Four Newly Restored Classic Lina Wertmüller Films Announced for Blu-ray
HomeFour Newly Restored Classic Lina Wertmüller Films Announced for Blu-ray
Posted July 15, 2017 06:00 PM by Webmaster
Kino Lorber will release on Blu-ray four brand new 2K restorations of classic films directed by Lina Wertmüller: Swept Away (1974), Seven Beauties (1975), Summer Night (1986), and Ferdinando and Carolina. The four releases will be available for purchase this September.
Swept Away
Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of the beautiful Mediterranean, Swept Away is Lina Wertmüller's most famous and controversial film about sex, love and politics. On an elegant yacht cruising off the coast of Sardinia, Raffaella (Marigangela Melato), a rich and stunning capitalist, enjoys tormenting Gennarino (Giancarlo Giannini), a Communist sailor. Fate weaves a different scenario and roles become reversed when the two find themselves stranded together on a deserted island. Raffaella must submit to Gennarino in order to survive, which culminates in a dramatic climax when they are rescued. They must determine if their love can survive the harsh realities of civilization.
Special Features:
Seven Beauties
Synopsis: Nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Director, Seven Beauties stars Giancarlo Giannini (Swept Away) as Pasqualino Frafuso, known in Naples as "Pasqualino Seven Beauties." A petty thief who lives off of the profits of his seven sisters while claiming to protect their honor at any cost, Pasqualino is arrested for murder and later sent to fight in the army after committing sexual assault. The Germans capture him and he gets sent to a concentration camp where he plots to make his escape by seducing a German officer.
Special Features:
Summer Night
Synopsis: Mariangela Melato (Swept Away) stars as Signora Bolk, a self-made tycoon interested in ecological preservation. She is fed up with the terrorists who poach Italy's rich beauty and as part of a crazy scheme to retaliate she hires a former CIA agent, Turi, to abduct the number one violator, Giuseppe 'Beppe' Catania. Catania is taken to her villa on a private island where he insists that as a man, he cannot go without sex. She relents and hires two prostitutes to pleasure him. Blindfolded and chained, Beppe realizes that the third woman is none other than the woman who kidnapped him and agrees to pay the $100 million ransom but only with a twist.
Special Features:
Ferdinando and Carolina
Synopsis: In the opulent court of 18th century Bourbon Naples, young King Ferdinando weds Carolina, the sweet, 16 year-old daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, against his wishes.
As the monarchies of Europe hold their breath, something unexpected happens. King Ferdinando and Carolina share one more common interest - a rollicking, orgiastic celebration of the senses and plunge with gusto into silken bed sheets to uphold their regal duties. As the court of Naples continues on with magnificent splendor and sumptuous pleasure, the sovereigns continue to reign, oblivious to the revolutionary tides that are on the verge of tearing France apart and overtaking all of Europe.
Special Features:
ARRIVING ONLY ON DVD:
On September 19, the distributors will also release on DVD Valerio Ruiz's documentary Behind the White Glasses (2015).
Synopsis: Behind the White Glasses offers a deep dive into the ground breaking life and career of Lina Wertmuller, the first woman ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for her masterpiece Seven Beauties.
The documentary spans decades, from the unpublished pictures taken in Cinecitta, when she was Federico Fellini's assistant director on 8½, to the places where her most famous films were set, revealing the artistic and human universe of a woman who, with her unfailing irony and taste for the grotesque, has left her mark in all the fields of entertainment in which she worked: cinema, drama, television, music. The journey is accompanied by many exclusive interviews with the artists who witnessed her intense and constantly evolving career. Among them: Giancarlo Giannini, Marina Cicogna, Sophia Loren, Harvey Keitel, Nastassja Kinski, and film critic John Simon. The film features a long series of unreleased videos, images and songs written by Lina Wertmüller. Behind the White Glasses is a personal poetic portrait by Valerio Ruiz, her longtime assistant director and very close collaborator.
Special Features:
Swept Away
Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of the beautiful Mediterranean, Swept Away is Lina Wertmüller's most famous and controversial film about sex, love and politics. On an elegant yacht cruising off the coast of Sardinia, Raffaella (Marigangela Melato), a rich and stunning capitalist, enjoys tormenting Gennarino (Giancarlo Giannini), a Communist sailor. Fate weaves a different scenario and roles become reversed when the two find themselves stranded together on a deserted island. Raffaella must submit to Gennarino in order to survive, which culminates in a dramatic climax when they are rescued. They must determine if their love can survive the harsh realities of civilization.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by Valerio Ruiz, director of Behind the White Glasses
- Excerpt from documentary Behind the White Glasses
- Interview with director Amy Heckerling
- Original Trailers
- Booklet essays by director Allison Anders and film historian Grace Russo Bullaro
Seven Beauties
Synopsis: Nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Director, Seven Beauties stars Giancarlo Giannini (Swept Away) as Pasqualino Frafuso, known in Naples as "Pasqualino Seven Beauties." A petty thief who lives off of the profits of his seven sisters while claiming to protect their honor at any cost, Pasqualino is arrested for murder and later sent to fight in the army after committing sexual assault. The Germans capture him and he gets sent to a concentration camp where he plots to make his escape by seducing a German officer.
Special Features:
- Excerpt from documentary Behind the White Glasses
- Interview with director Amy Heckerling
- Original Trailers
- Booklet Essays by director Allison Anders and film historian Clauda Consolati, Ph.D
Summer Night
Synopsis: Mariangela Melato (Swept Away) stars as Signora Bolk, a self-made tycoon interested in ecological preservation. She is fed up with the terrorists who poach Italy's rich beauty and as part of a crazy scheme to retaliate she hires a former CIA agent, Turi, to abduct the number one violator, Giuseppe 'Beppe' Catania. Catania is taken to her villa on a private island where he insists that as a man, he cannot go without sex. She relents and hires two prostitutes to pleasure him. Blindfolded and chained, Beppe realizes that the third woman is none other than the woman who kidnapped him and agrees to pay the $100 million ransom but only with a twist.
Special Features:
- Original Trailers
- Booklet essay by film critic Simon Abrams
Ferdinando and Carolina
Synopsis: In the opulent court of 18th century Bourbon Naples, young King Ferdinando weds Carolina, the sweet, 16 year-old daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, against his wishes.
As the monarchies of Europe hold their breath, something unexpected happens. King Ferdinando and Carolina share one more common interest - a rollicking, orgiastic celebration of the senses and plunge with gusto into silken bed sheets to uphold their regal duties. As the court of Naples continues on with magnificent splendor and sumptuous pleasure, the sovereigns continue to reign, oblivious to the revolutionary tides that are on the verge of tearing France apart and overtaking all of Europe.
Special Features:
- Original Trailers
- Booklet essay by film critic Simon Abrams
ARRIVING ONLY ON DVD:
On September 19, the distributors will also release on DVD Valerio Ruiz's documentary Behind the White Glasses (2015).
Synopsis: Behind the White Glasses offers a deep dive into the ground breaking life and career of Lina Wertmuller, the first woman ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for her masterpiece Seven Beauties.
The documentary spans decades, from the unpublished pictures taken in Cinecitta, when she was Federico Fellini's assistant director on 8½, to the places where her most famous films were set, revealing the artistic and human universe of a woman who, with her unfailing irony and taste for the grotesque, has left her mark in all the fields of entertainment in which she worked: cinema, drama, television, music. The journey is accompanied by many exclusive interviews with the artists who witnessed her intense and constantly evolving career. Among them: Giancarlo Giannini, Marina Cicogna, Sophia Loren, Harvey Keitel, Nastassja Kinski, and film critic John Simon. The film features a long series of unreleased videos, images and songs written by Lina Wertmüller. Behind the White Glasses is a personal poetic portrait by Valerio Ruiz, her longtime assistant director and very close collaborator.
Special Features:
- Behind-the-Scenes Footage
- Original Trailers