{"id":28946,"date":"2024-07-01T20:29:37","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T03:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=28946"},"modified":"2024-07-01T20:29:37","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T03:29:37","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-bandits-of-orgosolo-1961","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=28946","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: BANDITS OF ORGOSOLO (1961)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Blu-ray is currently available from Radiance Films. There\nwill be 2000 copies available of this Limited Edition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you appreciate classic Italian\ncinema, you\u2019ll no doubt be familiar with Vittorio De Sica. Bicycle Thieves<\/em> (1948) aka The Bicycle\nThief<\/em> is a neorealist masterpiece\nshowcasing the hard and demanding life of a father and son in Rome. Things get\neven worse for the pair when the father\u2019s bike is stolen, leaving him with no\nway to make an income. It featured a moviemaking style that felt like a\ndocumentary as the camera followed the panicked dad considering his next move.\nSimilarly shot and edited films followed for several years before the trend\ndied down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bandits of Orgosolo<\/em> is another brilliant film fashioned in this very format. It is a\nfictional narrative made by Vittorio De Seta, who was known as a documentarian\nprior to this work. Unfortunately, the movie didn\u2019t have as much of a cultural\nimpact as the other title during its initial release. However, as the years\nhave passed, more and more critics have discovered his catalog. In 2005, a few\nyears before his death, this and other titles from the director were deemed\nclassics by critics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radiance Films is now delivering a\nwonderful \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray that presents the amazing story with its\ngorgeous photography for all of the world to see. It\u2019s a disc that will please\nanyone who admires gritty dramas and\/or international cinema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story is set on the island of\nSardinia, located in the Mediterranean Sea. Michele (Michele Cossu) is a poor\nbut kind shepherd struggling to make ends meet. When bandits arrive and murder\na local policeman, the lead and locals are shocked by the crime. Sadly, Michele\nis wrongly accused of the murder. He flees into the rough highland terrain and\ndoes whatever he can to avoid capture. As the manhunt continues, the innocent\nprotagonist undergoes a slow change, becoming more desperate and eventually\nresorting to similar methods as the bandits in order to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Much like Bicycle Thieves<\/em>, this is a powerful and stirring effort that grabs the viewer and\ndoesn\u2019t let go. In fact, it\u2019s even darker than the previous movie, ending on a\ngrim note as the character is officially transformed into something akin to a\nbandit himself. De Seta was a documentarian and has no issue creating a world\nthat feels authentic. The cast is largely made up of locals and non-actors, yet\nthey are every bit as capable and perhaps even more convincing as it would have\nbeen with a screen star in the lead. There a young boy featured in the tale who\nis totally convincing and doesn\u2019t deliver a single false note. It also contains\nincredible black and white photography that captures the gorgeous but harsh and\nmountainous landscapes of the island. Stunning images shot in these hills\nlinger in the brain long after the credits roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is truly a great neorealist\npicture that effectively updates the many themes and ideas present in other\nneorealist titles. The image on this Blu-ray is stellar. Restored in 4K in\nItaly last year, the picture is incredibly clean and vibrant. It certainly\nlooks filmic, but there is a sharpness and depth on display that is likely more\nimpressive than it looked during its original run. The movie looked incredible\nwhen the Blu-ray was played and upgraded on my 4K player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the disc also contains\ninformative bonuses. There is an engaging interview with a film historian about\nhow remarkable this picture is and how long it took for audiences to catch up\nwith it. He gives biographical information about the director, his documentary\nwork and the similarities between his pictures and those of Vittorio De Sica.\nIt\u2019s an informative discussion that really helps viewers understand the\nmovie-maker and his approach to telling a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Additionally, there is a nice and\nlengthy interview with the film\u2019s cinematographer. Obviously, the way the\npicture looks is a huge part of why it is so successful, and this individual\ntalks about working with De Seta and how they composed the images. He gives\naway details as to whether or not he shot it documentary style or added lights\nto create the realistic but beautiful appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disc also contains a trailer\nfor the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ve always loved the work of\nVittorio De Sica, but frankly was unaware of Vittorio De Seta or his incredible\nfeatures. Many thanks should go to Radiance Films from this phenomenal Blu-ray\nthat will introduce a cinematic legend to new audiences around the world. The\nfilm is exceptional, the picture is excellent and the extras are informative.\nIt would be wise to pick up this \u201cLimited Edition\u201d before it sells out.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Blu-ray is currently available from Radiance Films. There will be 2000 copies available of this Limited Edition. If you appreciate classic Italian cinema, you\u2019ll no doubt be familiar with Vittorio De Sica. Bicycle Thieves (1948) aka The Bicycle Thief is a neorealist masterpiece showcasing the hard and demanding life of a father and son […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":28949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[90,2272,2273,2933,2939,6251,10042,16584],"class_list":["post-28946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-90","tag-bandits-of-orgosolo","tag-bandits-of-orgosolo-blu-ray-review","tag-blasts-from-the-past-2","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-2","tag-drama","tag-italy","tag-radiance-films"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28946\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}