THE DOUBLE, Romolo Guerrieri, director/Radiance
One might have thought that all the gialli of interest – those glossy, stylish and gruesome murder mysteries produced in Italy – had found their way onto silver disc by now, But clearly there are still some discoveries to be made. That’s very much the case with Romolo Guerrieri’s erotic THE DOUBLE which dates from 1971 and plays some intriguing tricks with the shibboleths of the genre. Guerrieri’s film is here officially released for the first time since VHS. Giovanni (Jean Sorel) is attacked in an underground garage, his assailant a sinister bearded man. Flashbacks show us his attractive wife, Lucia (Ewa Aulin), and a tangled web of deception. This is a 4K restoration from the original negative, with (of course!) both Italian and English audio tracks, and a new piece by Stephen Thrower, plus a new audio commentary by Tim Lucas.
WORLD NOIR VOL. 5, various directors/Radiance
A strong case could be made for the fact that Radiance’s ongoing World Noir series is one of the most welcome accoutrements to the crime film genre available to viewers at present. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the series is the fact that even seasoned cineastes (such as this writer) are being introduced to films which were previously either known only by their title — or not even that. WORLD NOIR VOL. 5 s on the Italian neorealist-style films including THE BANDIT (1946), starring a young, pre-Fellini Marcello Mastroianni and from a screenplay by Pietro Germi; AGAINST THE LAW (1950) in which a money-launderer is in the frame as a murderer; and FOUR WAYS OUT (1951), directed by Pietro Germi, focusses on the aftermath of a heist at a football stadium. With new 4K restorations, all three films are available here on home media for the first time outside of Italy.. The accompanying limited edition 80-page bound book includes new writing from Roberto Curti, Pasquale Iannone, Beatrice Loayza and Farran Smith Nehme, plus archival writing from Mary P. Wood
From the ever-adventurous Indicator, a trilogy of very quirky French cinema…
CRIME THIEF, Nadine Trintignant, director/Indicator
Sporting a 4K restoration from the original camera negative and some solid extras, Crime Thief has the talented Nadine Trintignant directing her husband, Jean-Louis Trintignant, in an intriguing saga of obsession.
LES ACTEURS, Bertrand Blier, director/Indicator
Truly idiosyncratic, Bertrand Blier’s offbeat comedy adopts a meta aspect, and sports a large ensemble cast of varied French stars. One for aficionados of Gallic cinema history.
DÉFENSE DE SAVOIR, Nadine Trintignant, director/Indicator
The cinematographer here is William Lubtchansky, celebrated for his work with Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Rivette; Défense de savoir is a truly intriguing piece of modern French cinema, with Nadine Trintignant at the helm.
