The Belly of an Architect

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This special limited edition spot gloss slipcover (designed by Steak Mtn.) is limited to 3,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.

Welcome Vinegar Syndrome Labs (VSL) to the VS Sub-Label family! As with each of our sub-labels we are hoping to expand and defy expectations with the diversity of films we restore and release. As the name implies, VSL will serve as a kind of testing area for releasing genres and eras of film that one might not immediately expect to come from VS. The ultimate objective of VSL will be to see if these types of films will find an audience, and if so, pursue and release more of them…and even if not, still serve as a means of restoring more of the weird, rare, and unusual movies you might not expect from Vinegar Syndrome.

Lauded American architect Stourley Kracklite has been invited to Rome to supervise the construction of a new building being modeled after the work of famed 18th-century builder Etienne-Louis Boullée, whose structures have served as Kracklite’s primary source of creative inspiration. Accompanied on his trip by his newly pregnant wife Louisa, Kracklite soon begins suffering from stomach pains, being constantly undermined by his subordinates, a possible affair blossoming between his wife and a work rival, and an obsession with the stomach of Caesar Augustus. His life continues down a path of obsession and self-destruction while wandering through the beautiful architecture and atmosphere of both ancient and modern Rome.

Starring acclaimed six-time Emmy® nominee Brian Dennehy (First Blood, Looking for Mr. Goodbar) in one of his most celebrated performances, filmmaker Peter Greenaway's (Drowning by Numbers) 1987 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or nominated THE BELLY OF AN ARCHITECT is an intense study of self-destruction brought to a fever pitch. Co-starring Chloe Webb (Sid & Nancy), Lambert Wilson (La Femme Publique), and Stefania Casini (Suspiria), this strikingly beautiful and unflinching drama, filmed against the majesty of Rome by master lensman Sacha Vierny (Belle du Jour) comes to Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome Labs, newly restored in 2K.

directed by: Peter Greenaway
starring: Brian Dennehy, Chloe Webb, Lambert Wilson, Sergio Fantoni, Stefania Casini
1987 / 119 min / 1.85:1 / English Stereo

Additional info:

Region A Blu-ray
Newly scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm original camera negative
Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Tony Strauss
"Stately Progress" (18 min) - editor John Wilson on Peter Greenaway and The Belly of an Architect
"Caput Mundi" (28 min) - an interview with architect Gianpaolo Ercolani
Reversible sleeve artwork
English SDH subtitles