SLAP THE MONSTER ON PAGE ONE (1972)

Days before a general election a young girl is raped and murdered.

Bizanti (Gian Maria Volonté, The Working Class Goes to Heaven), the editor of a right-wing newspaper uses the story to help the conservative candidate his paper supports. The tumultuous time of Italy’s ‘Years of Lead’ are captured in Marco Bellocchio’s powerful political drama which directly addressed topics of its day and even prefigured the creation of the right-wing paper Il giornale, which came into being two years after this film. In an age of media manipulation Slap the Monster on Page One has never been more relevant and stands proudly alongside such Italian activist classics as We Still Kill the Old Way and The Mattei Affair.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K restoration of the film from the original negative by Cineteca di Bologna in collaboration with Surf Film and Kavac Film, under the supervision of director Marco Bellocchio

• Uncompressed mono PCM audio

• Archival interview with Marco Bellocchio (21 mins)

• Newly filmed interview with critic and author Mario Sesti (2024, 25 mins)

• Appreciation by filmmaker Alex Cox (2024, 10 mins)

• Newly improved English subtitle translation

• Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters

• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Wesley Sharer

• Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings