A man leading a privileged life realizes that he cannot have it all in L’INNOCENTE, the final work from the masterful and celebrated Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti. Hailed upon its premiere at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival, the film makes its American DVD debut on March 10 from Koch Lorber Films. Cut by 14 minutes for its initial commercial engagements, L’INNOCENTE has finally been restored to its original 127-minute length, for viewing as Visconti himself had intended. The DVD, which has an SRP of $24.98, presents the film in 16x9 widescreen (anamorphic). Extras include an interview with the great screenwriter and frequent Visconti collaborator Suso Cecchi d’Amico, who adapted L’INNOCENTE from Gabriele D’Annunzio’s classic novel.
Port Washington, NY– A man leading a privileged life realizes that he cannot have it all in L’INNOCENTE, the final work from the masterful and celebrated Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti. Hailed upon its premiere at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival, the film makes its American DVD debut on March 10 from Koch Lorber Films. Cut by 14 minutes for its initial commercial engagements, L’INNOCENTE has finally been restored to its original 127-minute length, for viewing as Visconti himself had intended.
L’INNOCENTE returns viewers to a grand and lavish milieu for a drama of obsessive love and tragedy. Wealthy Italian Tullio (Giancarlo Giannini, Quantum of Solace, Swept Away) is bored with his seemingly timid wife, Giuliana (Laura Antonelli, one of the 1970s’ leading European sex symbols) and begins neglecting her in favor of his beautiful, possessive mistress, Teresa (Jennifer O’Neill, Summer of ’42). But Giuliana is not so shy after all, and when Tullio discovers that she is having an affair of her own, he becomes overcome by jealousy. Unable to admit his sexual double standard, Tullio commits a horrible and shocking act.
The New York Times’ esteemed film critic Vincent Canby called L’INNOCENTE, with its rich colors and vibrant art direction, “one of Visconti’s most beautiful films … splendidly performed.” Newsweek hailed the film’s “luxurious eroticism” and The New Yorker called it “a masterpiece,” while author and critic James McCourt, writing in Film Comment, called it “the picture” of 1979. The film won the David di Donatello Award, for Best Music and was an Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival, where it made its world premiere – two months after Visconti’s death at age 69.
The DVD, which has an SRP of $24.98, presents the film in 16x9 widescreen (anamorphic). Extras include an interview with the great screenwriter and frequent Visconti collaborator Suso Cecchi d’Amico, who adapted L’INNOCENTE from Gabriele D’Annunzio’s classic novel. The film has been restored to its original 127-minute length and is in Italian with English subtitles.
About KOCH Lorber Films
Dedicated to providing the best in award-winning, classic and contemporary international cinema, documentary features and cultural programming, KOCH Lorber Films is a market leader for high quality releases to both wide and specialized audiences through theatrical, television and home video distribution. KOCH Lorber Films DVD releases include: the classic films La Dolce Vita, The Decline of the American Empire, Teorema and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and recent festival hits such as Intimacy, The Girl from Paris, Children of the Century, The Five Obstructions and Save the Green Planet. Visit KOCH Lorber Films online at www.kochlorberfilms.com.
