The new owner Francesco Simeoni, drawing on over two decades worth of experience in the world of film distribution, has launched the new Blu-ray label Radiance Films, in a bid to release films that otherwise might not see the light of day. Utilising his expert knowledge of where and how to source visionary filmmaking, some of it ultra-rare, and driven by a desire to shine a light on these wonderful, and sometimes wonderfully-obscure titles, Radiance Films is an exciting and adventurous new label. Both the titles listed are due for release in January 2023.
BIG TIME GAMBLING BOSS (1968)
Tokyo, 1934. Gang boss Arakawa is too ill and a successor must be named. The choice falls on Nakai, but being an outsider he refuses and suggests senior clansman Matsuda instead. But Matsuda is in jail and the elders won’t wait for his release, so they appoint the younger and more malleable Ishido to take the reins. The Clan honour and loyalties are severely tested when Matsuda is released, resulting in an increasingly violent internal strife. An atmospheric tale of gangland intrigue written by Kazuo Kasahara (Battles Without Honour and Humanity) and starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, (Lone Wolf and Cub, The Bounty Hunter Trilogy) and genre legend Koji Tsuruta, Big Time Gambling Boss is one of the all-time classics of the yakuza genre. Paul Schrader called it the richest and most complex film of its type, while novelist Yukio Mishima hailed it as a masterpiece. Radiance Films is proud to present this crucial re-discovery for the first time ever on Blu-ray.
Limited Edition Special Features:
– High Definition transfer of the film
– Uncompressed mono PCM audio
– Visual essay by genre expert Chris D on the film and its place within the period and genre (2022)
– Ninkyo 101: A masterclass with Mark Schilling, author of The Yakuza Movie Book (2022)
– Trailer
– Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
– Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Stuart Galbraith IV, and critic Hayley Scanlon
– Limited edition of 2000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
THE WORKING CLASS GOES TO HEAVEN (1971)
Gian Maria Volonté (A Fistful of Dollars), stars in one of provocative filmmaker Elio (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion) Petri’s most politically charged films as factory worker Lulu: a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown, following an accident at work. Too tired to sleep with his girlfriend, cut out of his son’s life by his ex, humiliated and disrespected, The Working Class Goes to Heaven is an oftentimes surreal and darkly comic look at the life of an everyday Italian trying to find a sense of purpose in a world where he is only allowed to be a tool for the industry. A savage takedown of capitalism and industrial corruption, the film was the recipient of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or and features a gloriously unhinged, award-winning performance from Volonté, accompanied by an exceptional score by Ennio Morricone and stunning cinematography by Luigi Kuveiller (Deep Red).
Limited Edition Special Features:
– 2K restoration of the film
– Original uncompressed mono PCM audio
– New and improved English subtitle translation
– Archival interview with Elio Petri from the Cannes Film Festival
– Career-encompassing archival interview with Gian Maria Volonté from French TV
– Archival interview with actor Corrado Solari
– Appreciation of Gian Maria Volonté and the film by filmmaker Alex Cox
– A visual essay by scholar Matthew Kowalski on Petri and politics
– The Working Class Goes to Heaven – Background to a Film Shot in Novara (2006), by Serena Checcucci and Enrico Omodeo Salé; an unconventional making-of documentary, exploring the real-life factory location where the film was shot and the story behind the film’s production there, as told by the staff, film extras and crew
– Trailer
– Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
– Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Eugenio Renzi, Elio Petri Investigation of a Filmmaker author Roberto Curti on Petri and Volonté’s collaborations and relationship, archival writing and reviews to be confirmed
– Limited edition of 2000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
