Footprints
Shameless Screen Entertainment
Certificate 12
This cult favourite from Luigi Bazzoni, the man who gave us The Possessed (1965) and The Fifth Cord (1971), Footprints is one of those movies you’ve always wanted to see but never had the chance. Well, now is the time as Shameless Screen Entertainment has given it a stunning transfer.
Florinda Bolkan is Alice - a young translator grappling with memory loss and struggling to recall three missing days. Tormented by nightmare visions of a sinister scientist (Klaus Kinski) deliberately abandoning astronauts to die on the Moon, Alice embarks on a quest to unravel the mystery shrouding her identity and the events of those missing days - a pursuit which culminates in murder and extraordinary surrealism.
Though classed as a giallo, Footprints refrains from descending into the more predictable and over-used cliches that the genre was often weighed down by. This is a smart, interesting, and surreal movie which consistently enraptures the viewers attention with its ever-revealing plot.
The movie is driven by juxtaposition, increasing alienation and psychological breakdown. It examines how important identity can be and that reality, no matter how bizarre is necessary for human existence to have a balance. The way it floats between these themes is truly masterful and all accompanied by some of the most engrossing visuals to grace the genre.
The transfer is from restored 4K scans of the original camera negative, and it looks stunning, especially the science fiction movie elements. The blue hues and shades look amazing whist the brighter sequences look lush and natural. The various soundtracks are clear and sharp without pitching.
Though there’s only a few extras its quality rather than quantity. ‘Remembering the Moon’ introduction by star Florinda Bolkan, ‘Master of Light’ which is an interview with Vittorio Storaro and ‘To the Moon’ which is an interview with Ida Galli aka Evelyn Stewart. The best value is the incredible Audio commentary by Film-Critic Genre-Expert Rachael Nisbet which contains such insights into the movie that I had to listen twice to fully appreciate it. Also to enjoy here is the Original Italian theatrical trailer.
Another cool bonus is that there’s three versions of the movie to enjoy; Director’s Integral Cut 96’, Director’s Integral Cut with Italian Credits 96’ and the USA Version 94’.
Footprints is an exceptional movie, a true classic of Euro cinema which deserves to be seen by a wide audience. A disc to grace the shelves of any film collector.
