The Magnificent Cuckold Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Magnificent Cuckold Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 20, 2026

Though one of the following hasn't yet made it to Region A Blu-ray, those interested might cobble together a home theater triple feature including 1961's Divorce Italian Style (that aforementioned Region A exception, with the link pointing to an appropriately Italian release), and two films from 1964, Marriage Italian Style and the outing currently under discussion. All three films paint a rather jaded picture of Italian marriage (and/or divorce), and taken together and perhaps chronologically they offer a really fascinating "evolution" of what might be at least allusively described as nascent feminism. All three films exploit what would later become branded as "toxic masculinity", albeit within the context of "expected" norms in midcentury Italy, but Divorce Italian Style famously includes the murder of the wife in the story, while both Marriage Italian Style and The Magnificent Cuckold offer women (maybe slowly but surely) taking control of their own fate upon realizing their male partner has what might be termed ulterior motives. In a way, Divorce Italian Style and The Magnificent Cuckold are kind of mirror images of each other, in that the 1961 film hinges on a desperate husband hatching an elaborate scheme to allege he's been cuckolded by his wife, whereas The Magnificent Cuckold features a desperate husband who keeps imagining his wife is straying from her marriage vows.

Unlike the Marcello Mastroianni character in Divorce Italian Style, Andrea Artusi (Ugo Tognazzi) is undeniably in love with his young wife Maria Grazia (Claudia Cardinale), but much like the deliberately ironic ending of the 1961 Mastroianni film which sees his plans "succeed" so that he can marry a much younger woman only to have the film disclose she may be on her own path of dalliance, that age difference may portend troubles. In this case, though, Andrea's fears are imaginary, at least for a while, and they seem to stem in part from his own affair, in just one indication of the kind of scabrous humor underlying the kind of smarmy surface level of the narrative. Andrea's mental stability actually begins to falter under the weight of his suspicions, and Maria Grazia more or less takes matters into her own hands as a result, leading to the cinematic equivalent of, if not "be careful what you wish for", then "be careful what you fear might happen".

The Magnificent Cuckold Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Magnificent Cuckold is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Radiance's insert booklet has the following information on the transfer:

The Magnificent Cuckold was restored in 4K by Cineteca di Bologna in collaboration with Compass Film, from original sound and camera negatives made available by Compass Film, from original sound and camera negatives made available by Compass Film and preserved at the Studio Cine laboratory. This restoration was delivered to as a high definition digital file. The film is presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with original mono audio.

The fantasy color sequence included as an extra on this Blu-ray comes from a positive print - found in the Film Archives of Cineteca di Bologna - of a re- edited, shorter version of the film released in 1971.

A prefatory text card before the main presentation also offers a somewhat redacted version of the above verbiage. The result is a really lustrous looking presentation with typically great looking detail levels and some nicely modulated gray scale. Contrast is also superb throughout, and grain is tightly resolved. There are a number of "fantasy" sequences where Andrea's imagination gets the best of him, and those were evidently shot with some kind of diffusion filter, leading to some intentional but noticeable blooming of light values (and actual lights at times), as can be seen in screenshots 2 and 6. Those vignettes are understandably a bit less clear and well detailed, by design.

The Magnificent Cuckold Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Magnificent Cuckold features an LPCM Mono track in the original Italian. Armando Trovajoli's jazz inflected score offers some fun counterpart (in both senses of the word) to the visuals, and the music accompanying an imagined striptease scene is especially memorable. A number of outdoor scenes, including a kind of funny "car chase", also can feature good ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Magnificent Cuckold Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Richard Dyer (HD; 42:37) offers the Italian cinema expert giving a good overview of the film as well as providing some history in terms of the source play, Le Cocu magnifique.


• Remi Fournier Lanzoni (HD; 17:33) narrates a visual essay entitled Under His Gaze: Women, Jealousy and Power in 1960s Italy.


• Color Sequence (HD; 2:28) is culled from a print of a 1971 re-release that overlaid various hues on the dream sequences.

Radiance's insert booklet offers a fairly long essay by Phuong Le. Radiance's usual packaging is offered as well, including a reversible sleeve and Obi strip.

The Magnificent Cuckold Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In his overview Richard Dyer mentions how The Magnificent Cuckold was a huge hit in Italy, but languished in other markets, to the point that it is largely forgotten these days. Much like both Divorce Italian Style and Marriage Italian Style, there's a kind of dark undertow providing a good deal of tension for the more overt comedic elements, and it could probably be argued that in its own way The Magnificent Cuckold is even darker than Divorce Italian Style in particular. While it's also arguable the film's international appeal might have been heightened had it, too, featured Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi is very effective as the increasingly addled Andrea, and Claudia Cardinale is absolutely captivating as a character who initially seems like a cipher in the form of arm candy, but who turns out to definitely have a mind of her own. Technical merits are solid and the supplements very appealing. Recommended.