Blu-ray Review: La Grande Bouffe (Arrow Academy)

Marco Ferreri's "La Grande Bouffe" caused quite a stir at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, and if you focus soely on the darker side of this film, there's certainly plenty to get your teeth into.
However, this is really a story about friendship: four professionals who are at ease in each others company.

We have Philippe (Phillipe Noiret); a judge who enjoys sexual favours from his nanny and is a complete opposite to the more playful members of the quartet: Marcello (Marcello Mastroianni), an impotent airline pilot and Michel (Michel Piccoli); a TV executive who brings his own baggage to proceedings. The last member of this exclusive gentlemans club is Ugo (Ugo Tognazzi); a chef who brings an expensive set of knives to what is described as a "gastronomic seminar."
The men have decided to stay at the house of Philippe's parents, now solely occupied by their servant Hector (played by Michel Piccoli's father, Henri) and simply eat themselves to oblivion.
The men hire a trio of prostitutes to enliven the event, and Philippe's refusal to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh leaves him a prime candidate for the attentions of schoolteacher Andrea (Andrea Ferreol). When she appears with a group of children to view a lime tree that French poet Boileau used to sit under, we expect a rather staid lady who will soon depart from this den of iniquity. In fact, Andrea goes on to outperform the whores and match the men bite for bite, agreeing to become Philippe's wife and then proceed to indulge in carnal and culinary pursuits with great abandon.

When the hookers eventually bale out, it's left to Andrea to provide the entertainment, while endeavouring to become a calming influence amidst food chaos. In many ways, Ferreol is the absolute centre of this film, delivering a top-notch performance.

It has to be said the banqueting scenes are indeed grotesque: we witness oyster speed eating; beef, lamb, wild baor, guinea fowl, and pizza are shovelled down in a riot of cooking and consuming and - in one hilarious scene - the toilet even gives out, exploding in a white-flag moment that does nothing to deter the participants of this banquet from hell. This really is a tour de farce, with some great humour but possibly not for those with weak stomachs. There are, however, more sedate scenes that will haunt the memory for long after: witness dear departed friends placed upright in a cold room, watching over those still living. It's a scene that further amplifies the sense of comradeship that ties these men.

It's exquisitely performed by the stellar cast, and beautifully shot by Mario Vulpiani, whose work can be fully appreciated on Arrow Academy's Blu-ray presentation.

This is a fine restoration, scanned in 2K, with the mono soundtrack transferred from the original 35mm magnetic tracks. Image quality is excellent, enabling us to discern fine detail and better appreciate the colour schemes and, of course, that glorious (?) food.
The supplementary features begin with "The Farcical Movie: Marco Ferreri" (27m 9s)
This episode of "Morceaux de bravoure", directed by Georges Paumrer, was originally broadcast in April 1975.
Ferreri is asked what comedy means to him; explains that while he's a Bunuel fan, he doesn't like being compared to him, and cites comedy as being a "dangerous genre". He also mentions Tod Browning's "Freaks", Tex Avery and Bunuel's "Nazarin" and there are clips from "The Ape Woman" and "L'harem" amongst others.

Behind-The-Scenes (11m 35s)
An episode of "Pour le Cinema", broadcast in April 1973. Here, the male quartet of actors talk about the amount of improvisation in the film, with Togazzi stating a script was the last thing they saw.
Noiret talks about the use of chefs from top restaurants to cook the food and Ferreri is described as a man of poetic nature.

"Colours Around A Festival" (4m 28s)
Broadcast in May 1973, just weeks after the Cannes screening, this one also benefits from the input of the actors. Piccoli states he's proud of the film, while Noiret explains the actors brought more to this production than other films they were just instruments in: the fact that the main players all used their christian name for their own role is rather apt.

Forming Ferreri (18m9s)

Italian film scholar Pasquale Iannone serves up an excellent introduction to the director, covering his early days; his move to Madrid after getting nowhere in Rome and the troubles he had with censors. We hear about some of the great performers he worked with, and of his success on the festival circuit.

Selected Scene Commentary (27m 15s)
Pasquale makes a welcome return for this featurette, which contains commentary for 5 scenes from the film, including a look at Andrea Ferreol who he notes was in her mid-twenties when this film was made. Paqual highlights Ugo's wonderful Brando impression and the careers of the four male leads, including their work for Ferreri.

Cannes Film Festival News Conference (1m 42s)
A brief snippet from Cannes, where the director defends his film with gusto.

The extras are concluded by a booklet featuring new writing on the film by Johnny Mains, illustrated with original archive stills and posters.
"La Grande Bouffe" is available to buy now, and is Region A/B.

Blu-ray Review: L'Assassino

Italy has produced many top-tier film directors: Fellini, Antonioni, Mario Bava, Dario Argento.... the list goes on. You may like to add the name of Elio Petri to this very special club. I first encountered his work via a VHS tape of the rather splendid 'A Quiet Place In The Country', and made a mental note to acquire further titles from his filmography. Now, Arrow Academy's Blu-ray release of 'L'Assassino' (aka 'The Ladykiller Of Rome') will further raise his profile, hopefully paving the way for more Petri films to emerge on UK home video.

Fresh from Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita', Marcello Mastroianni fills the boots of Alfredo Martelli; an antique dealer who was described by Petri himself as being part of "a new generation of upstarts". This is a particularly apt description as Martelli is a character who is difficult to take a shine to, being an active participant in a decline of the moral values movement where the only person is me, the only number is 1 and the only time is now. He's engaged to one Nicoletta Nogoro (Cristina Gaioni)who is the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, and not exactly on poverty row. The only other woman currently in his life - save for his mother who is soon bundled back onto a bus after a short-lived visit to see her son-is Adalgisa De Matteis (Micheline Presle) who financed Martelli's new shop. A healthy bank account is clearly number one on Martelli's list of female attributes, but does this self-serving policy lead to murder?

When De Matteis is found dead in her hotel room, it emerges that Martelli visited shortly before she died. Was Martelli really responsible for her murder, or should the police look elsewhere for her killer? Petri uses flashbacks to add background to key characters and their relationships, while an old school police commissioner - the wonderfully named Palumbo (Salvo Randone) attempts to crack Martelli while refusing to hide his disdain for the lifestyle of the accused. As the film progresses, some members of the audience may well feel a shred of sympathy for an increasingly beleaguered man who protests his innocence loud and long. Indeed, it's somewhat disconcerting to witness the police and even fellow prisoners gradually wear him down, making this an uncomfortably fascinating character study. 'L'Assassino' could be said to be one of the forerunners of the Italian 'giallo' genre, but without black-gloved killers and graphic murder scenes. It's more tone and atmosphere, with a greater degree of police involvement than is often the case, and flashback scenes that may well change your mind with regard to innocence or guilt. It's certainly a fine, confident piece of work, and all the more impressive when you consider it was Petri's feature debut, back in 1961.

Arrow Academy's Blu-ray presentation is a fitting showcase for Carlo Di Palma's luminous monochrome photography, with good depth and fine detail. It was made from the original camera negative (missing the first and last rolls) and from a first generation interpositive, and these two elements were scanned at 2k for this restoration . The sound is uncompressed 2.0 from a 35mm negative and digitally remastered with Piero Piccioni's jazz-tinged score beautifully rendered. The film is preceded by a 9 minute introduction from Pasquale lannono, who talks about Petri and his active interest in politics; his formative steps in the business making documentaries and how 'Ossessione' and 'Rome Open City' kindled his involvement in cinema.
'Tonino Guerra: A Poet In The Movies' was shot in 2008 and runs for just over 51 minutes. Here, Tonino speaks about his childhood; his early career as a school teacher; how he got into the movies as a result of a poetry book, and his great passion for drawing. We also hear about the great directors who have benefited from his screenplays: Antonioni, Fellini, Vittoria De Sica and Francesco Rosi to name but a few. There's also a special mention for Tarkovsky's wonderful 'Nostalghia'.

This most welcome release also comes complete with another of Arrow's splendid booklets, offering a beautifully written feature by Camilla Zamboni which considers the camerawork, Martelli's character, the state of Italian cinema when this film came out and pretty much everything you need to know in order to further understand and appreciate this film. There's also a selection of reviews, Petri's piece, 'Italian Cinema: A Castrated Elephant', which discusses Italian cinema and a fine selection of stills.

'L'Assassino' is available to buy now, in a dual-format release comprising a Blu-ray and a DVD and is region B/2.