The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Blu-Ray)

Winner of the Palme d Or at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival, Ermanno Olmis The Tree of the Wooden Clogs is an epic portrait of peasant life in late nineteenth century Italy.

Focussing on four families working and living on the farm of a landowner in the Bergamo region of northern Italy, Olmi presents a year in their lives, charting their daily activities and the natural flow of existence: birth, marriage, death, and the trials and tribulations in between.

Shot on an abandoned farmhouse in Bergamo, The Tree of Wooden Clogs utilised locals of the region to its characters and had them speak in their Bergamasque dialect. The end results are truly remarkable, the apotheosis of Italian cinemas neo-realism movement.

Special features:
– Brand-new 4K restoration by The Film Foundation
– High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition presentations
– Original Bergamasque and Italian mono soundtracks (uncompressed LPCM on the Blu-ray)
– Optional English subtitles
– Introduction by director Ermanno Olmi
– Two interviews with Olmi from the 1978 Cannes Film Festival, recorded either side of his Palme d Or win
– Interview with Olmi from Italian film programme Appuntamenti con il cinema
– Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin
– FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing on the film by David Jenkins