Overview: After the fall of Napoleon, the Restoration begins. Fulvio (Marcello Mastroianni, La dolce vita), an aristocrat who has dedicated his life to the revolution has become disillusioned and his cowardice keeps him from joining his comrades.

As he struggles to manage his evasion and lies he gets swept up in a suicidal uprising in Southern Italy. Stunningly photographed with lush period detail and featuring the Taviani brothers’ trademark magic realism and absurdist irony, Allonsanfàn has Mastroianni on top form as the reluctant insurgent and one of Ennio Morricone’s finest scores.

Radiance Films is proud to present this essential film on Blu-ray for the first time in the world.

Blu-ray Verdict: The political prisoner Fulvio Imbriani (Marcello Mastroianni) is released ill from prison and the authorities expect to find his rebel friends though him. However, he returns to his family’s real state and recovers his health with his siblings. When his lover Charlotte (Lea Massari) unexpectedly arrives in the property, she stays with Fulvio but his sister overhears Charlotte telling that their friends would be arriving on the next morning and calls the authorities.

The soldiers kill a great number of revolutionaries, but Fulvio escapes with Charlotte that was shot on the back. She dies and Fulvio travels with his comrades but without enthusiasm. Sooner he betrays the group, trying to flee to United States with the money of the revolutionaries and his new lover Francesca (Mimsy Farmer).

Marcello Mastroianni this time around employs a substantially anti-hero persona opponent to his more audience-friendly role as the marquee Italian dream-lover. An abnormally bitter repugnance exudes from his character brims with all the screen time and I can sense a tint of misogyny levitating in the air with an inexplicably compelling thespian vibe.

The lesser characters are all one-dimensional notwithstanding, a feral Lea Massari (from THE ADVENTURE) still could draw some attention for her very underdeveloped role.

In closing, all the sectors are somehow quirky enough to create certain discontinuity in the narrative, which could be a deliberate novelty at that time, but fails to leave sympathetic impression throughout. Plus without the adequate stewing time, I wonder it might be too hasty for audiences to ruminate or even reflect the actual happening in the film, especially for a foreigner.

That said, Allonsanfan is a great story, overall, with a commanding lead character and an interesting screenplay that is quite well developed. Hence, I highly recommend this movie, especially now that it is out on Blu-ray this month via MVD Visual.

Special Features:
New 2K restoration of the film from the original negative, presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the world
Original uncompressed mono PCM audio
Audio commentary by critic Michael Brooke
Archival interview with the Taviani brothers by critic Gideon Bachmann in which they discuss filmmaking approaches, the role of the director, the future of cinema and more (57 mins)
Original trailer
Newly translated English subtitles
Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Italian cinema expert Robert Lumley and a newly translated contemporary interview with the Taviani brothers
Single pressing of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

www.radiancefilms.co.uk