Dino De Laurentiis’ classic Italian anthology starring Silvana Mangano gets a 2k restoration release from Arrow Films on Blu-ray and DVD.
In 1967, legendary movie producer Dino De Laurentiis brought together the talents of five major Italian directors for an anthology film that would become a showcase for his wife, famed Italian star Silvana Mangano. The result was The Witches (aka Le streghe), a collection of witty, stylish stories exploring the feminine mystique.
In Luchino Visconti's The Witch Burned Alive, Mangano plays a larger-than-life version of herself, an Italian superstar diva who experiences some unpleasant revelations at a high society party. Civic Sense is a lightly comic interlude from Mauro Bolognini in which Mangano portrays a self-absorbed driver, and The Earth as Seen from the Moon sees her star opposite comic legend Totò (aka Italy's Charlie Chaplin) in Pier Paolo Pasolini's life, death and matrimony silent movie homage.
Franco Rosso's The Sicilian’s Wife is tale of repressed sexuality and unrequited love that results in a bloody family feud, while An Evening Like the Others has Vittorio De Sica cast Mangano alongside Clint Eastwood (who was big business following A Fistful of Dollars) as a bored housewife whose fantasies include some legendary comic book heroes like Batman and Flash Gordon coming to her rescue.
The Arrow Films release includes a brand new 2k restoration from the original film elements, in HD on the Blu-ray and SD on the DVD, featuring the original Italian mono audio and optional English subtitles.
SPECIAL FEATURES • Audio commentary by film critic and novelist Tim Lucas • English-language version of An Evening Like the Others, starring Clint Eastwood • Newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys • Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Pasquale Iannone and Kat Ellinger
