BANDITS OF ORGOSOLO (1961)

Upon release, Bandits moved Martin Scorsese to observe: “It was as if De Seta were an anthropologist who spoke with the voice of a poet.”

A Sardinian peasant is suspected of murder following an encounter with bandits. In order to survive, he has no option but to turn to banditry himself. Winning multiple awards at the Venice Film Festival, Bandits of Orgosolo continues the traditions of Visconti and De Sica yet with his own style and rhythms Vittorio De Seta musters just as much power as the earlier masters. This release includes De Seta’s remarkable short film programme ‘The Lost World’ comprising his Cannes Film Festival award-winning short film Islands of Fire and others which survey Italy’s poorest communities. Despite awards and plaudits on release these incredible films only now make their English language debut on home video. 

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Disc 1: New 4K restoration from the original camera negative by The Film Foundation and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with Titanus with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation
• New interview with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli (2024, 28 mins)
• New interview with curator and filmmaker Ehsan Khoshbakht (2024, 11 mins)
• Disc 2: The Lost World: A programme of ten restored short films by De Seta, featuring Islands of Fire (1954, 11 mins), The Age of the Swordfish (1954, 11 mins), Golden Parable (1955, 10 mins), Sea Countrymen (1955, 11 mins), Solfatara (1955, 11 mins), Easter in Sicily (1955, 10 mins), Orgosolo’s Shepherds (1958, 11 mins), Fishing Boats (1959, 11 mins), A Day in Barbagia (1958, 11 mins), The Forgotten (1959, 21 mins), restored by Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the George Lucas Family Foundation.
• Archival interview with Vittorio De Seta (2008, 18 mins)
• New interview with curator and filmmaker Ehsan Khoshbakht (2024, 21 mins)
• Trailer
• Optional English subtitles 
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Roberto Curti
• Limited Edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings