ELVIRA NOTARI – PIONEER OF ITALIAN CINEMA
Available on home video for the first time
Available from March 31, 2026!
STRICTLY LIMITED EDITION
A PENNY VIDEO production, distributed by WICKED VISION
Elvira Notari is widely considered Italy’s first female director and created a large number of highly successful silent melodramas, often based on popular Neapolitan songs. Although most of her films are now lost, recent research has emphasized her importance as a key figure in early Italian genre cinema, establishing her as a cult name in film history.
This Blu-ray/DVD combo set features restorations of three complete films by Elvira Notari ('A Santanotte, E' piccerella, Fantasia 'e surdate), as well as fragments of other lost works (View of Avellino / View of Trevico, L'Italia s'è desta, Carmela, la sartina di Montesanto). The edition also includes an 80-page booklet in Italian and English.
The films include English, French, and German subtitles. Newly commissioned scores recreate the original multimedia experience that made these works so successful both in Italy and internationally.
Films:
- 'A Santanotte (1922, 61 min.)
- E' piccerella (1922, 63 min.)
- Fantasia 'e surdate (1927, 34 min.)
Bonus Features:
- View of Avellino / View of Trevico (1923, 14 min., newsreel) – Blu-ray only
- L'Italia s'è desta (1927, 9 min., fragment) – Blu-ray only
- Carmela, la sartina di Montesanto (1916, 16 min., fragment) – Blu-ray only
- Stills from the lost film A Piedigrotta (1919)
- Photo gallery
- 80-page booklet (Italian/English)
- 2K restoration by Cineteca Nazionale, from the only surviving 35mm elements
- Newly commissioned scores by Enrico Melozzi, Michele Signore, and Silvia Cignoli
Technical Details:
- Director: Elvira Notari
- Cast: Eduardo Notari, Rosé Angione, Tina Pica
- Worldwide home video premiere
- Limited to 1,000 copies with slipcase packaging
- Blu-ray + DVD combo
- Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian
- Aspect ratio: 1.33:1, 1080p, 24fps, b/w, tinted and hand-painted colors
- Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
- Running time: approx. 193 min.
- Region free
