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Description

Returning to Saint Petersburg after a long exile, a dashing retired army officer makes a comfortable living by winning other people's duels. An enigmatic, focused, and extremely skilled professional, he leaves a trail of dead bodies behind him as he swirls through polite society, frequently called upon to wield a pistol as a surrogate in duels at dawn. But when he meets the naïve young Prince and his beautiful sister, Princess Martha, the normally cold-hearted mercenary is surprised by his undetected emotions. Now, his fate may change as a series of revelations is uncovered about his past and his present.

Description

The provocative Italian filmmaker Elio Petri’s most internationally acclaimed work is this remarkable, visceral, Oscar-winning thriller. Petri maintains a tricky balance between absurdity and realism in telling the Kafkaesque tale of a Roman police inspector (a commanding Gian Maria Volontè) investigating a heinous crime—which he himself committed. Both a compelling character study and a disturbing commentary on the draconian government crackdowns in Italy in the late 1960s and early ’70s, Petri’s kinetic portrait of surreal bureaucracy is a perversely pleasurable rendering of controlled chaos. BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack Archival interview with director Elio Petri, conducted by critic and filmmaker Alexandre Astruc Elio Petri: Notes About a Filmmaker (2005), a ninety-minute documentary on the director’s career, featuring interviews with friends, collaborators, and filmmakers New interview with film scholar Camilla Zamboni Investigation of a Citizen Named Volontè (2008), a sixty-minute docu­mentary about actor Gian Maria Volontè Music in His Blood, an interview with composer Ennio Morricone from 2010, conducted by film critic Fabio Ferzetti Trailers New English sub­title translation PLUS: An essay by film scholar Evan Calder Williams and excerpts from a 2001 book by screenwriter Ugo Pirro

Description

Having tackled the corrupting nature of power with Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and taken an angry, impassioned look at labour relations with The Working Class Goes to Heaven, Italian master Elio Petri next turned his attentions to capitalism for the darkly comic Property is No Longer a Theft. A young bank clerk (Flavio Bucci, the blind pianist in Dario Argento’s Suspiria), denied a loan by his employer, decides to exact his revenge the local butcher (Ugo Tognazzi, La Grande bouffe) who is not only a nasty, violent, greedy piece of work but also one of the bank’s star customers. Quitting his job, the clerk devotes all of his time tormenting the butcher, stealing his possessions one-by-one, including his mistress (Daria Nicolodi, Deep Red). Told in an off-kilter fashion by Petri, abetted by the woozy sound design and another outstanding score by Ennio Morricone, Property is No Longer a Theft presents a caustic, blackly comic look at a corrupt society. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: 4K restoration from the original film negative High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations New subtitle translation Brand-new interview with actor Flavio Bucci Brand-new interview with producer Claudio Mancini Brand-new interview with make-up artist Pierantonio Mecacci Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by Camilla Zamboni

Description

A prominent painter Leonardo (Franco Nero, John Wick: Chapter 2) is plagued by nightmares that include himself and his lover/press agent Flavia (Vanessa Redgrave, The Devils). His agent is convinced that he just needs some rest. So, he rents a villa in the countryside. Between creating a new painting and trying to fix up the dilapidated cottage, Leonardo's nightmares continue but…they are now getting worse. Will the nightmares continue and take the artist into a downward spiral into madness? Bonus Content: High-Definition Film Transfer Interview with Actor Franco Nero Audio Commentary with Film Historian/Author Troy Howarth Theatrical Trailer

Description

Based on Robert Sheckley's short story "Seventh Victim," this stylish and satirical Italian film is set in the 21st century, where murder is not only legal, it's the subject of a popular televised game called "The Big Hunt." Ursula Andress stars as an American with a shotgun bra and nine kills under her belt who cozies up to fellow contestant Marcello Mastroianni in the hopes he'll be her 10th, leading to a sexy game of cat and mouse. Elsa Martinelli co-stars. 92 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: Italian, English; Subtitles: English; audio commentary; featurette; theatrical trailers. In Italian with English subtitles/Dubbed in English.