Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Bandits of Orgosolo Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 24, 2024

Quick!: name an Italian Neorealist film directed by a guy whose moniker starts with Vittorio De and which is about an older man and younger boy facing socioeconomic peril. Well, Bicycle Thieves, obviously, right? Yes, of course, but also Bandits of Orgosolo, a film which I suspect is considerably less known in the United States at least than the De Sica masterpiece. This film's 1960-1 production/release timeframe might suggest it can't possibly be a "real" example of Neorealism, perhaps especially if you've dipped into Radiance's recent Commedia all'italiana: Three Films by Dino Risi set which documented the transition from what might be termed "classic Neorealism" to neorealismo rosa (i.e., "Pink Neorealism") to commedia all'italiana (i.e., "Italian Style Comedy"). That morphing tended to take place from the mid-fifties through into the sixties, but as some of the supplements included on this disc get into, Bandits of Orgosolo might be thought of as an example of Classic Neorealism 2.0.

If Bicycle Thieves followed the travails of a man and boy in a devastated post-World War II Rome, this Vittoria De Seta film offers a much less urban, and indeed rural, accounting of some at least somewhat similar socioeconomic straits suffered by locals, albeit in this case in an unspecified time period which may be moot in any case since there's an underlying sense that people in this environment have been living this way since the veritable days of yore. In this case the focal character is a Sardinian shepherd named Michele (Michele Cossu) who works with his younger brother Peppeddu (Peppeddu Cossu) in some incredibly rough yet gorgeous mountainous terrain. The fact that these two main characters are played by actors with the same names who were evidently related in real life, and the attending fact that director De Seta had made his name in documentary features before traversing over to this, his first narrative film, may in and of itself support a general thesis of this film falling well within the parameters of what even De Sica or even Rossellini might have termed Neorealism.

While the socioeconomic status of Michele and his cohort is front and center, what gives the film some narrative momentum is a cascading series of events that finds Michele in near Job level predicaments which include being accused not just of sheep rustling, but murder. That sets things off on an even more perilous course for a character who is already under considerable duress. Suffice it to say, there's no Deus ex Machina or other Divine presence a la the Job story descending from the clouds above the ragged peaks to put things right, and there's an incredible emotional bleakness to this tale that has considerable and visceral impact. The feeling of an inexorable and emotionless fate buffeting Michele into a hazard strewn life will certainly resonate with anyone who has ever felt like they're not in control of what's happening to them.

Bandits of Orgosolo Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Bandits of Orgosolo is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Radiance's insert booklet contains the following notes on the transfer:

Bandits of Orgosolo
Restored in 4K in 2023 by The Film Foundation and Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, from the original negative. In association with Titanus. FUnding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.

This is an absolutely gorgeous looking transfer that features some really striking mountain cinematography (by De Seta) that almost reminded me at times of some of Ansel Adams' high contrast photographs of Yosemite and the like. Contrast is secure throughout this presentation, with some impressively deep blacks and some nicely nuanced modulation of gray scale which helps to differentiate tones in the hardscrabble hills. Detail levels are generally excellent, with the possible exception of some very low light scenes where shadow definition can falter slightly. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Bandits of Orgosolo Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Bandits of Orgosolo features LPCM 2.0 Mono audio in the original Italian. There's not an overly baroque attempt to layer sound effects, but the outdoor material has ambient background environmental sounds which reverberate decently and the score by Valentino Bucchi also is rendered well. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Bandits of Orgosolo Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Ehsan Khoshbakht (HD; ) is an interview with the curator and filmmaker. Khoshbakht discusses some of the parallels between this De Seta film and the De Sica film mentioned above, among other interesting topics.


• Luciano Tovoli (HD; 27:48) is an interesting interview with the film's cinematographer. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 2:52)

Radiance also provides a nicely appointed insert booklet with writing by Roberto Curti and the usual assortment of cast/crew information and technical data. The keepcase features a reversible sleeve and Radiance's obi strip.

Note: Some may be interested in checking out Radiance's UK release since it offers a second disc with 4K restorations of ten documentaries by De Seta.

Bandits of Orgosolo Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bandits of Orgosolo is ultimately an emotionally devastating work of narrative fiction, though it almost starts out like the Sardinian version of something like Robert J. Flaherty's Nanook of the North. Technical merits are secure, especially some ravishing looking video, and the supplements on this disc are very interesting, though as noted above, some may want to check out Radiance's UK edition since it provides a second bonus disc. Highly recommended.