Footprints on the Moon (1975) | The masterful Italian mystery thriller on 4K Blu-ray from Shameless

The final feature of Italian director Luigi Bazzoni, 1975’s Footprints on the Moon (AKA Le orme), starring Florinda Bolkan, gets the 4k restoration treatment from Shameless Screen Entertainment, presented in three versions on Blu-ray and digital on-demand, alongside a must-see feature-length interview with the film’s cinematographer, the three-time Oscar winner, Vittorio Storaro. Available from 29 April 2024.

Young translator Alice (Bolkan) finds herself suspended from her job in Rome after going missing for three days. Haunted by a sci-fi film she saw in her youth (called Footprints on the Moon) involving a stranded astronaut and an evil controller (Klaus Kinski), she struggles to recall the missing days. But a postcard of a grand hotel on the Turkish island of Garma leads her on a quest to uncover the truth.

Once there, she is troubled to learn that the various inhabitants recognise her not as Alice – but as someone called Nicole. Among them are youngster Nicole (Deep Red‘s Nicoletta Elmi), a boutique owner (8½‘s Caterina Boratto), regular guest Mrs Heim (Zorba the Greek‘s Lila Kedrova) and mysterious biologist Henry (Entertaining Mr Sloane‘s Peter McEnery), who just might be the key to unravelling the mystery.

Bolkan totally carries the film. She’s in every scene, and it’s an emotional rollercoaster ride as her character goes from curious to worried to full-on breakdown (that’s not a spoiler, as the cover shot on this release has already done that). Indeed, Bolkan lost 11 pounds while working on the film; such was the toil it took on the Brazilian-born actor/model, whose best known for such giallo/horror fare as A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin, Don’t Torture a Duckling and Flavia the Heretic.

Director Bazzoni (who made just five features, having worked mainly on short films) hugely benefits from having Vittorio Storaro on board as every frame is beautifully lit and framed, and moving the film’s narrative from a sterile corporate Rome office (I spy EUR’s Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in one scene – if you know you know) and ultra-modern apartment to a seemingly deserted yet exotic Turkish seaside resort (actually Kemer in Antalya) and ancient ruins (Phaselis in Antalya) really helps to emphasise the disassociated nature of Bolkan’s Alice/Nicole and give the film haunting quality. As does the score by prolific Oscar-winning Italian composer Nicola Piovani, and you really do see footprints – but maybe not on the moon in the final shot. If you are a Klaus Kinski fan, don’t get too excited about his appearance here, as it’s a cameo, and his voice is dubbed.

I watched the Director’s Integral Cut (which combines both the English dub and Italian language extra scenes) and found it stunning to watch and listen to, while the extras are a real treat. Florinda still has a lot of spark at 83, while Storaro has so much to say about his working relationship with Bazzoni and his brother Camillo (who ended up marrying Storaro’s sister), as well as one of my fave Italian heroes, Franco Nero, that the time passed in a flash.

SPECIAL FEATURES
• Three versions presented in 1080P Full-HD: Director’s Integral Cut (96min), Director’s Integral Cut with Italian Credits (96min) and US Version (94min)
• Remembering the Moon introduction by star Florinda Bolka (7min)
• Master of Light interview with Vittorio Storaro (74min)
• To the Moon interview with Ida Galli (12min)
• Audio commentary by film critic and genre expert Rachael Nisbet
• Original Italian theatrical trailer
• New English subtitles over the optional original Italian + switchable SDH over the English language version
• Full HD 1080P encode from restored 4K scans of the original camera negative in 1.85:1 widescreen