122-124 La terra trema / Senso / Le notti bianche

[Finch]

Released in the UK June 23rd

In the fishing village of Aci Trezza, Sicily, the Valastro family dream of a better life. Living modestly thanks to merciless wholesalers, eldest son Ntoni takes matters into his own hands and - with the help of a bank loan - starts fishing alone. The venture is initially a success but an unexpected shipwreck means the family must soon fend for themselves. Originally commissioned as propaganda by the Communist Party, master filmmaker Luchino Visconti (The Leopard, Death in Venice) used the real villagers of Aci Trezza as his stars to craft a docu-fictional melodrama about the difficulties of rural life post-World War II. La terra trema was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 1948 Venice Film Festival and is considered one of the finest examples of Italian neorealist cinema.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES

2K restoration of the film by Cineteca Nazionale

Uncompressed mono PCM audio

New interview with critic Christina Newland

Interview with Italian politician and journalist Pietro Ingrao

Interview with assistant director Francesco Rosi

Interview with Turi Vasile

Trailer

Newly improved English subtitle translation

Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow

Limited edition booklet featuring new and archival writing

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

[ellipsis7]

Also

Interview with assistant director Francesco Rosi

[Finch]

Added to specs thanks!

[andyli]

"First in a series of Visconti releases!"

[TMDaines]

Added to specs thanks!

Would be awesome if they could fill all the gaps.

[rapta]

My guess is ‘NB’ tease is for Le notti bianche and ‘SEN’ might even be Senso, guessing towards the end of the year (if the teaser list is in roughly chronological order).

As for Rosi, been hoping for Illustrious Corpses through their MGM deal but guessing there are issues with the restoration or something as it still hasn’t happened yet. We know they’ve been trying to get The Mattei Affair but still not successfully, and I’d be surprised if they hadn’t already enquired about Lucky Luciano, The Moment of Truth or Christ Stopped at Eboli. I’m sure we’ll see at least one of his films from them eventually.

[domino harvey]

Though quite different from Visconti’s most famous works, I think this is one of the best examples of the Neorealist movement and welcome indeed on Blu— kind of insane that a film this important has been more or less MIA for over a decade after the previous DVDs went OOP

[senseabove]

Especially since this is, presumably, the restoration that's been around since at least 2018! I wasn't able to make it to that screening, but consoled myself thinking it would surely be out on disc sooner rather than later.

[zedz]

Though quite different from Visconti’s most famous works, I think this is one of the best examples of the Neorealist movement and welcome indeed on Blu— kind of insane that a film this important has been more or less MIA for over a decade after the previous DVDs went OOP

Agreed. It's not what you might expect from Visconti, but it's Neorealism on steroids and for me the pinnacle of the movement. It's insane that Criterion never bothered with this film over the last thirty years.

[ryannichols7]

"First in a series of Visconti releases!"

as I said in the other thread, somehow not a single one of us guessed Senso for SEN. has it even had a UK DVD before? I had always just figured Criterion ported their edition over. I'm guessing it has a new remaster too

[rapta]

"First in a series of Visconti releases!"

as I said in the other thread, somehow not a single one of us guessed Senso for SEN. has it even had a UK DVD before? I had always just figured Criterion ported their edition over. I'm guessing it has a new remaster too

I did guess it (see my above post, and I posted the same about a month ago on the other forum too), but the only real reason why they might not is that Criterion released it before, something they said they wanted to avoid. They've only contradicted that sentiment a few times before, either in a box set context (Il sorpasso, The Exterminating Angel) or special multi-version edition (Häxan).

I suppose if they did Senso they might bump it to 4K this time though, which would be a good enough reason to release it again...and if not, if only to make up for the fact that Visconti has been strangely neglected on UK home video.

[Matt]

Belissima is my number 1 most-wanted Visconti on Blu-ray. There was a 4K restoration in 2023 and I don't think it's shown up on disc anywhere yet.

[andyli]

Kadokawa did release this film along with Ossessione back in December, 2017. Both are labeled as then-new "2K digital restoration". I guess Ossessione could also be in the cards for a Radiance release.

[andyli]

Belissima is my number 1 most-wanted Visconti on Blu-ray. There was a 4K restoration in 2023 and I don't think it's shown up on disc anywhere yet.

It has, in both France and Italy.

[Matt]

Ah, I did see the Italian release and wasn't aware it was the restored version. And it does appear to have English subs as well!

[ryannichols7]

I did guess it (see my above post, and I posted the same about a month ago on the other forum too), but the only real reason why they might not is that Criterion released it before, something they said they wanted to avoid. They've only contradicted that sentiment a few times before, either in a box set context (Il sorpasso, The Exterminating Angel) or special multi-version edition (Häxan).

I suppose if they did Senso they might bump it to 4K this time though, which would be a good enough reason to release it again...and if not, if only to make up for the fact that Visconti has been strangely neglected on UK home video.

totally missed that, my bad! that seems like a no brainer. I don't see any reason why not to give Senso a shot, it's a big enough title for the UK to have its own release, and clearly Criterion aren't interested in porting theirs over. I don't think a UHD would be necessary as much as a new restoration + FIM disc would be, I'm not sure how much any Visconti would sell on UHD aside from The Leopard, but who knows.

I see no reason why they won't tackle his first five movies - Ossessione, La Terra Trema, Bellissima, Senso, and Le Notti Bianche. all absent from UK home media, and all seem to have new-ish restorations? 3 of 5 seem to be teased so far and I don't see Criterion snatching Ossessione and Bellissima for the UK if they didn't Senso or Le Notti Bianche, far more famous titles

[tenia]

Belissima is my number 1 most-wanted Visconti on Blu-ray. There was a 4K restoration in 2023 and I don't think it's shown up on disc anywhere yet.

It has, in both France and Italy.

And the restoration's awful, sadly.

[Finch]

On the eve of the Third Italian War of Independence, Countess Livia Serpieri (Alida Valli, The Third Man) anxiously conspires to make revolution happen. Following a chance encounter at the opera, she begins an affair with Franz Mahler (Farley Granger, Rope), a charismatic Lieutenant in the occupying Austrian army who sent her rebellious cousin Marchese Roberto Ussoni (Massimo Girotti, Ossessione) into exile. As her feelings for Franz intensify, Livia’s moral compass waivers. Based on Camillo Boito's novella, Alida Valli and Farley Granger shine in this masterful period melodrama about lust and deception. Senso is widely regarded as among director Luchino Visconti’s best work and was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 15th Venice International Film Festival.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES

2K restoration of the film by Cineteca di Bologna and the Film Foundation with supervision by cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno and Martin Scorsese, presented in 1.33:1 and 1.66:1 versions across two discs
Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
The Wanton Countess - the alternate English language presentation of the film with newly transferred audio
Luchino Visconti: Life as in a Novel - a documentary on Visconti’s life and career featuring contributions from Claudia Cardinale, Burt Lancaster, Francesco Rosi and more (dir. Carlo Lizzani, 1999)
Archival interview with Luchino Visconti and Maria Callas
New interview with critic and fashion historian Matteo Augello (2025)
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Christina Newland
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

UK release August 18th

[domino harvey]

This seems to guarantee the theory that 124 is Le notti bianche

[Grand Wazoo]

Fran confirmed that Senso has been re-graded.

[Altair]

Phenomenal - an instant buy, and what a terrific cover, too.

[Finch]

Further clarification from Stephen Horne on the regarding:

Yes, this restoration of Senso was originally supervised by Giuseppe Rotunno and Scorsese, but nevertheless it received different colour correction for its subsequent releases. The master we received once again was differently coloured, and so we corrected it utilising three print sources (two Italian and one English) for reference.

[colinr0380]

Phenomenal - an instant buy, and what a terrific cover, too.

I like the "S" curling around the embracing characters. That's a nice touch.

[What A Disgrace]

I hope 121 is Ossessione.

[rapta]

I think 121 will be Le notti bianche, as both this and Senso were in the 2025 teaser list ('SEN' and 'NB').