Arrow Films’ Arrow Academy label is thrilled to announce the release of L’Assassino, making its UK home entertainment debut on both Blu-ray and DVD formats on 21st July 2014 in a gorgeous new restoration by the Cineteca di Bologna.
Movie critics would probably agree that the early 1960s marked the highpoint of Italian cinema both in Italy and internationally. And it was in this period that there came the debut of a director who would later become one of the major Italian political filmmakers of the 1960s and 1970s: Elio Petri.
In 1961, Petri made his feature debut with L’Assassino. It follows the police investigation concerning Alfredo Martelli (a young Marcello Mastroianni), a sleazy thirty something antique dealer accused of having murdered his older mistress, the wealthy socialite Adalgisa De Matteis (Micheline Presle). On a first look, the film is a thriller, a favourite genre of Petri’s; the director often stated that he had always had “a predilection for mystery novels,” especially when they provide a chance to scrutinise contemporary society.
Indeed, L’Assassino mixes elements of a mystery plot with a Kafkaesque atmosphere and an explicit critique of the rising upper-bourgeois society in Italy in the early 1960s. Through the examination of a cynical social climber who finds himself in trouble and gets punished for his greediness, unloving personality, and ambiguous morality, the film criticises the rampant capitalism, the nouveaux riches, and the early negative consequences of the Italian “economic boom” of the 1950s.
This jam-packed disc will be released as a deluxe Blu-ray and DVD combo featuring a host of special features, including the standout 52-minute documentary, Tonino Guerra - A Poet in the Movies, about the screenwriter who not only co-wrote L’Assassino but also many other major masterpieces of Italian and world cinema such as Antonioni’s Blow-Up, Fellini’s Amarcord and Tarkovsky’s Nostalghia). Alongside this, this disc will feature a ten-minute introduction to the film and it’s still underappreciated director Elio Petri by Italian cinema expert Pasquale Iannone.
The disc will also include a new collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Camilla Zamboni, plus a selection of contemporary reviews and Petri’s own critical analysis of 1950s Italian cinema illustrated with original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw.
Synopsis
Released within months of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and Antonioni’s La Notte, Elio Petri’s dazzling first feature L’Assassino also stars Marcello Mastroianni, this time as dandyish thirty-something antiques dealer Alfredo Martelli, arrested on suspicion of murdering his older, far wealthier lover Adalgisa (Micheline Presle). But as the increasingly Kafkaesque police investigation proceeds, it becomes less and less important whether Martelli actually committed the crime as his entire lifestyle is effectively put on trial.
Best known for Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and The Tenth Victim, Petri was one of the finest and yet most underrated Italian directors of the 1960s and 70s. Highly acclaimed on its original UK release but unjustly neglected since, L’Assassino is a remarkably assured debut from one of the cinema’s sharpest chroniclers of Italian social and political realities. Petri said that he wanted to reflect the changes wrought by the early sixties, and to examine “a new generation of upstarts who lacked any kind of moral scruple”.
Arrow Academy is proud to present the first ever UK video release of L’Assassino in a gorgeous high-definition restoration created by the Cineteca di Bologna.
This deluxe package will be full of special features and bonus material including:
·New 2K digital restoration from the Cineteca di Bologna
·Uncompressed Mono 2.0 PCM Audio
·Elio Petri and L’Assassino, an introduction by Italian cinema expert Pasquale Iannone
·Tonino Guerra: A Poet in the Movies: Nicola Tranquillino’s documentary about the great Italian screenwriter
·Theatrical Trailer
·Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw
·Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Elio Petri expert Camilla Zamboni, Petri’s own critical analysis of 1950s Italian cinema, plus a selection of contemporary reviews
On 23rd July Sony Pictures Releasing brings Bad Neighbours in our theatres. The company was so kind to send us a peek behind the (hilarious) scenes
God Seed, featuring former Gorgoroth members Gaahl and King ov Hell, have been confirmed as the latest addition to the Metal Stage. The controversial legacy of the leading Norwegian black metal musicians needs little explaining to aficionados of the heaviest sounds around. This will be the band's exclusive UK festival performance.
The KVB, a duo catching the attention of tastemakers with their dreamy, shoegaze reminiscent guitars and minimal synth melodies, are the first of several additions to Alt-Fest’s Gothic stage. The KVB will appear as one of the many UK Festival exclusives that the festival have lined up for the bill. Italian neofolk five-piece, Spiritual Front, will be next to take to the Alt-Fest stage; also in a UK Festival exclusive. Somewhere between goth and post-punk are Swedish group The Exploding Boy, who will appear in not only a UK Festival exclusive but also a UK premiere. Last but by no means least, amongst the Gothic stage additions will be the sultry sounds of Luna Reign.
British electro industrial group Kommand+Kontrol first performed at Alt-Fest run club night AntiChrist, therefore it is fitting that the band are now set to take to the Industrial stage at this summer’s festival.
Given the ever-increasing support for Fearless Vampire Alt-Fest have moved the band up the billing to the Main stage. In a move similar to Alt-Fest’s fan-led ethos FVK, are soon to stream their second album via their very own social network ‘The Obsidian Bond’ on 17th July.
Finally, SOPHIE stage and TBFM competition winners Resin beat 390 other entrants to bag themselves a slot at the festival. The band’s grunge-tinged grooves won the hearts of fans and Alt-Fest promoters alike in the face of fierce competition.
About Alt-Fest:
Alt-Fest has already caught the attention of both the UK alternative scene and the media through a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign. The event, a five-day, multiple stage festival covering Alternative, Industrial, Metal, Goth and Steampunk music, lifestyle and more not only reached its target of £30,000 but went on to double the target, receiving over £61,000 from fans via the Kickstarter UK platform. Over 150 acts across the Metal, Goth, industrial and Steampunk genres are now booked. Most importantly Alt-Fest, which is operating a strict policy of ‘run by the fans, for the fans’, is engaging their audience in every aspect of the planning process making Alt-Fest not just crowd-funded but also crowd-led.
US author and screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis has been named president of the international jury of the 41st Film Fest Gent (14 to 25 October).
In 1985, at the age of twenty-one, Ellis conquered the world with his first novel Less Than Zero. He consistently retained his cult status with The Rules of Attraction, the controversial and acclaimed American Psycho and The Informers. The novels all received film adaptations after being released.
Since finishing his last novel Imperial Bedrooms, which was a sequel of sorts to Less Than Zero, he has been focusing on screenplays. He wrote and coproduced The Canyons by Paul Schrader, starring Lindsey Lohan. The film was screened at the last edition of Film Fest Gent, which then had its focus on American Independent Cinema.
Patrick Duynslaegher, artistic director of Film Fest Gent, on choosing Ellis as president of the jury: "Bret Easton Ellis is not only one of the most important and influential contemporary American writers, he’s also a real film buff who apparently devours movies daily and is open to all kinds of cinema from European art house
to Hollywood blockbusters. He has a substantiated opinion on everything he sees and doesn’t hesitate to take contrarian and provocative point of views. This is what makes him an ideal president of the festival jury."
The official competition is an important segment of the festival. The international jury will honour features with the award for Best Film and the Georges Delrue award for Best Soundtrack. In the past, international guests in the jury of the festival have been: Jeanne Moreau, Mike Figgis, Christoper Lee, Michael Haneke and Jessica Woodworth. Previously the following films have been awarded for Best Film: The Selfish Giant, Tabu, Elena and Die Fremde.
Film Fest Gent is looking forward to host the established European film event for the 41st time with international guests and premieres, film music concerts and the 14th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards. More news and additional names of jurors will be announced soon.
Film Fest Gent takes place from 14 until 25 October 2014 at Kinepolis Ghent, Vooruit, Studio Skoop, Sphinx, Bijloke, KASKcinema, Caermersklooster and Kuipke. Tickets and all info can be found on our website: www.filmfestival.be and www.worldsoundtrackawards.com.
A NEW NIGHTWISH ALBUM IS COMING!
Enjoy the first episode of „the making of" the new Nightwish album, which is scheduled to be released before summer 2015
