Fists in the Pocket I Pugni in tasca

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'Fists in the Pocket' or 'Fists in hise Pocket')

Directed by Marco Bellocchio
Italy 1965

Tormented by twisted desires, a young man takes drastic measures to rid his grotesquely dysfunctional family of its various afflictions in this astonishing 1965 debut from Marco Bellocchio. Charged by a coolly assured style, shocking perversity, and savage gallows humor, Fists in the Pocket (I pugni in tasca) was a gleaming ice pick in the eye of bourgeois family values and Catholic morality, a truly unique work that continues to rank as one of the great achievements of Italian cinema.

****

An epileptic teenager channels all his hopes and dreams into a single project: the mass murder of his wealthy family, which he intends as a public service. Marco Bellocchio's first film (1965) is a fierce, punkish mash of political satire and family melodrama, veins that Bellocchio would continue to pursue until his career petered out in an unexpected academicism.

Excerpt from Dave Kehr's comments at the Chicago Reader located HERE

Theatrical Release: October 31st, 1965

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DVD Review: Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Criterion Collection - Spine # 333 - Region 1 - NTSC
(click titles for DVDBeaver reviews) Criterion (without the extras) also available in The Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films - a 50-disc celebration of international films collected under the auspices of the groundbreaking theatrical distributor. It contains Alexander Nevsky (1938), Ashes And Diamonds (1958), L'avventura (1960), Ballad Of A Soldier (1959), Beauty And The Beast (1946), Black Orpheus (1959), Brief Encounter (1945), The Fallen Idol (1948), Fires On The Plain (1959), Fists In The Pocket (1965), Floating Weeds (1959), Forbidden Games (1952), The 400 Blows (1959), Grand Illusion (1937), Häxan (1922), Ikiru (1952), The Importance Of Being Earnest (1952), Ivan The Terrible, Part II (1958), Le Jour Se Lève (1939), Jules And Jim (1962), Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949), Knife In The Water (1962), The Lady Vanishes (1938), The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943), Loves Of A Blonde (1965), M (1931), M. Hulot's Holiday (1953), Miss Julie (1951), Pandora's Box (1929), Pépé Le Moko (1937), Il Posto (1961), Pygmalion (1938), Rashomon (1950), Richard III (1955), The Rules Of The Game (1939), Seven Samurai (1954), The Seventh Seal (1957), The Spirit Of The Beehive (1973), La Strada (1954), Summertime (1955), The Third Man (1949), The 39 Steps (1935), Ugetsu (1953), Umberto D. (1952), The Virgin Spring (1960), Viridiana (1961), The Wages Of Fear (1953), The White Sheik (1952), Wild Strawberries (1957), Three Documentaries By Saul J. Turell plus the hardcover, full color 240-page book.
Runtime	1:48:40
Video	1.85:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.93 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	Italian (Dolby Digital 1.0)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Collection Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Featurette: A Need For a Change Video interviews with director Marco Bellocchio, actors Lou Castel and Paola Pitagora, and editor Silvano Agosti (33:27) • Afterward by Bernardo Bertolucci (10:25) • Original theatrical trailer • Liner notes booklet with an essay by film critic Deborah Young and an interview with Bellochio from 1967 DVD Release Date: April 25th, 2006 Keep Case Chapters: 18

Comments:

Both progressive, anamorphic image and mono audio are excellent - even for Criterion standards. Contrast and sharpness are exceptional. It is quite possible that some minor manipulations have occurred but they are almost totally hidden from the naked eye during normal viewing. I see a hint of good grain and there is occasional contrast flickering which is really my only complaint.

The extras are very good, if not as in-depth as one might appreciate. The liner notes are superb reading. I would say this whole package is slight notch above Criterion's already high standard, and we certainly recommend.