a.k.a. Hanna D. - La ragazza del Vondel Park
company: Beatrice Films
year: 1984
runtime: 87′
countries: Italy / France
director: Rino Di Silvestro
cast: Ann-Gisel Glass, Donatella Damiani,
Tony Serrano, Sebastiano Somma
dvd company: Severin Films
retail price: $29.95
release date: October 27, 2009
disc details: Region 1 / NTSC / Dual Layer
subtitles: None for feature
Order this disc from Amazon.com
reviewed from a screener provided
by Severin Films LLC
Hanna (Glass) is a sells her body to keep her alcoholic and nymphomaniacal mother afloat. One day Hanna meets a pimp on the lookout for a fresh young whore to take him to the top of the food chain – guaranteed a healthy percentage of profits, more than enough to keep her newfound heroine addiction flowing, she signs on with him. But soon Hanna meets Axel, and a love triangle laced with arrest and vomit-filled withdrawl begins.
I’m relatively certain that a serious film pertaining to the self-destruction of a young woman through prostitution and drug addiction shouldn’t illicit laughter from its audience, but Rino di Silvestro’s [WEREWOLF WOMAN, WOMEN IN CELL BLOCK 7] incompetent ode to the renowned CHRISTIANE F. – WIR KINDER VON BAHNHOF ZOO manages to do just that. HANNA D., a lower tier exploitation co-production between Italy’s Beatrice Films and France’s Le Films Jacques Leitienne, aims for prescence and shock value but only squeaks by with a few moments of sleaze and a mountain of unintentional hilarity.
To be fair, there is some good to be found in HANNA D., namely director Silvestro and cinematographer Franco Delli Colli’s [DJANGO, KILL! IF YOU LIVE SHOOT!] collective eye for composition. There are a number of interesting photographic setups to be had throughout, and they keep the film at least visually interesting even with the frequent irritation of Bruno Mattei’s [HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD, VIOLENCE IN A WOMEN'S PRISON] blunt editing.
Cinematography aside, this is pretty miserable fare. The script by director Silvestro and co-writer Herve Piccini [MONSTER SHARK] is as drab as they come, and more or less flings its characters at a procession of ill-connected scenes as opposed to creating an even semi-coherent story for them to exist within. Out of place amidst the mess of drug use and prostitution is a downright cheerful ending that has a addiction-free Hanna prancing through Amsterdam with her beau Axel after the dramatic suicide-by-drowning of her pimp (!).
There’s little here that will shock most exploitation fans, save a brief close-up of a jailed prostitute removing a canister of heroine from her ass. There’s certainly plenty of on-screen nudity to be had, but little sex and even less of any sordid nature – the less socially-acceptable requests of Hanna’s customers are implied rather than shown. The frequent heroine injections are graphic in so much as many of the extras appear to really insert the needles, but their devotion to realism adds little but cringe factor to the proceedings. Star Ann-Gisel Glass stares bug-eyed throughout, undoubtedly wondering if her acting career can possibly recover (it does).
This is another bottom-barrel production [along with PAPAYA LOVE GODDESS OF THE CANNIBALS and DEVIL HUNTER] picked up for domestic home video distribution by Severin Films, who have recently impressed this reviewer with their new line of Blu-rays. Their dual-layered (6.9 GB) presentation of HANNA D. is, like the film, rather disappointing.
The feature receives a progressive and 16.9 enhanced transfer in the proper 1.85:1 aspect ratio and a healthy encode, but something just doesn’t feel right. The unrestored image looks to have been digitally manipulated, with both edge enhancement and DNR in evidence. Colors and contrast are dull, and transfer looks thin overall. Damage is present throughout at varying levels, from minor speckling to more noticeable scratches and beyond. Audio is reasonably reproduced, presented in Dolby Digital encoded monophonic English. There are no subtitles.
The supplemental package is heftier than one might imagine, and dominated by a 42 minute (!) interview with recently departed director Rino Di Silvestro titled The Confessions of Rino D. Silvestro shows an understanably biased perception at the importance of his film, introducing it as a story he felt he “had to tell”. There’s a lot of good information here for those interested, though Silvestri tends to ramble a bit. The only other extra is an original theatrical trailer in rough shape.
HANNA D. is a pretty disappointing effort all around, though I’m sure it (like everything else) has its particular audience. The Severin Films DVD is a letdown as far as the image is concerned, but is still the best option for fans who simply must own it on home video and the lengthy Silvestro interview is a definite plus. A high retail price tag should be enough to dissuade more casual buyers. I’m giving this one a rent-only – not recommended.
