Household Saints

Nancy Savoca’s star-studded indie gem Household Saints is a chronicle of a spirited Italian-American New York family that perfectly balances humor, tragedy, and pathos. Joseph Santangelo (Vincent D’Onofrio) is a butcher with a wicked sense of humor who “wins” his wife Catherine (a stellar Tracey Ullman) in a pinochle game. Over the protests of his mother (Judith Malina) who talks to ghosts and makes deals with saints, Joseph marries Catherine. When the old lady dies, her spirit is channeled into her granddaughter Teresa who yearns to serve God. Perfectly embodying a modernday Bernadette, Lili Taylor imbues Teresa with a mix of dedicated innocence and naïveté. Executive produced by Jonathan Demme, with memorable performances from Michael Imperioli, Michael Rispoli and Victor Argo, Household Saints showcases a unique voice in 1990s independent filmmaking.

Household Saints has been digitally restored and remastered by Lightbox Film Center at University of the Arts (Philadelphia) in collaboration with Milestone Films with support from Ron and Suzanne Naples. Restoration Supervisor: Ross Lipman, Corpus Fluxus. Picture Restoration: Illuminate Hollywood. Sound Restoration: Audio Mechanics.

Special Features:
• Renata (1982, Nancy Savoca’s student film)
• Bad Timing (1983, Nancy Savoca’s student film)
• The Many Miracles of Household Saints (2023, making-of documentary by Martina Savoca-Guay)
• Archival interviews with Jonathan Demme, Vincent D’Onofrio, Tracey Ullman, Lili Taylor, Nancy Savoca, Richard Guay, Judith Malina, Peter Newman
• New interview with Nancy Savoca and Lili Taylor by Richard Guay (Courtesy of and © The Criterion Collection)