Radiance Films has announced its January batch of Blu-ray releases. They are: Underworld Beauty (1958), Weak Spot (1975), and Il posto + I fidanzati (1961).
Retrieving the diamonds he stashed before his arrest, thief Miyamoto hopes to help his old partner Mihara, crippled during the heist. Their former boss, crime lord Oyane, offers to mediate with a foreign buyer, but secretly wants the stones for himself. The deal goes awry when gunmen appear on the scene. Mihara swallows the diamonds but dies in the chase, leaving a valuable corpse in the police morgue. Miyamoto forms an uneasy alliance with Mihara's wildcat sister Akiko to keep the gems away from gangsters, cops and even Akiko's greedy boyfriend. This wildly inventive early noir sees Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill, Tattooed Life) infectiously playing with genre rules and gender stereotypes.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 4K RESTORATION of the film by Nikkatsu Corporation
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
New interview with critic Mizuki Kodama (2024, 15 mins)
Bonus feature: Seijun Suzuki's Love Letter (1959, 40 mins)
Audio commentary on Love Letter by Suzuki biographer William Carroll (2024)
Trailers
Newly improved English subtitle translation
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critic Claudia Siefen-Leitich and an archival review of the film
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
REGION-A/B "LOCKED"
U.S. AND CANADA STREET DATE: JANUARY 28.
UK STREET DATE: JANUARY 27.
Ugo Tognazzi (La grande bouffe) is an innocent playboy holiday rep in Greece who is picked up by two secret agents (Michel Piccoli, Le Mépris and Mario Adorf, The Italian Connection). Suspected of being part of an underground resistance, he is to be transported by the agents to Athens where he will be interrogated by superior officers. Their journey is the start of a cat-and-mouse game that beautifully plays on Tognazzi's screen persona with the thrilling tension of Costa-Gavras' Z. Newly restored in 4K by Studio Canal, Peter Fleischmann's paranoid thriller is made available on Blu-ray for the first time.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 4K RESTORATION from the original negative by Studio Canal
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
Audio commentary by critic Travis Woods (2024)
Archival TV interview with Michel Piccoli discussing Weak Spot (1975)
Soundtrack expert Lovely Jon discusses the Ennio Morricone score (2024)
Newly improved English subtitle translation
Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Kat Ellinger
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
REGION-A/B "LOCKED"
U.S. AND CANADA STREET DATE: JANUARY 28.
UK STREET DATE: JANUARY 27.
Domenico is thrust into the big city by his family to find a job for life. He's up for an exam to secure a post along with many hopefuls. There he meets Antonietta (played by Olmi's then wife Loredana Detto) and the two strike up a friendship and experience the world of work for the first time together. Stunningly shot on the streets of Milan, Ermanno Olmi's (The Tree of Wooden Clogs) Il posto is a touching and often funny portrait of modern life and work. Winning numerous awards on release, it is recognised as a classic of world cinema.
Giovanni works in a manufacturing plant and takes a promotion that will send him to Sicily. His transfer causes him to leave his fiancée, Liliana, his father and friends behind. Once in Sicily, he begins to wonder if he made the right choice. Stunningly shot, I fidanzati channels the industrial isolation of Antonioni with a dreamy and heartfelt lyricism.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW4K RESTORATIONS of both films from the original camera negatives by Cineteca di Bologna in collaboration with Titanus, presented on two discs
Uncompressed mono PCM audio for both films
Appreciation by filmmaker Maurizio Zaccaro (2024)
Interview with cinematographer Lamberto Caimi (2024)
Interview with author Richard Dyer on the films (2024)
Interview with programmer Ehsan Khoshbakht on Ermanno Olmi (2024)
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista
Limited edition booklet with new writing by critic Christina Newland
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings