Industry

Nearly 60 years after its original Italian theatrical release, Tinto Brass’ Col cuore in gola (Deadly Sweet) is set to reach a new generation of viewers. Netflix has partnered with the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (CSC) to finance the restoration of the 1967 film, with the newly restored version premiering on September 1 as the pre-opening gala of the 2026 Venice Film Festival. The film will then debut on Netflix in Italy on September 15.
Directed by Brass during the early, experimental phase of his career, Col cuore in gola stars Jean-Louis Trintignant as a French actor who becomes involved with a young woman, played by Ewa Aulin, who is accused of murder in London. As criminals pursue her, he attempts to help her escape.

The project marks the latest stage of Netflix’s ongoing collaboration with CSC, which focuses on preserving Italy’s cinematic heritage while supporting the country’s next generation of filmmakers. The partnership also encompasses the restoration and reopening of Cinema Europa in Rome, a historic venue being brought back to life as a cultural center for students and young film enthusiasts.

Tinny Andreatta, Vice President for Italian content at Netflix, stated: “For Netflix, it is important to contribute concretely to the enhancement of Italy's cinematic heritage, and we chose to do so together with the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, with whom we have a happy collaborative relationship. Col cuore in gola struck us as a particularly significant film because it represents a lesser-known phase of Tinto Brass's career, that of his most experimental and innovative research. Thanks to the restoration, we are pleased to be able to give audiences back the visual power and cinematic quality with which Brass had envisioned the film, making it available on Netflix in Italy following its Venice debut.”
Gabriella Buontempo, President of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia Foundation, continued: "The restoration of Col cuore in gola, an important work that Tinto Brass made with an exceptional cast in the Swinging London of the Sixties, has been selected by the Venice Film Festival as a pre-opening screening. A fitting tribute to the significance of Brass's cinema, and also a meaningful recognition of a restoration that saw the virtuous collaboration between the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and Netflix, both committed to the preservation and dissemination of film culture."

Tinto Brass, director of the film, concluded: "I'm proud to have directed Col cuore in gola: I felt the time had come to explore cinema's still-unknown possibilities and push myself to make exceptional films. Today it's a great joy to finally see it restored in 4K and to rediscover the visual impact of those intuitions I had back then."