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While typically famed for its lurid Technicolor hues and grand guignol murders, the Italian giallo thriller had a less bombastic side as well. Erring less towards exploitation than to art, these lesser-seen gems offer some of the greatest rewards for adventurous viewers. Among them, 1976's The House with Laughing Windows, directed and co-written by Pupi Avati (Zeder), rises up as the cream of the crop.
Art restorer Stefano (Lino Capolicchio, The Bloodstained Shadow) arrives at an isolated Italian village to repair a fresco depicting the agonizing martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. The original painter was a death artist - a madman so obsessed with mortality that, according to whispered rumors, he tortured his models in their final moments of life. When people begin to turn up dead,
Stefano is forced to consider the possibility that the artist has returned to continue his brutal career - and that he is the primary target.
Often counted among the greatest gialli ever made, The House with Laughing Windows offers a uniquely eerie twist on the genre, culminating in an unforgettable ending that will remain with you long after the credits have rolled.
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS
4K restoration from the original camera negative, graded by Arrow Films
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Restored original lossless mono Italian soundtrack
Newly translated optional English subtitles
Brand new audio commentary by critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
Brand new audio commentary by critics Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth
Painted Screams, a brand new feature-length documentary on the film directed by Federico Caddeo, featuring interviews with co-writer/director Pupi Avati, co-writer Antonio Avati, assistant
director Cesare Bastelli, actors Lino Capolicchio, Fancesca Marciano, Giulio Pizzirani, and Pietro Brambilla, production designer Luciana Morosetti, assistant camera operation Toni Scaramuzza, sound mixer Enrico Blasi, and Emanuele Taglietti (son of assistant production designer Otello Taglietti)
La Casa e Sola, a brand new visual essay by critic Chris Alexander
The Art of Suffering, a brand new visual essay by critic Kat Ellinger
Italian theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
Illustrated perfect bound collector's booklet featuring new writing by Matt Rogerson, Willow Maclay, Alexia Kannas, Anton Bitel, and Stefano Baschiera
Lino Capolicchio