Property is No Longer A Theft
Starring: Ugo Tognazzi, Flavio Bucci, Daria Nicolodi
Directed: Elio Petri
Studio: Arrow Academy
Format: Blu-Ray
Disc Release Date: March 28, 2017
About:
Having tackled the corrupting nature of power with Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and taken an angry, impassioned look at labour relations with The Working Class Goes to Heaven, Italian master Elio Petri next turned his attentions to capitalism for the darkly comic Property is No Longer a Theft.
A young bank clerk (Flavio Bucci, the blind pianist in Dario Argento s Suspiria), denied a loan by his employer, decides to exact his revenge the local butcher (Ugo Tognazzi, La Grande bouffe) who is not only a nasty, violent, greedy piece of work but also one of the bank s star customers. Quitting his job, the clerk devotes all of his time tormenting the butcher, stealing his possessions one-by-one, including his mistress (Daria Nicolodi, Deep Red).
Told in an off-kilter fashion by Petri, abetted by the woozy sound design and another outstanding score by Ennio Morricone, Property is No Longer a Theft presents a caustic, blackly comic look at a corrupt society.
My Review:
Property is No Longer a Theft is a Crime Drama that also some say its a Comedy. A Bank Teller named Total starts thinking of his life in a different way. He starts a new career of Stealing things he wants like Money, Food and other objects. While doing so he targets a wealthy Butcher whom he slowly over time takes objects like a Knife, A Car, His Female assistant, and other things he wants. Later on It seems Total has a Problem and he can’t stop stealing.
The story is slow but its well put together as we follow a few Characters throughout the film Mainly the thief, The Butcher and The Butchers female Co worker as the story weaves with in and out of each person. Acting wise it was good and we also get some nudity along with some sexual content. The film has some dark Humor and kind of Political on the way it explains the poor and the rich along with the law and how different it is for both factions. The film is in Italian with no dubbing so it may hurt the lazy. Picture Quality looks Great and I don’t think it can get any better.
Overall the film was a good watch. May be a miss for some but for me I thought it was good. Some of the Scenes might have went over my head. I like the acting but mostly from are lead who plays Total. As we see over time he starts going a little crazy and almost junkie Like. I say give this a shot if your into Crime Drama with Dark Humor and love Arrow.
With that said I give this film a 3.5 out of 5. The Average ratting is a tad higher and perhaps another viewing could change it for me. The more I think of the film the more I think of acting and much I enjoyed it. For now I will leave it at that score. I say Give it a shot.
Extras:
- 4K restoration from the original film negative
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- New subtitle translation
- Brand-new interview with actor Flavio Bucci
- Brand-new interview with producer Claudio Mancini
- Brand-new interview with make-up artist Pierantonio Mecacci
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector s booklet containing new writing on the film by Camilla Zamboni