Italian releases worth importing?

[deepbreathsanddeath]

There's only one title I know I want from Italy right now, but due to the high postage costs I would prefer to make the most of it. Can you please recommend Italian releases that are worth importing over other territories?

[Det. Bullock]

Off the top of my mind:

A Fistful of Dollars/Per un Pugno di Dollari (transfer faithful to the source with english dubbing and subtitles)
A Fistul of Dynamite/Down You Sucker!/Giù la Testa(crappy packing but english friendly transfer faithful to the source)

These are worth importing for sure being either the best edition worldwide or the only edition available worlwide (Giù La Testa).

PS: also, if down under you have the slightly censored version of The Avengers on BD like in the uk, the italian version is uncut.

[nitin]

Already Available

The Brothers Grimm
The Italian Job (2003) - same as Scandinavian releases
Reservoir Dogs
The China Syndrome
The Way We Were
Tootsie
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
The Wild One
As Good As it Gets

Pre-Orders

The Lady from Shanghai
Gilda

Also Amazon Italy, like Amazon Spain, sells discs from other EU countries,so you can also pick up German, French and Spanish/Italian discs from the respective sites, sometimes for cheaper than on that country's Amazon site.

[darklightzg]

Anyone import the IT House of Wax 3d blu? It's alot cheaper than most of other versions (US, etc) and looks like all the same audio options are in place in relation to the US release. Anyone?

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by darklightzg

Anyone import the IT House of Wax 3d blu? It's alot cheaper than most of other versions (US, etc) and looks like all the same audio options are in place in relation to the US release. Anyone?

The Italian disc is the same disc as the US Blu-ray, since the film is a Warner catalog release. If you feel it is cheaper to get than the US edition, have at it.

[marblearch]

Not sure about this one having watched a couple of nights ago.
The image is flat. Just not very inspiring. The DTS HD audio also lacks any real dynamic. Slightly disappointing for a Sony release of a film from 1995. Can be picked up cheaply already but maybe worth waiting to see if price falls.

Having said that when I finished watching I came across the same movie being broadcast in standard def on a freeview channel. Definition on the tv broadcast was really poor so at least in terms of detail there is some enhancement with the blu ray.

[Tom Monahan]

Any others? I'm going to import Gilda to the US but want other titles due to the high shipping.

Thanks,
Tom

[Dickieduvet]

Just a few I can think of:

Man Without A Face
The Departed
Insomnia (Prefer the look of this to Warner's)
I Spit On Your Grave (2010) (open matte, no harsh contrast)
The Shipping News
The Way We Were
The China Syndrome

[Steric_Hinderance]

Am actually waiting for my first disc from Italy to arrive - Una Vita Tranquilla.
It's English friendly and has a favourable review here on the site.

[Tom Monahan]

Originally Posted by Dickieduvet

Just a few I can think of:

Man Without A Face
The Departed
Insomnia (Prefer the look of this to Warner's)
I Spit On Your Grave (2010) (open matte, no harsh contrast)
The Shipping News
The Way We Were
The China Syndrome

Thanks but I have them already.

Anyone have the Italian Shenandoah?
be
So far, I'll picking up Gilda and Witness.

[thebard]

The Big Lebowski (The old edition, with the foot on the cover... not the one with the US artwork) - better transfer than the US disc.
Also, not a blu-ray, but The New World Italian DVD has both the director's and theatrical cuts.


Edit: Also, have you seen HD Goofnut's thread?:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=179724

[JimDiGriz]

Brazil is usually cheap on amazon.it.

Its exactly the same disc as the French one and superior to the UK because its lossless.

Kingdom of Heaven DC IT is the best one available.

[gap]

Also:
On The Waterfront
Casablanca
Gone With the Wind

Great versions and cheap prices.

[JimDiGriz]

Originally Posted by gap

Also:
On The Waterfront
Casablanca
Gone With the Wind

Great versions and cheap prices.

Oh yeah - definitely that Casablanca one - got that very cheap and superior transfer to the UK as well as a bonus disc with documentaries and a nice book too.

[CinemaScope]

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid sounds worth a punt, esp. as it's not available anywhere else.

http://www.amazon.it/Il-Mistero-Del-...27t+wear+plaid

[steve dubbleyoo]

The 1956 version of Invasion Of the Body Snatchers features extras which were only on the US DVD (trailer and Kevin McCarthy interview) and an exclusive short film featuring Warren Beatty and James Coburn, about the reaction to Orson Welles' radio version of The War Of The Worlds.
A brilliant release and modestly priced.

[Kriztoffer Swank]

What's worth grabbing where cult/horror films are concerned, that's English-friendly? Wanting to get the Italian They Live, since it appears to look much more filmic than Shout! Factory's release.

Italy seems to be an awesome place for anime on Blu-ray, but it looks like none of it has any sort of English option, not surprising.

I've got the IT Fistful of Dollars, but I think that's the only IT import that I own.

[Funktion]

Anyone interested in importing films from Italy should consider picking up a few Italian titles, most of them unavailable anywhere else.
These last few years, there's been quite a number of great Italian films, and unfortunately not many people outside of Italy get the chance to see them, outside of film festivals.

Of those I watched in 2014, there's three very different films I highly recommend, all available in English-friendly BDs:

-Il Capitale Umano (Human Capital): a winner of many awards in Italy (beating The Great Beauty for best film at several), it's easy to see why; it's extremely well acted, and extremely well shot; a drama and a mystery, with quite a bit of cynic humour, told in several chapters, each through the point of view of a different character;

IL CAPITALE UMANO di Paolo Virzì - Trailer Ufficiale - YouTube

-La mafia uccide solo d'estate (The Mafia Only Kills in Summer): Forrest Gump, Mafia style; it's a dramatic comedy, with a love story in the middle, about how the life of a man was always surrounded by organized crime, and the real life figures that tried to fight it; there are times the film will make you laugh plenty, but there are times, usually involving the real-life killing of several people, where I doubt anyone would want to laugh; the ending is incredibly touching; this film, along with Il Capitale Umano and The Grand Budapest Hotel, are my favourite films among the ones I watched this year;

La mafia uccide solo d'estate - trailer ufficiale - YouTube

-Smetto quando voglio (I stop when I want to): an hilarious comedy about an university researcher who, after being fired due to budgetary cuts at his university, starts producing "legal" drugs with former colleagues; it's a light, accessible film, that is sure to please people usually not into non-English films; imagine if the gang from the TV series The Big Bang Theory started dealing drugs, with some of them behaving a bit like Tony Montana from Scarface...

Smetto Quando Voglio - Trailer Ufficiale HD - YouTube

A bit older (2012), but I also can't recommend enough Romanzo Di Una Strage (Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy), which Blu-Ray.com reviewed:
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Piazz.../51605/#Review

Romanzo di una strage - Trailer HD - YouTube

[Funktion]

The Italian subsection of the forums has been really quiet, and the few topics posted are mostly related to Italian releases of films from another countries.

It's a bit of a shame, because like I previously mentioned I've really been enjoying lots of recent Italian films, most of which available on English friendly BDs, but not many people seem to be discussing them, or get the chance to watch them outside of film festivals.

We need some more reviews from pro-bassoonist.

Anyone picked up anything recently? Any recommendations?
I'm currently waiting for:
-E' Stato Il Figlio
-L' Ultima Ruota Del Carro

Has anyone seem any of the following, and could tell me which ones would you recommend:
-Una Piccola Impresa Meridionale
-Bella Addormentata
-Anni Felici
-Noi Credevamo
-Tutta Colpa Di Freud
-La Mossa Del Pinguino
-Tutti I Santi Giorni

[Funktion]

I just noticed that Amazon.it currently has two titles I listed above, La Mafia Uccide Solo D'Estate, and Il Capitale Umano, for €9 each.

Both are English friendly releases, and are wonderful films (they are, along with The Grand Budapest Hotel, my favourite films of those I watched this year).
If anybody is interested in watching them, now is a good chance.