Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero in three Mafia Tales by Damiano Damiani (1968 - 1975) (3 Blu-ray)

The most American of directors according to celebrated critic Paolo Mereghetti, Damiano Damiani (A Bullet for the General) nevertheless surveyed his own country’s mafia history unlike anyone before him, to critical and box office success. Three such classic films are collected in this Blu-ray box set, presented from new restorations.

The Day of the Owl stars Franco Nero as a police chief who, while investigating the death of a construction worker, goes up against corrupt officials and a ruthless mafia boss (Lee J. Cobb). Adapted from the celebrated novel by Leonardo Sciascia (Illustrious Corpses, Todo Modo), The Day of the Owl was the first book to openly deal with organised crime in Sicily. A prestigious production, it was in the running for best film at the Berlin Film Festival and found wins at home in the David di Donatello Awards for Claudia Cardinale, Nero, Damiani, and Best Production.

Nero portrays a simple man thrown in jail for a misdemeanour in The Case is Closed: Forget It. Inside, he sees the grim reality of life behind bars, where the mafia controls everything. A powerful production with Nero on top form and supported by a strong cast including Riccardo Cucciolla (Rabid Dogs) and John Steiner (Tenebrae), the intensity of Damiani’s film places it among the finest prison dramas. Presented in Italian and for the first time with the original English dub.

In How to Kill a Judge, Nero plays filmmaker Giacomo Solaris, whose latest film features a judge corrupted by the mafia and who is later found murdered. The real judge the character is based on seizes the footage, but is later killed in the same way. Feeling a degree of responsibility, Solaris investigates, but as the assassinations increase around him, will he reach the source of the conspiracy? Full of twists and a fascinating meta-commentary on cinema, Damiani points the camera at himself and the genre as he investigates the social impact of mafia violence, a fitting end to this survey of Damiani’s Cosa Nostra.

Blu-ray Limited Edition Box Set Special Features:

2K restorations of The Day of the Owl, The Case is Closed: Forget It and How to Kill a Judge

New and archival extras for each film

Limited edition 80-page book featuring new writing on the film by experts on the genre including Andrew Nette, Paul A. J. Lewis, Nathaniel Thompson and more to be confirmed

Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in a rigid box with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings 

The Day of the Owl

2K restoration of the film from the original negative presented in Italian and English audio options

Original uncompressed mono PCM audio

New interview with star Franco Nero

Archival interview with Franco Nero, writer Ugo Pirro and production manager Lucio Trentini

Archival interview with Claudia Cardinale from French TV in which she discusses her long and storied career 

Identity Crime-Sis: filmmaker and Italian crime cinema expert Mike Malloy discusses The Day of the Owl in the context of the formation of the Italian crime film genre

Filmmaker Howard Berger looks at the late Italian career of actor Lee J. Cobb

Trailer

Optional English subtitles for Italian audio and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for English audio

Reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters

The Case is Closed: Forget It

2K restoration of the film from the original negative presented in Italian and, for the first time, English audio options

Original uncompressed mono PCM audio

New interview with star Franco Nero

Archival documentary on the making of the film featuring actor Corrado Solari, assistant director Enrique Bergier and editor Antonio Siciliano

Video essay on the career of Damiani Damiani by critic Rachael Nisbet

Trailer

Optional English subtitles for Italian audio and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for English audio

Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters

How to Kill a Judge

2K restoration of the film from the original negative presented in Italian and English audio options

Original uncompressed mono PCM audio

New interview with star Franco Nero

New interview with Alberto Pezzotta, author of Regia Damiano Damiani

New video essay on the film by filmmaker David Cairns

Trailer

Optional English subtitles for Italian audio and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for English audio

Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters