The Conformist

Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist returns in a stunning new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, included on Disc 1 of this special edition release (the 2011 HD restoration is included on Disc 2 for sake of comparison). One of the enduring masterpieces of the 1970s, Bertolucci’s breakthrough film is an elegant portrait of the death throes of Italian Fascism and a triumph of pure style. Adapted by Bertolucci (an Oscar®-nominated screenplay) from Alberto Moravia’s 1951 novel, it chronicles the life of secret police functionary Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour), who is sent on a mission to assassinate his former teacher, Professor Quadri (Enzo Tarascio), a leftist activist in exile in Paris. Clerici uses his honeymoon with new wife Giulia (Stefania Sandrelli, Stealing Beauty) as a cover for the job. But he soon becomes entranced by Quadri’s sensuous, haunted wife Anna (Dominique Sanda, 1900), and the Fascist tenets he once accepted without question begin to waver in his mind. With legendary cinematography by Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now), a gorgeous score by Georges Delerue and incandescent performances by a star-studded cast, The Conformist is a towering accomplishment that for the past five decades has enraptured audiences and influenced filmmakers around the world.