Christ Stopped at Eboli (Criterion) 06/24 Blu-ray (Rental)

An elegy of exile and an epic immersion into the world of rural Italy during the Mussolini years, Francesco Rosi’s sublime adaptation of the memoirs of the painter, physician, and political activist Carlo Levi brings a monument of twentieth-century autobiography to the screen with quiet grace and solemn beauty. Banished to a desolate southern town for his anti-Fascist views, the worldly Levi (Gian Maria Volontè) discovers an Italy he never knew existed, a place where ancient folkways and superstitions still hold sway and that gradually transforms his understanding of both himself and his country. Presented for the first time on home video in its original full-length, four-part cut, Christ Stopped at Eboli ruminates profoundly on the political and philosophical rifts within Italian society—between north and south, tradition and modernity, fascism and freedom—and the essential humanity that transcends all. BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack • New introduction by translator and author Michael F. Moore • Documentary from 1978 on Italian political cinema, featuring director Francesco Rosi and actor Gian Maria Volontè • Excerpt from a 1974 documentary featuring Rosi and author Carlo Levi • Excerpt from Marco Spagnoli’s short 2014 documentary Unico, in which Rosi discusses Volontè • Trailer • New English subtitle translation by Moore • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by scholar Alexander Stille and a 1979 director’s statement by Rosi