"Actor: Vittorio Gassman"

• Commedia all'italiana: Three Films by Dino Risi | Blu Ray | (21/08/2023) from £33.45   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Comedy ruled the box office in Italy from the late 1950s to the 1970s where the commedia all'italiana also found critical success. Great talent behind and in front of the camera delivered a series of brilliant films that gave an incredible spin on familiar genres with comedic overtones that often held a dark and biting critique of social mores that would provoke a challenge to a society in need of change. Feted at local awards ceremonies and European festivals as well as garnering attention from the Academy Awards this prestige would propel the films and filmmakers to international stardom but many would go unreleased in the UK for home viewing. At last, this ongoing series shines a light on this misunderstood filmmaking style with the first collection focusing on three films by master director Dino Risi, presented from new restorations and featuring a suite of contextualising extras. From a prestigious lineage in the ancient art of satirical theatre in commedia dell'arte, the Italian-style comedy distinguished itself in the late 1950s from the earlier broad comedies popularised by the likes of Toto and Vittorio De Sica with a ruthless approach to social satire focused on cynicism and the grotesque. An early example of the switch in tone can be found in Dino Risi's Il vedovo, in which Italy's preeminent comedy actor Alberto Sordi plays a philandering husband of a wealthy and successful woman who simply tolerates her husband's ineptitude. Until he sees a potential plan for her death, which would result in a great inheritance for him. One of the greatest Italian actors of all time, Vittorio Gassman (Bitter Rice) known as Il Mattatore 'The Showman' earns his name from this film and his wonderful performance as an actor with the uncanny ability to mimic regional accents, allowing him to pull off a series of scams. Ingeniously plotted by screenwriters Ettore Scola and Ruggero Maccari who were behind some of the greatest films in the commedia all'italiana including Il Sorpasso and Ugly, Dirty and Bad. Alternately known as Love & Larceny, Dino Risi (Anima Persa) directs this classic comedy which was nominated for the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and makes its English-subtitled Blu-ray debut. A career highlight for director Dino Risi and his star Vittorio Gasman, Il sorpasso isn't just one of the heights of commedia all'italiana but of all Italian cinema. Jean-Louis Trintignant (The Conformist) plays Roberto, a shy law student who meets Bruno (Gassman), a larger-than-life Roman playboy who convinces Roberto to join him on a road trip from Rome to the Tuscan countryside. Their travels teach them about each other and themselves, oscillating between comedy and tragedy with powerful and affecting commentary on the easy life. Long admired in Italy, the film has influenced comedic filmmakers including Alexander Payne (Sideways) and Aziz Ansari (Master of None). Radiance Films is proud to present this seminal film in the UK for the first time from a new 4K restoration. Product Features 2016 4K restoration of Il Sorpasso carried out by L'Immagine Ritrovata at the Cineteca di Bologna, presented in High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) for the first time in the UK High-Definition digital transfers of Il Mattatore and Il Vedovo, presented in world premieres on Blu-ray Original uncompressed Italian mono PCM audio Newly translated optional English subtitles Newly designed artwork based on original posters Limited Edition 80-page perfect bound booklet featuring new writing by scholars and critics including Robert Gordon on the commedia all'italiana boom, Gino Moliterno on Il vedovo; Pasquale Iannone on Age and Scarpelli and the key screenwriters of the commedia all'italiana movement, Christina Newland on Italian machismo and Il sorpasso; a newly translated interview with Dino Risi by Lorenzo Codelli; and extracts of writing by Risi Limited Edition of 3,000 copies, presented in a rigid box with full-height scanavo cases for each film and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings IL SORPASSO [THE EASY LIFE] Appreciation of the film by Italian cinema expert Richard Dyer Archival interview with Dino Risi by critic Jean Gili (2004) Jean-Louis Trintignant on Il Sorpasso - an introduction by the actor for a French TV broadcast of the film (1983, 8 mins) L'estate di Bruno Cortona - Castiglioncello nell'anno del Sorpasso (Gloria De Antoni, 2012) - an extract from the documentary made for the 50th anniversary of Il Sorpasso featuring the cast and crew On a Trintignant Kick - An audio essay and tribute to Jean-Louis Trintignant by critic and author Tim Lucas, looking at his life and work in the 1960s (2023, 58 mins) Trailer IL MATTATORE [THE SHOWMAN] Interview with Andrea Bini, author of Male Anxiety and Psychopathology in Film: Comedy Italian Style Speaking with Gassman - documentary on the working relationship between Vittorio Gassman and Dino Risi, by Risi's son Marco (2005) Love & Larceny - Michel Hazanavicius on Il Mattatore, an appreciation of the film and Vittorio Gassman by the director of The Artist Trailer IL VEDOVO [THE WIDOWER] Neorealismo rosa - a visual essay by Italian cinema professor and author of Comedy Italian Style Remi Fournier Lanzoni on the softening of neo-realism which laid the groundwork for the emergence of commedia all'italiana Alberto Sordi - a visual essay by critic Kat Ellinger about the great Italian actor Trailer Extras subject to change.

• Sleepers | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £5.69   |  Saving you £10.30 (181.02%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The first thing you need to know about Sleepers is that it's based on a novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra that was allegedly based on a true story. The movie repeats this bogus claim, which was attacked and determined by a wide majority to be misleading. Knowing this, Sleepers becomes problematic because it's too neat, too clean, too manipulative in terms of legal justice and dramatic impact to be truly convincing. And yet, with its stellar cast directed by Barry Levinson, it succeeds as gripping entertainment, and its tale of complex morality--despite a dubious emphasis on homophobic revenge--is sufficiently provocative. It's about four boys in New York's Hell's Kitchen district who are sent to reform school, where they must endure routine sexual assaults by the sadistic guards. Years after their release, the opportunity for revenge proves irresistible for two of the young men, who must then rely on the other pair of friends (Brad Pitt, Jason Patric), a loyal priest (Robert De Niro), and a shabby lawyer (Dustin Hoffman) to defend them in court. Despite the compelling ambiguities of the story, there's never any doubt about how we're supposed to feel, and the screenplay glosses over the story's most difficult moral dilemmas. At its best, Sleepers grabs your attention and pulls you into its intense story of friendship and the price of loyalty under extreme conditions. The movie's New York settings are vividly authentic, and Minnie Driver makes a strong impression as a long-time friend of the loyal group of guys. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• The Bible - Complete | DVD | (27/09/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £59.99

  Over 18 hours of informative but epicly entertaining Biblical adventures lavish productions of the greatest stories ever told featuring the greatest casts ever assembled! Includes the stories Samson And Delilah Moses Jesus Joseph Abraham and David. Samson And Delilah: Samson hero of the Israelites becomes hynoptised by the devious and beautiful Delilah. In an act of betrayal she cuts Samson's hair the secret of his strength. Enslaved blind and weak Samson retai

• Barabbas | DVD | (25/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Starring Anthony Quinn in the title role Barabbas was released in 1961 in the midst of a wave of widescreen epics based on Biblical characters. "It begins where the other big ones leave off", declaims the trailer. The screenplay, by playwright Christopher Fry (who also contributed to Ben-Hur), is an unusually intelligent one: listen out for Barabbas' final encounter with the Apostle Thomas, for example. Further assets are the imaginative, sparingly orchestrated score by Mario Nascimbene and a handsome production design by art director Mario Chiari that is so rewarding to the eye in Aldo Tonti's often dazzling cinematography. Like the other Biblical epics of the day, in its original theatrical incarnation Barabbas had an intermission and orchestral intermezzo which is sadly missing from this version. (It occurred at the point where Barabbas emerges from a 20 years exile in the sulphur mines in Sicily, allowing the audience to dwell on his recuperation before we next encounter him. He now appears muscled and bronzed ploughing the verdant fields outside Rome in all too quick a fashion!). Many scenes, such as Christ's crucifixion, are shot and staged like tableaux in a style reminiscent of the great masters of art. And in Fleischer's hands this film surpasses anything Ridley Scott achieved years later in Gladiator: he fills the huge arena--a vast Roman amphitheatre--with a gladiatorial school of hand-to-hand combat, a parade of elephants and a den of lions, and then caps his production with a riveting and thrillingly mounted duel between Jack Palance, careering round the circumference of the arena in his chariot, and Barabbas dodging him on foot. The supporting cast, who sport a variety of accents call for some tolerance, however. On the DVD: Barabbas on disc comes devoid of any extra features other than trailers for it and another contemporaneous blockbuster, The Guns of Navarone. --Adrian Edwards

• Sleepers | DVD | (01/10/1999) from £15.99   |  Saving you £-3.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The first thing you need to know about Sleepers is that it's based on a novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra that was allegedly based on a true story. The movie repeats this bogus claim, which was attacked and determined by a wide majority to be misleading. Knowing this, Sleepers becomes problematic because it's too neat, too clean, too manipulative in terms of legal justice and dramatic impact to be truly convincing. And yet, with its stellar cast directed by Barry Levinson, it succeeds as gripping entertainment, and its tale of complex morality--despite a dubious emphasis on homophobic revenge--is sufficiently provocative. It's about four boys in New York's Hell's Kitchen district who are sent to reform school, where they must endure routine sexual assaults by the sadistic guards. Years after their release, the opportunity for revenge proves irresistible for two of the young men, who must then rely on the other pair of friends (Brad Pitt, Jason Patric), a loyal priest (Robert De Niro), and a shabby lawyer (Dustin Hoffman) to defend them in court. Despite the compelling ambiguities of the story, there's never any doubt about how we're supposed to feel, and the screenplay glosses over the story's most difficult moral dilemmas. At its best, Sleepers grabs your attention and pulls you into its intense story of friendship and the price of loyalty under extreme conditions. The movie's New York settings are vividly authentic, and Minnie Driver makes a strong impression as a long-time friend of the loyal group of guys. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Tankard - Fat, Ugly and Still (a)Live | DVD | (07/11/2005) from £6.15   |  Saving you £15.10 (308.79%)   |  RRP £19.99

  After more than 25 years of band history Tankard haven't lost their excellent reputation for drinking and all out thrash metal mayhem. Now AFM presents the band's first DVD featuring over 5 hours of material including a live show (recorded in Frankfurt) all the bands videos interviews photo galleries outtakes and much much more!!

• A Wedding | DVD | (15/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  More than one family secret hides behind a wedding... When the Corellis and the Brenners come together for the joyous occasion of their children's wedding events get off to a shaky start with the aging Bishop struggling to remember the order of service. As the reception gets underway the wedding planner looks set to crack the over-zealous staff attack one of the guests infidelities are rife and scandalous secrets are revealed. As the chaos ensues and tension rises between t

• The Alain Resnais Collection (4 disc box set) | DVD | (21/06/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Films Comprise: I Want to Go Home Life Is a Bed of Roses Love unto Death Melo

• Classic Cuts Collection - Historical Epics | DVD | (26/03/2007) from £6.95   |  Saving you £18.04 (259.57%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Barabbas (Dir. Richard Fleischer): Barabbas (Anthony Quinn) is a man literally marked with the blood of Jesus. Before being crucified Jesus is brutally flogged while tied to a post outside Barabbas' cell. When released by decree of the people Barabbas staggers into this post covering his hands in Christ's blood. His life is never the same again... The Conqueror: John Wayne stars as the Mongolian chieftain Temujin better known as Genghis Khan. The Mongol warlord must do battle against the rival tribe that killed his father however the battle pales in comparison with Temujin's home life. He must attempt to woo the heart of the red-haired Tartar prisoner Borlai (Susan Hayward) whom he captured in a raid... Spartacus (Dir. Stanley Kubrick): Stanley Kubrick's film tells the tale of Spartacus the bold gladiator slave and Virinia the woman who believed in his cause. Challenged by the power-hungry General Crassus Spartacus is forced to face his convictions and the power of Imperial Rome at its glorious height. A classic inspirational true account of one man's struggle for freedom Spartacus combines history with spectacle to recreate a moving drama of love and commitment. Gladiator (Dir. Ridley Scott): The great Roman General Maximus (Russell Crowe) has once again led the legions to victory on the battlefield. The war won Maximus dreams of home wanting only to return to his wife and son; however the dying Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) has one more duty for the general - to assume the mantle of his power. Jealous of Maximus' favor with the emperor the heir to the throne Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) orders his execution - and that of his family. Barely escaping death Maximus is forced into slavery and trained as a gladiator in the arena where his fame grows. Now he has come to Rome intent on avenging the murder of his wife and son by killing the new emperor; Commodus....