Electric Shadow

Out of Print Watch: Criterion's IL GENERALE DELLA ROVERE

The 2009 Criterion DVD is suddenly out of stock on Criterion's site, at Amazon, and Barnes & Noble ahead of the 3 December 2013 release of separate Raro Video DVD and Blu-ray editions. For true Criterion collectors, it's wise to snag this as soon as possible in the next couple days before the price skyrockets. Here's a quick look at extras that have been retained, lost, or added in the new edition as compared to the old:

Retained: Adriano Aprà & Renzo Rosselini interviews, theatrical trailer

Lost: Isabella and Ingrid Rosselini interviews, The Choice visual essay by Tag Gallagher, booklet content

Added: a three-minute interview with Aldo Strappini and 45-minute video essay Truth of Fiction

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From the Criterion synopsis:

In a magnetic performance, Vittorio De Sica is Emanuele Bardone, an opportunistic rascal in wartime Genoa, conning his fellow Italians and exploiting their tragedies by promising to help find their missing loved ones in exchange for money. But when the Nazis force him to impersonate a dead partisan general in prison to extract information from fellow inmates, Bardone finds himself wrestling with his conscience for the first time. Roberto Rossellini’s gripping drama, a rare box-office breakthrough for the legendary neorealist, is further evidence of the compassionate artistry of one of cinema’s most important voices.