Details

This special limited edition 2-disc 4K UHD/Blu-ray set comes with a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Mark McCoy), includes a 40-page perfect bound book and is limited to 8,000 units. It is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.

In 18th-century Italy, seminary student Giacomo abandons his religious pursuits after it comes to light that he's impregnated a young weaver and compelled her to undergo an abortion. Meeting a mysterious woman, he is promised sanctuary in exchange for an unusual task: journeying deep into the mountains to serve as the assistant to an ailing priest dubbed “the Arcane Sorcerer,” who has been sent into exile due to his unorthodox research into esoterica and the mysteries of death. Reaching the sorcerer’s isolated villa packed with obscure books, Giacomo soon after learns that the previous assistant, Nerio, was rumored to have made a pact with the devil before his passing, and may have discovered a way to transcend death itself. Unrelenting whispers fill the night air and ghostly apparitions haunt the ancient hallways, as Giacomo cannot resist drawing ever closer to the horrifying truth.  

A magnificently crafted spiritual horror film drenched in atmosphere and permeated with an acute sense of mounting dread, Pupi Avati’s (The House with Laughing Windows, Zeder) ARCANE SORCERER (L'arcano incantatore) has long been championed by legendary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth), and hailed by director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) as “the Barry Lyndon of horror films.” Starring Carlo Checchi (Stealing Beauty), Stefano Dionisi (Sleepless), Vittorio Duse (Mad Dog Killer), and Patrizia Sacchi (Sister Emanuelle), this visually rich film is accompanied by a classically lush score from famed composer Pino Donaggio (Carrie, Nothing Underneath). Vinegar Syndrome is delighted to conjure up ARCANE SORCERER for its long-overdue UHD debut, immaculately reanimated in 4K from its original camera negative and loaded with a treasure trove of brand new bonus features.

directed by: Pupi Avati
starring: Carlo Cecchi, Stefano Dionisi, Arnaldo Ninchi, Andrea Scorzoni, Consuelo Ferrara, Renzo Rinaldi, Massimo Sarchielli
1996 / 96 min / 1.85:1 / Italian 5.1 Surround, 2.0 Stereo

Additional info:

• 2-disc Set: 4K Ultra HD / Region Free Blu-ray
• 4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range
• Newly scanned and restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
• Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
• "Pupi’s Pride and Joy" (12 min) - an interview with writer/director Pupi Avati
• "The Sorcerer Reawakened" (10 min) - an interview with producer Antonio Avati
• "Two Restless Souls" (13 min) - an interview with actor Stefano Dionisi
• "Sinful Yet Ethereal" (15 min) - an interview with actress Eliana Miglio
• "Under Pupi’s Spell" (23 min) - an interview with cinematographer Cesare Bastelli
• "The Tailor of Suspense" (21 min) - an interview with composer Pino Donaggio
• "Pupi’s Pen Friend" (16 min) - an interview with novelist Alda Teodorani
• "Hush... Hush, Sweet Pupi" (21 min) - an interview with Pupi Avati expert and collaborator Mark Thompson Ashworth
• "A Sorcerer Named Pino" (22 min) - an interview with film music historian Pierpaolo De Sanctis
• "Of Pupi and Politics" (42 min) - an interview with film historian Eugenio Ercolani
• 40-page perfect-bound book (limited edition only) with writing by Steven Thrower, Zach Fleming, and Z.W. Lewis
• Reversible cover artwork
• Newly translated English subtitles