"Actor: Gianni Franco"

• Paris nous appartient (Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (24/09/2018) from £8.49   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Jacques Rivette, the great cinematic visionary and probably least known of the major French Wave directors, started making his first film in 1957 and completed it slowly over a period of two years, as money allowed. Finally released in 1961, Paris nous appartient brilliantly captured the mood of paranoia and uncertainty of that Cold War period. Featuring cameos from fellow New Wave directors Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard, and Jacques Demy; a striking musique concrète score, and Charles Bitsch's stunning black and white photography. The BFI is proud to present this world cinema classic in High Definition for the first time in the UK. Special features: Presented in High Definition Newly commissioned feature-length commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin (2018) Filmed introduction by critic Jonathan Romney on Rivette and Paris nous appartient (2016, 18 mins) Le Coup du Berger (Jacques Rivette, 1957, 29 mins) Illustrated booklet with a new essay by So Mayer, Tom Milne s 1962 review and a preview from Louis Marcorelles looking forward to the film s release Other extras TBC

• Neo-Realist Box Set | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £19.84   |  Saving you £15.15 (76.36%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Rome Open City: Roberto Rossellini's startling depiction of Nazi-occupied World War II Rome and one of the most prominent examples of his neorealist cinematic style is the story of a tenaciously held underground resistance against the Germans. When its leader Manfredi (Marcello Pagliero) and a priest Don Pietro (Aldo Fabrizi) are captured the resistance collapses with disastrous personal results to all. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay; Fellini collaborated with Rossellini in the writing of the script. 'Open City' is all the more remarkable in that it was made immediately following the liberation of Rome had been developed while Rossellini himself was in hiding and was filmed in the locations where the true events that the story are based on occurred. (Dir. Roberto Rossellini 1945) The Bicycle Thieves: After nearly two years of unemployment Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) finally finds work posting bills. But he needs a bicycle to do the job. Unfortunately he was forced to pawn his own bicycle long ago. In a humbling tragic scene Antonio exchanges his family's linen for his bicycle. But when the bike is stolen on his first day of work he must comb the streets of Rome in search of the bike: his family's only means to survival. Shot on location in Rome and using non-actors as a means of heightening the reality of the film Ladri Di Biciclette received the Honorary Award for Best Foreign Film at the 1950 Oscars. (Dir. Vittorio De Sica 1948) Miracle In Milan: Once upon a time an old woman discovered a young child in her cabbage patch. She cared for him until her death at which time the boy was placed into an orphanage. When the child is released from the orphanage he inspires shantytown squatters to improve their huts and enjoy the world. But as they begin to rebuild the squatters strike oil. The landowner evicts them wanting the oil for himself. But the old woman drops down from heaven to give Toto a magical dove which grants them whatever wish they want. Winner of the Grand Prize at the 1951 Cannes Film Festival - tied with Frken Julie. (Dir. Vittorio De Sica 1951) Umberto D: Retired civil servant Umberto struggles to survive on his rapidly dwindling pension in the harsh environment of post-World War II Rome a city plagued by its society's total disregard for the plight of the elderly the poor and the downtrodden. His only companions are his loyal dog Flag and a pregnant housemaid named Maria (Maria-Pia Casilio). Facing eviction from his humble home by his tyrannical landlady (Lina Gennari) Umberto's desperate failed attempts to raise money lead him to contemplate suicide. But first he must find a home for his little dog. Filmed on location in Rome with a totally non-professional cast Vittorio De Sica's compassionate but unsentimental handling of Umberto's tale devastatingly conveys the wretchedness of poverty and old age. 'Umberto D' is a deeply emotional and moving film that has quite rightly been hailed as a timeless classic of modern cinema. (Dir. Vittorio De Sica 1952) I Vitelloni: Five young men linger in post-adolescent limbo dreaming of adventure and escape from their small seacoast town. They while away their time spending the lira doled out by their indulgent families on drink women and nights at the local pool hall. Federico Fellini's second solo directorial effort is a semi-autobiographical masterpiece of sharply drawn character sketches. An international success and recipient of an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay I Vitelloni compassionately details a year in the life of small-town layabouts struggling to find meaning in their lives. (Dir. Federico Fellini 1953)

• Fogs and Crimes: The Complete Third Season | DVD | (28/09/2015) from £18.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Fog & Crimes S3

• Puccini - La Boheme | DVD | (12/06/2006) from £14.78   |  Saving you £-3.79 (N/A%)   |  RRP £10.99

  Zeffirelli's 1963 Milan production of La Boheme, preserved in this 1965 film, provides a richly satisfying take on Puccini's much-loved romantic tragedy. The staging is opulent, not least in the way Zeffirelli opens up the Cafe Momus and turns it into a warm, vibrant haven for the bohemians and their followers. But it's the relationships which really matter here. Puccini's score--conducted with restrained passion by Herbert von Karajan--develops in a wonderfully linear way, with some of his most intensely moving arias and duets underpinning the evolution of the bohemian artists, particularly Rodolfo and Marcello, from immature egotists to rounded human beings, touched by tragedy. The film does look dated now--Mirella Freni's Mimi, sung with moving clarity, has the doe-eyed look of a 1960s pop star and the camera work is a tad unsophisticated--but the singing still puts the listener through the wringer. Gianni Raimondi's Rodolfo ("Che gelida manina") struggles manfully to come to terms with his emotional shortcomings and Adriana Martino (Musetta) has some fine comic moments before playing her vital part in the overwhelming sadness of the final scenes. Soul food for the tragically inclined. On the DVD: La Boheme has no extras here, but excellent booklet notes accompany the disc. The PCM Stereo soundtrack has been digitally remastered to decent effect. The 4:3 picture format inevitably imposes some limitations and the 1960s video quality is a little dull, but after all, this is a product of its time and a vital record of one of Zeffirelli's most successful productions.--Piers Ford

• Wax Mask | DVD | (15/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Paris 1900: a couple are horribly murdered by a masked man with a metal claw who rips their hearts out. The sole survivor and witness to the massacre is a young girl. Twelve years later in Rome a new wax museum is opened whose main attractions are lifelike recreations of gruesome murder scenes. A young man bets that he will spend the night in the museum but is found dead the morning after. Soon people start disappearing from the streets of Rome and the wax museum halls begin filli

• The Phantom Of The Opera | DVD | (29/07/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Dario Argento's 1998 Phantom of the Opera is about as far from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version as it's possible to get. Grand Guignol isn't in it as he ransacks Gaston Leroux's poignant original for all its darkest elements and slathers them in gore. This phantom is no masked stranger, his scars sensationally exposed in the last reel. Instead he is Julian Sands in vampirical mode, an enigmatic wraith with extraordinary, literally mordant, powers, raised by rats in the sewer beneath the Paris Opera. Above ground, the authentically drawn twittering and jealous world of the opera house falls unsuspecting prey to his machinations. As his quest to turn sweet-voiced Christina (Argento's daughter Asia) into a prima donna gathers pace, so the horribly mutilated bodies mount up, meeting their demise in increasingly bloody ways. Sands generates an erotic charge verging on the kinky. His ratty friends share more than the festering food on his table. Somehow, the tragic romance at the heart of the tale survives this boisterous treatment and the overall effect is curiously stylish, marred only by a poorly dubbed soundtrack. A cult movie in the making; definitely one to enjoy after a good night out at the pub.--Piers Ford

• Puccini: La Boheme -- Zeffirelli film version | DVD | (12/06/2006) from £16.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (17.66%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Zeffirellis 1963 Milan production of La Boheme, preserved in this 1965 film, provides a richly satisfying take on Puccinis much-loved romantic tragedy. The staging is opulent, not least in the way Zeffirelli opens up the Cafe Momus and turns it into a warm, vibrant haven for the bohemians and their followers. But its the relationships which really matter here. Puccinis score--conducted with restrained passion by Herbert von Karajan--develops in a wonderfully linear way, with some of his most intensely moving arias and duets underpinning the evolution of the bohemian artists, particularly Rodolfo and Marcello, from immature egotists to rounded human beings, touched by tragedy. The film does look dated now--Mirella Frenis Mimi, sung with moving clarity, has the doe-eyed look of a 1960s pop star and the camera work is a tad unsophisticated--but the singing still puts the listener through the wringer. Gianni Raimondis Rodolfo ("Che gelida manina") struggles manfully to come to terms with his emotional shortcomings and Adriana Martino (Musetta) has some fine comic moments before playing her vital part in the overwhelming sadness of the final scenes. Soul food for the tragically inclined. On the DVD: La Boheme has no extras here, but excellent booklet notes accompany the disc. The PCM Stereo soundtrack has been digitally remastered to decent effect. The 4:3 picture format inevitably imposes some limitations and the 1960s video quality is a little dull, but after all, this is a product of its time and a vital record of one of Zeffirellis most successful productions.--Piers Ford

• Dangerous Chucky Dolls | DVD | (20/10/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99