Pier Paolo Pasolini Volume One

Original trailers are often pointless and tedious extra features, particularly when tacked onto discs of recent releases. In the case of these three films, however, they make for a fascinating insight into the way in which arthouse films were received and advertised in the early 1960s.

The films themselves have all been given pristine transfers, and Tellino Delli Colli’s monochrome photography in Accatone, in particular, looks stunning. However, the omission (due to rights complications) of Pasolini’s second film Mamma Roma (1962) is a shame, particularly given the similarities in subject matter and setting that it shares with his first. (Teorema/Theorem (1968), starring Terrence Stamp, is unfortunately omitted from the second box set for similar reasons).

Equally, the decision to include RoGoPaG seems a little odd, not just because it is a patchy and inferior film overall, but because, since only a quarter of its length is actually directed by Pasolini, it is questionable whether or not it deserves to be included in a collection exclusively dedicated to his work at all.

It’s also a little disappointing that none of the films feature a commentary track from a suitably chosen critic or academic, and that the opportunity has been passed up to include a primer documentary on Pasolini’s fascinating political, sexual and artistic life to give the work itself some additional context.

Nevertheless, the fact that the director’s films are finally available in such fine quality is a cause for celebration, and the welcome inclusion of Pasolini’s rarely screened feature-length documentary Comizi D’Amore/Love Meetings (1964) as well as a copy of the novel on which Accatone was based, make this first box set worth the rather steep RRP of £31.99.