LUCKY LUCIANO
(Francesco Rosi, 1973, 120 mins)
Release date: 19 October 2026
Limited Edition 4K UHD (World premiere) and Blu-ray (UK premiere) for the UK and US (single-format releases)
Gian Maria Volonté (A Fistful of Dollars), Rod Steiger (The Harder They Fall), and Edmond O’Brien (Between Midnight and Dawn) lead the cast of Lucky Luciano, a masterful blend of mob biopic and political thriller from acclaimed Italian director Francesco Rosi (The Mattei Affair, Christ Stopped at Eboli).
When ruthless mafia kingpin Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano (Volonté) is released early from a US prison and deported to Naples, dogged FBI agent Charles Siragusa (playing himself) conspires with informant Giannini (O’Brien) to topple Luciano’s transatlantic criminal empire.
Co-written by legendary screenwriter Tonino Guerra (Blowup, Amarcord), Lucky Luciano boasts stunning photography from Pasqualino De Santis (Death in Venice) and a memorable score by Rosi’s regular composer, Piero Piccioni (Swept Away).
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION 4K UHD SPECIAL FEATURES
• 4K HDR restoration from the original negative
• 4K (2160p) UHD presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Three presentations of the film: the international theatrical version, the Italian theatrical version, and the US theatrical version
• Original mono audio
• Francesco Rosi on ‘Lucky Luciano’ (1973): extract from the French television programme 24 heures sur la Une
• Critical appreciation by Gaetana Marrone-Puglia, author of The Cinema of Francesco Rosi (2026)
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: publicity and promotional materials
• New and improved English translation subtitles
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Pasquale Iannone, an archival news report on the real Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano, an archival interview with director Francesco Rosi, and film credits
• World premiere on 4K UHD
• Limited edition of 6,000 individually numbered units (4,000 4K UHDs and 2,000 Blu-rays) for the UK and US
• All features subject to change
#PHILE399U
BBFC cert: 18
REGION FREE
EAN: 5060697925630
Lucky Luciano thrived insofar that at the end of WWII in Italy the US favoured and promoted to power Mafiosi & their fellow travellers rather than members of their former allies the Resistance, many whom tended to be aligned to the Left and the PCI (Communist Party), all this unfolding in the context of the rapidly developing Cold War...
What cut should I watch first? Do the Italian and international cut differ a lot from each other? Do Steiger and O'Brien talk in their original voices in either version?
In all likelihood, Mattei Affair is not getting any sort of release, right? When it played at Film Forum recently I could swear there was a disclaimer about it exclusively being a theatrical run.
