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The Working Class Goes to Heaven: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1971
Director: Elio Petri
Writers: Elio Petri, Ugo Pirro
Cast: Gian Maria Volontè, Mariangela Melato, Gino Pernice, Luigi Diberti, Corrado Solari, Flavio Bucci, Nino Bignamini, Alberto Fogliani, Carla Mancini, Orazio Stracuzzi

Release Date: January 2nd, 2023 (UK)
Approximate running time: 115 Minutes 18 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region B
Retail Price: OOP

"Gian Maria Volonté (A Fistful of Dollars), stars in one of provocative filmmaker Elio (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion) Petri's most politically charged films as factory worker Lulu: a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Too tired to sleep with his girlfriend, cut out of his son’s life by his ex, humiliated and disrespected, Lulu turns revolutionary following an accident at work." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, “The Working Class Goes to Heaven was scanned in 2K from an interpositive and restored and color graded by Studio Cine, Rome in 2020. Additional color correction was performed by Radiance Films in 2022 with a video transfer of a 35mm print used as a color reference.”

The Working Class Goes to Heaven comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.5 GB

Feature: 31.4 GB

The source used for this transfer is in excellent shape. Colors are nicely saturated, flesh tones look healthy, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Italian, and included are removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced. Range-wise, things sound very good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival documentary titled The Working Class Goes to Heaven - Background to a Film Shot in Novara (49 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a video essay by scholar Matthew Kowalski titled Petri's Praxis: Ideology and Cinema in Post-war Italy (20 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an appreciation of Gian Maria Volonté and The Working Class Goes to Heaven by filmmaker Alex Cox (10 minutes 10 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Corrado Solari (15 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a career-encompassing archival interview with Gian Maria Volonté from French TV (35 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French and Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Elio Petri from the Cannes Film Festival (6 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), reversible cover art, removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings and a 56-page booklet (limited to 2000 copies) cast & crew information, an essay titled La Classe Operaia Va in Paradiso written by Eugenio Renzi, an essay titled Of Broken Toes and Malfunctioning Gears written by Roberto Curti, Excerpt From: “Unifying Function of The Classical Scene” written by Pascal Kane, interview with Elio Petri, a contemporary review of The Working Class Goes to Heaven titled The Working Class Goes Directly to Heaven, Without Passing Go: or, The Name of the Game is Still Monopoly written by James Roy Macbean, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

The Working Class Goes to Heaven was co-written and directed by Elio Petri, whose other notable films include The Assassin (L'assassino), The 10th Victim, A Quiet Place in the Country, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, and Property Is No Longer a Theft. The Working Class Goes to Heaven is the second film in a trilogy of films called Trilogy of Neurosis; the other two films are Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and Property Is No Longer a Theft.

The Working Class Goes to Heaven firmly establishes its mood with its stark white and black opening credits, with Ennio Morricone’s piercing main theme in the background. What unfolds is a condemnation of capitalism and its negative effects on the working class.

Gian Maria Volonté (for a few dollars more) has been cast in the role of Ludovico "Lulù" Massa, an arrogant worker who is hated by his co-workers for being too efficient. He delivers another spectacular performance that dominates every scene. And when Lulu loses his finger in a workplace accident, he does a superb job conveying Lulu’s struggles due to his injury. That said, there is no performance that is lacking.

As mentioned before, Ennio Morricone’s score plays a significant role. Throughout his career, Ennio Morricone worked with a few of Italy's more prominent filmmakers. And though it is always easy to recognize one of his scores within a few seconds, the thing that is most impressive about his scores is how he created a unique sound for each of the prominent filmmakers he worked with. His score for The Working Class Goes to Heaven also incorporates industrial sounds, which fit perfectly within the factory setting.

From a production standpoint, The Working Class Goes to Heaven is a film where everything falls into place. The premise is executed with the utmost precision, and a well-crafted narrative does a superb job building towards an exceptional ending that puts an exclamation mark on the events that proceeded. Also, Elio Petri’s direction lets the performances take center stage, while the visuals and Ennio Morricone's score create a hypnotic rhythm. Ultimately, The Working Class Goes to Heaven is an extraordinary exploration of the exploitation of the working class.

The Working Class Goes to Heaven gets a definitive release from Radiance Films, highly recommended.