Goodbye & Amen

 (1977)

Goodbye & Amen Blu-ray delivers stunning video and solid audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
John Dannahay, a CIA agent stationed in Rome, is planning to overthrow an African government. But his plan goes wrong when a corrupt colleague starts shooting people from the roof of a hotel, taking an innocent couple hostage.


For more about Goodbye & Amen and the Goodbye & Amen Blu-ray release, see Goodbye & Amen Blu-ray Review published by Jeffrey Kauffman on February 11, 2024 where this Blu-ray release scored 3.5 out of 5.

Director: Damiano Damiani
Writers: Nicola Badalucco, Damiano Damiani
Starring: Tony Musante, Claudia Cardinale, John Forsythe, John Steiner, Renzo Palmer, Angela Goodwin
Producer: Mario Cecchi Gori

» See full cast & crew

Goodbye & Amen Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, February 11, 2024

Damiano Damiani's filmography is slowly but surely being explored by Radiance Films and some other labels on Blu-ray, and several interesting films of his have already hit the high definition home video market, including The Case Is Closed, Forget It, The Day of the Owl , both offered by Radiance, and The Witch, brought out by Arrow. The first two are probably the most salient in terms of Goodbye & Amen, at least insofar as Damiani is at least sometimes thought of as "specializing" in deconstructing Italian society in the context of police and organized crime. Goodbye & Amen takes place in Italy, but as commentators Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger suggest in their appealing analysis of the film, it's at least arguable that in this particular instance Damiani has replaced the mafia with the CIA, as hilarious (or not) as that may sound. The film seems to be starting to explore a black ops assassination attempt masterminded by CIA agent John Dhannay (Tony Musante), only to suddenly take the first of several abrupt detours when a rogue agent named Donald Grayson (John Steiner) starts shooting people from the roof of a hotel (in scenes that may unavoidably evoke memories of the slaughter in Las Vegas several years ago), and who then takes a couple played by Claudia Cardinale and Gianrico Tondinelli hostage. Thompson and Berger also mention that the film at least initially comes off as almost a satire, which may be debatable, but there is certainly a cynical undertone running through the feature where the "good guys" are obviously involved in some less than savory situations, and where a hostage taking is seen as a troubling "inconvenience" keeping an assassination plot from unfolding as planned.



If Goodbye & Amen can't quite help from feeling like a "combo platter" of various plots kind of thrown together willy nilly, it is still a rather devastating portrait of some at least occasionally boneheaded operatives attempting to get their mission accomplished while an apparently mentally ill killer has already taken out some innocents and may be about to again as he threatens his two hostages in a hotel room. The story tends to ping pong between various aspects, which can give a slightly disjointed feeling at times. The first of these elements is the tribulations of Dhannay, who along with trying to get his assassination operation underway and solve a hostage taking, is also dealing with some familial strife involving his friend Harry Lambert (Wolfango Soldati) and Lambert's semi- estranged wife Renata (Anna Zinnemann), with some subtext suggesting that Dhannay and Renata may have some "history" together (though interestingly the English language version included on this disc omits some of this material). The second recurrent aspect is the drama unfolding in the hotel with the lunatic killer and an adulterous woman named Mrs. de Mauro (Claudia Cardinale). Ultimately, an American ambassador (John Forsythe) agrees to be taken hostage himself in an effort to quell the situation, but of course things go from bad to worse. Kind of weirdly given these sometimes almost random plot machinations, Cardinale is pretty much jettisoned from the last third or so of the film.

While there are some shocking scenes involving violence scattered throughout Goodbye & Amen, this is really more of a character study, though in that regard Dhannay is a bit of an enigma, with some shadowy motivations that are hinted at up to and including the calamitous climax. The film has palpable tension throughout, especially in some of the scenes featuring the unhinged Grayson.

Goodbye & Amen Blu-ray, Video Quality  

Goodbye & Amen is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Radiance's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:

Goodbye & Amen was scanned from the original camera negative in 2K resolution at Cinema Communications laboratory in Rome, Italy. The film was restored by Radiance Films at Heavenly Movie Corporation in 2023. The film was colour graded by Radiance Films in 2023.

Three shots exclusive to the English version were also scanned in 2K by Radiance in 2023 from a 16mm reversal element.

The original Italian mono soundtrack was remastered by Radiance Films in 2023.

The English soundtrack was severely damaged and exhibits some challenging moments. Restoration was attempted bu the quality of the materials proved too difficult in some places. It is presented as a curio, it is the first and only distribution of this track on home media as of this release.

This is a great looking transfer of a strangely lesser remembered Damiani film. While there are occasional slight color temperature variations, on the whole the palette looks natural and is very nicely suffused. Detail levels are commendable throughout, arguably faltering only slightly in some of the most dimly lit material, as in the nighttime sequence with the killer on the hotel rooftop. Fine detail is quite expressive throughout and offers nice precision on everything from facial features to textures on costume fabrics and even some background material like the baroque wallpaper in the Ambassador's office. There is some very minimal passing damage that can be spotted, but nothing of any major import. Grain is tightly resolved throughout.

Goodbye & Amen Blu-ray, Audio Quality  

Goodbye & Amen features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono audio in either Italian or English. As alluded to in the verbiage above reprinted from Radiance's insert booklet, the English track has some intermittent issues where some listeners may need the help of the optional English subtitles, but considering the warning offered, I was actually rather favorably disposed toward the English track, especially since it's evidently so rare. That said, the Italian track is afflicted much less by any age related wear and tear, though there is still some slight crackling and hiss than can be heard starting from the very opening production entity mastheads. Guido and Maurizio De Angelis' fun score sounds especially vibrant in the Italian version, and that along with occasional sound effects like gunshots all reverberate with considerably energy. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly in the Italian version at least, and often in the English version. Optional English subtitles are available.

Goodbye & Amen Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras  

• Italian Version (1:49:33) and English Version (1:42:17) are accessible under the Play Menu.


• Audio Commentary by Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger


• Antonio Siciliano (HD; 38:49) is a new interview with the editor of the film. Subtitled in English.


• Wolfango Soldati (HD; 23:49) is an archival interview with the actor from 2013. Subtitled in English.

Additionally Radiance provides another nicely appointed insert booklet with an essay by Lucia Rinaldi. Packaging features a reversible sleeve and Radiance's customary Obi strip.

Goodbye & Amen Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation  

There's been a perhaps slightly comical if still troubling history where the United States has alleged "bad acts" by foreign governments, only to have it revealed that the American government itself was involved, or at least had engaged in very similar behaviors itself at various moments. That's certainly a subtext (maybe even a text) in this film, and so rah rah jingoists may find this an unsettling enterprise. The film has some structural issues that occasionally interrupt narrative flow, but it's a fascinating film on any number of levels, and Radiance provides generally solid technical merits and some very appealing supplements. Recommended.

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Goodbye & Amen Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Radiance Films Announces January Releases - October 4, 2023

International Blu-ray Discussions

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