in an upcoming election. When the young green reporter played by Fabio Garriba assigned to cover the story starts to see through his editor’s machinations, it creates a conflict of interest in his idealism vs. his livelihood.
As one may surmise from the preceding summary, Slap the Monster on Page One is a scathing indictment of yellow journalism and a serious criticism of the right-wing fascists prevalent in Italy in the ’60s and ’70s, the so-called “Years of Lead” when Italian society was in a state of upheaval and at odds with itself in the wake of World War II. It’s a deeply cynical film more reminiscent of something like Billy Wilder’s similarly dark and gritty Ace in the Hole than any of the more action-based poliziotteschi or thrills-based gialli that were dominating the Italian crime scene of the time. It’s a testament to director Marco Bellocchio’s steady hand and master screenwriter Sergio Donati’s whip-smart script just how well this film works at turning the knife as it undermines the judicial system and shows how easy it is to manipulate the masses. I’m not the biggest fan of neo-realist political films, but this one just flew by as Donati creates such a tight and compelling narrative while Bellocchio directs it at a brisk pace that rarely lets up. While watching terrible people do willingly terrible things can get a little hard to stay engaged with at times, Donati and Bellocchio pull it off effortlessly. Also while it certainly helps to have context into Italy’s political situation at the time, it certainly isn’t necessary to understand what’s happening in the picture. Spreading lies in service of one’s own interests is a human trait as old as time.
The transfer for Slap the Monster on Page One is a great one, sporting a clean naturalistic palette free of any noticeable damage or distortion in the image and a nicely balanced grain level. The mono audio track is similarly clean and clear even though it suffers from the same stilted overdubbing common of Italian films of the time. In typical Radiance fashion, we have a nice selection of meaningful extras. First is a new interview with film critic Mario Sesti discussing the political context of the film as well as how the film was originally intended for Donati to direct but was replaced by Bellocchio. Also included in an archival interview with Bellocchio discussing what it was like to make the film as well as an appreciation by director Alex Cox. Additionally, like all Radiance limited editions, the disc includes a physical booklet that has a nice essay by Wesley Sharer (author of Lead, White, and Blue: An American Perspective on Italian Years of Lead Cinema).
Slap the Monster on Page One is yet another excellent underrated gem that has been unearthed by Radiance Films and given a very nice treatment on disc. Plus the film’s deeply cynical views on politics and social responsibility still feel as sadly prescient as ever.