"Director: Ermanno Olmi"

• The Tree Of Wooden Clogs | Blu Ray | (28/08/2017) from £13.45   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A three-hour peasant epic in which nothing very much happens might sound like the ultimate turn-off; but The Tree of Wooden Clogs ("L'Albero degli Zoccoli") is made with so much love and dedication that it rarely flags. Set in the Lombardy countryside in the closing years of the 19th century, the film traces the interconnected lives of four peasant families all living in the same large farmhouse. The most dramatic event, which gives the movie its title, is when a father chops down a tree so that his son can have clogs in which to walk to school, which leads to quiet tragedy in the final reel. The film's director Ermanno Olmi--himself of North Italian peasant stock--based his subject on incidents from his own childhood and tales told him by his grandfather. His cast were non-professionals, real peasants chosen from villages of the Bergamo region, whom he encouraged to improvise their own dialogue. All the shooting was done on location with a 16 mm camera, using natural lighting and direct sound--a revolutionary approach in Italy at the time, when almost all films were studio-bound and heavily dubbed. The results carry a rare conviction, the unselfconsciously simple speech and muted earth-tones of the visuals make the film feel more like documentary than fiction. The hardships of peasant life are never softened, though now and then Olmi's affection for his characters verges on sentimentality. And the unquestioning, submissive Catholicism of director and characters alike tends to cloy. But the sense of dignity and harmony, and the film's unhurried pace, always in step with the seasons, create a moving celebration of a vanished way of life. The Tree of Wooden Clogs took the Palme d'Or at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival. On the DVD: The Tree of Wooden Clogs doesn't exactly come packed with extras: cast and technical credits, a stills gallery, and a brief two-minute introduction by Olmi, where he explains why he preferred to record in mono, which still sounds fine on the disc. The images have lost nothing of their muted subtlety, and the transfer is in the full 1.33:1 ratio of the original. --Philip Kemp

• The Legend Of The Holy Drinker | Blu Ray | (25/09/2017) from £19.62   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Winner of the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, The Legend of the Holy Drinker is another classic from the great Italian director Ermanno Olmi (Il posto, The Tree of Wooden Clogs). Adapted from the novella by Joseph Roth, the film tells the story of Andreas Kartack, a homeless man living under the bridges of Paris. Lent 200 francs by an anonymous stranger, he is determined to pay back his debt but circumstances and his alcoholism forever intervene. Working with professional actors for the first time in more than 20 years, Olmi cast Ruger Hauer as Andreas and was rewarded with an astonishing performance of subtlety and depth. Hauer is joined by a superb supporting cast, including Anthony Quayle (Lawrence of Arabia), Sandrine Dumas (The Double Life of Veronique) and Dominique Pinon (Delicatessen). SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: Brand-new 4K restoration from the original negative, produced by Arrow Films exclusively for this release High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of both the English and Italian versions of the film 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Stereo 2.0 options for the English presentation with optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Stereo 2.0 audio for the Italian presentation with optional newly translated English subtitles Brand-new interview with actor Rutger Hauer, recorded exclusively for this release Interview with screenwriter Tullio Kezich Theatrical trailer FIRST PRESSING ONLY: New writing on the film by Helen Chambers, author of Joseph Roth in Retrospect: Co-existent Contradictions

• Tree Of Wooden Clogs | DVD | (05/11/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Tree of Wooden Clogs (L'Albero degli Zoccoli) written directed shot and edited by Ermanno Olmi is an elegiac portrait of peasant life in turn-of-the-century Lombardy and a classic example of Italian neo-realism. One year in the lives of four peasant families all living in the same farmhouse is slowly revealed in a mosaic of small but stunning sequences. There's no hero no antagonist and no great wrong that gets set right. This film is simply a slice of life a living docu

• Tickets | DVD | (24/04/2006) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-0.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Three highly acclaimed directors join together to direct three interwoven stories that take place during a journey from Central Europe to Rome. The characters connect through casual encounters and set forth a story of love chance and sacrifice. One older businessman finds solace and a new insight into life when he is forced to wait at the train station due to bad weather. A young man is reminded of life's obligations but is also introduced to love. And three Scottish youths on their

• Il Posto - (Mr Bongo Films) (1961) | DVD | (25/04/2011) from £10.65   |  Saving you £7.34 (68.92%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Olmi's semi auto-biographical Il Posto aka The Sound Of Trumpets is a satirical take on the daily grind of working life. A young suburban boy Domenico has big dreams of working in a big city corporation and after a gruelling entry process he lands a job as an errand boy. Here Domenico meets Antonietta and the pair embark on a relationship as he begins to climb to the corporate ladder.

• Un Ballo In Maschera - Verdi | DVD | (29/05/2006) from £29.68   |  Saving you £-4.69 (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The classical work Un Ballo in Maschera composed by Giuseppe Verdi recorded live on 23 & 26 November 2005.

• The Tree of Wooden Clogs | DVD | (11/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A three-hour peasant epic in which nothing very much happens might sound like the ultimate turn-off; but The Tree of Wooden Clogs ("L'Albero degli Zoccoli") is made with so much love and dedication that it rarely flags. Set in the Lombardy countryside in the closing years of the 19th century, the film traces the interconnected lives of four peasant families all living in the same large farmhouse. The most dramatic event, which gives the movie its title, is when a father chops down a tree so that his son can have clogs in which to walk to school, which leads to quiet tragedy in the final reel. The film's director Ermanno Olmi--himself of North Italian peasant stock--based his subject on incidents from his own childhood and tales told him by his grandfather. His cast were non-professionals, real peasants chosen from villages of the Bergamo region, whom he encouraged to improvise their own dialogue. All the shooting was done on location with a 16 mm camera, using natural lighting and direct sound--a revolutionary approach in Italy at the time, when almost all films were studio-bound and heavily dubbed. The results carry a rare conviction, the unselfconsciously simple speech and muted earth-tones of the visuals make the film feel more like documentary than fiction. The hardships of peasant life are never softened, though now and then Olmi's affection for his characters verges on sentimentality. And the unquestioning, submissive Catholicism of director and characters alike tends to cloy. But the sense of dignity and harmony, and the film's unhurried pace, always in step with the seasons, create a moving celebration of a vanished way of life. The Tree of Wooden Clogs took the Palme d'Or at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival. On the DVD: The Tree of Wooden Clogs doesn't exactly come packed with extras: cast and technical credits, a stills gallery, and a brief two-minute introduction by Olmi, where he explains why he preferred to record in mono, which still sounds fine on the disc. The images have lost nothing of their muted subtlety, and the transfer is in the full 1.33:1 ratio of the original. --Philip Kemp