Lost film #1: The Man from Corleone/L'uomo di Corleone

Italy, 1977

Directed by Duilio Colletti

Cast:

Marcel Bozzuffi, Irene Papas, Adolfo Celi, Andrea Ferreol, Gabriele Ferzetti, Laura Belli, Marino Masé, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Leopoldo Trieste

Among the countless enjoyable Italian films from the 60s, 70s and 80s there are, unfortunately, a few titles have seem to have completely disappeared and not been seen by anyone. Some have disappeared after their theatrical run and never shown up again on VHS or DVD or in TV screenings. Others finished shooting but ran into various post-production problems which caused them to never be released at all.

One film that has mysteriously vanished is Duilio Coletti's The Man From Corleone, an ambitious crime film from 1977 full of well-regarded European actors. It seems to have been a big project and had a large cast, yet it doesn't appear to have been released theatrically in Italy. A few online film databases do have a listing for this film but no actual information about its plot or release.

A two-page ad for the film in the sales catalogue magazine Nuovo Cinema Europeo - announcing the film rights for sale in Cannes.

Exactly what happened to The Man From Corleone is not known. In recent years, several Italian TV channels have announced that they will air the film - only to replace it with something else at the last minute. This deepens the mystery but we can only keep our fingers crossed and hope that the film will be unearthed some time. It certainly looks interesting and has a top-notch cast!