Liberi armati pericolosi (Young, Violent, Dangerous) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

March 7, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Amoral, violent and a crime action thriller with a high body count! “Romolo Guerrier’s “Liberi armati pericolosi” (Young, Violent, Dangerous) is ’70s Italian crime cinema that incorporate pointless crimes, car chases, sleazy prostitutes, blood thirsty characters and machine guns!

DVD TITLE: Liberi armati pericolosi (Young, Violent, Dangerous)

DATE OF FILM RELEASE: 1976

DURATION: 96 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: B&W, 1:85:1, 4:3 Letterboxed, Italian and English, Dolby Digital Mono 2.0, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: RaroVideo

RATED: NOT RATED

RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2012

Directed by Romolo Guerrieri

Based on the novel by Giorgio Scerbanenco

Story by Fernando Di Leo

Screenplay by Fernando Di Leo, Nico Ducci

Produced by Ermanno Curti, Marcello Partini

Executive Producer: Armando Novelli

Music by Enrico Pieranunzi, Gianfranco Plenizo

Cinematography by Erico Menczer

Edited by Antonio Siciliano

Production Design by Francesco Cuppini

Costume Design by Giulia Mafai

Starring:

Eleonora Giorgi as Lea

Tomas Milian as Commissario

Stefano Patrizi as Mario Farra

Benjamin ev as Giovanni Etrusco

Max Delys as Luigi “Luis” Morandi

Venantino Venantini as Sign. Morandi

Diego Abatantuono as Lucio

Paul, Joe and Louie are three young men from good families who decide to go on a bloodthirsty and pointless crime spree, much to the dismay of paul’s girlfriend (Eleonora Giorgi) and the local police commissioner (Tomas Milian). the group starts by robbing a gas station where paul guns down three innocent bystanders. When they later decide to rob a bank and a grocery store, paul ends up killing more people. It isn’t long before the entire police force is looking for the three criminals, who pick up the girl and hightail it to the Swiss border, killing everyone in their path.

In the late ’60s through the 1970′s, during and after the Vietnam War and a time where political corruption and crime were hot topics. Emerging from cinema and also low-budget indie films were films that featured people going against the establishment using violent means.

Some films had a message such as the Lindsay Anderson’s 1968 film “If…” and Peter Watkins 1971 film “Punishment Park” to films that were meant to be absurd such as the Bertrand Blier 1974 French dark comedy “Going Places” (Les Vasiseuses) but there was no doubt a flood of films that tried to be absurd and violent but ultimately kitschy and became a mainstay of B-movie cinema not just in America but also in other countries.

In Italy, Romolo Guerrieri was a filmmaker known for spaghetti westerns such as “$10,000 for a massacre” (1967) and mystery films such as “A Detective” (1969) but in 1976, Guerreri had the opportunity to direct a violent Eurocrime film based on a novel by popular writer Giorgio Scerbanenco (“Caliber 9″, “The Italian Connection”, “Naked Violence”) and feature a screenplay by well-known screenwriter/director Fernando Di Leo (“Caliber 9″, “Naked Violence”, “The Italian Connection”) and Nico Ducci (“Keoma”, “The Master Touch”).

The film “Liberti armati pericolosi” (which translates to “Armed, Dangerous and Free” but known as “Young, Violent, Dangerous) would star renown Italian actor Tomas Milian (“Amisad”, “Traffic”, “Fools Rush In”), Stefano Patrizi (“Conversation Piece”, “Murder Syndrome”) and actress Eleonora Giorgi (“Inferno”, “Velvet Hands”, “To Forget Venice”).

The film begins with Lea (played by Eleonora Giorgi) going to the police and telling Commissario (played by Tomas Milian) that she is afraid for her boyfriend Luigi “Luis” Morandi (played by Max Delys). She tells the Commissario that he hangs out with a bad group of people, Mario “Blondie” Farra (played by Stefano Patrizi) and Giovanni Trusco (played by Benjamin Lev). Blondie gives the orders and they plan to rob a gas station.

At first the Commissario doesn’t believe her but as a precaution, he sets up a few undercover police officers at the gas station to catch them if they do commit the burglary. The Italian police also visit the family of the three young men, their parents have no idea where there children are.

As for the three young men, Luis is the driver and is the person that tries to talk his friends out of doing anything criminal, but Blondie calls the shots and Giovanni, he’s more like the laughing hyena who can’t wait to get into trouble.

When the group arrives at the gas station, police are ready to nab them. But to their surprise, Blondie and Giovanni shoot down the gas attendant and the police officers with no remorse and the three escape.

Luis can’t believe what his friends have done. What was meant to be a burglary, has now become multiple murders. But Blondie and Giovanni are loving every minute of it and the next place they decide to hit is a bank.

The three men end up killing the bank manager and stealing a large amount of the bank and as they make their escape, both Blondie and Giovanni are upset that no cops are chasing them down. So, the group drive by a market and start throwing the money out to anyone they see.

With multiple murders, now the Commissario knows he must catch them before anyone is harmed. As he meets with the parents of the young men, he realizes that the parents have no communication with their children. Especially one who cares more about being wealthy than caring for his child. This disgusts the Commissario who tells the parent that he wishes that bad parents should take responsibility for the actions of their children and wishes they could be charged as well.

As the three young men are now wanted by the police for their crimes and will be treated as armed and dangerous, Blondie and the group continue to escalate their crimes as well as the number of murders they commit. Will the Commissario be able to stop them?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Liberi armati pericolosi” is presented in 1:85:1, color and in Digital Mono 2.0 Italian and English with optional English subtitles.

The following DVD features a new digitally restored transfer from the original 35mm negative print. While the picture quality is pretty good considering it’s a 36-year-old film. I didn’t notice any major problems with the video nor does it look its age.

Audio was clear and I detected no hiss, crackle or any audio problems.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Liberi armati pericolosi (Young, Violent, Dangerous)” comes with the following special features:

Documentary Ragazzi fuori - (16:51) Filmmaker Romolo Guerrieri talks about his career, “La Visita” and today’s cinema.
Director’s Biography - Text-based biography for director Romolo Guerrieri
Director’s Filmography – Text-based filmography

Amoral, violent and a crime action thriller with a high body count! “Romolo Guerrier’s “Liberi armati pericolosi” (Young, Violent, Dangerous) is ’70s Italian crime cinema that has everything that one expects from a crime action film from car chases, sleazy prostitutes, blood thirsty characters and machine guns!

“Liberi armati pericolosi” is a Eurocrime film that featured the banal pointless crime sprees that were common-place in ’70s films. One can consider it your typical juvenile delinquent film with a high body count and unlike other films that have a reason of why the violence is committed, this film doesn’t have an answer.

May it be bad parenting or wealthy kids wanting attention, whatever the reason…these young men steal and kill…and it’s not like they need the money. It’s more of craving attention and thus, “”Liberi armati pericolosi” features a rather simplistic storyline, but what separates this film from kitschy B crime action films is how far these young men will go and the situations that take place.

Typically these films are dark, violent and depressing but the three characters are rather interesting. Luis is constantly scared and doesn’t want to be involved (and even more afraid that Blondie may get his girlfriend Lea involved), Giovanni is a psychopath who just keeps laughing at all the violence they create and Mario is a man with an emotionless experience. He does things because wants to and there is no explanation of why.

I have to admit that at first, I was expecting to see actor Tomas Milian playing a Dirty Harry-esque police commissioner wanting to take down these young men who killed his fellow officers and innocent civilians, but he’s more of cat trying to catch the mouse.

While actor Stefano Patrizi is known for his role on Luchino Visconti’s 1973 film “Conversation Piece”, he’s just an amoral character taking on pointless crimes.

If anyone does shine in this entire film it’s actress Eleonora Giorgi. A Playboy playmate and known for playing erotic roles, her role as Luis’ caring and emotional girlfriend Lea showcased her acting skill and also showing audiences that she was not just a an average pretty face. In fact, her career would blossom even further in the ’80s as she would win various awards including a David di Donatello Award for “Best Actress” in “Borotalco of Carlo Verdone” (1982).

As for the DVD, fans of the film will definitely want to pick this version up for its new digital transfer from the original 35mm print. There is a short featurette with director Romlo Guerrieri and there is mention of a PDF booklet (which many RaroVideo releases have), but the DVD I reviewed did not have one. Also, there is an English dub included with this Italian film. I prefer to stay away from English dubs, but for those who do not like to read subtitles, you do have the English dub track as an option.

“Liberi armati pericolosi” was an amoral, violent film that probably would not shock anyone today who are probably desensitized by pointless crime sprees, as one can easily play the role of these type of characters in a video game (“Grand Theft Auto” games come to mind), I can understand how Romolo Guerrieri had talked about the context of the film and how in today’s cinema, these shocking, violent films of back then are nothing today.

But as I tend to put myself in the shoes of someone living in that era and having watched my fair share of violent and amoral ’70s films, I will say that “Liberi armati pericolosi” is among the more entertaining crime action films. I did enjoy it but for those seeking for answers, there was no real message delivered from the film of why these young men are committing pointless crimes, they just do it as a form of entertainment I suppose.

And as far as the police is concerned and how they were utilized in the film, today’s films would have the police taking out these criminals, but they were used more or less as chase scene fodder. Even Tomas Milian’s role as police commissioner never really takes off. For those who have seen Milian in other films, his presence is usually felt…in the case of “Liberi armati pericolosi”, I felt his character was just there to use the actor’s name and entice people to watch the film.

But still, there are some intriguing moments of the film that captured my attention and for a ’70s Italian action crime thriller, this film has it all…sleazy prostitutes, car chases, machine guns, bloodthirsty characters and even gratuitous sex nudity.

And if you are craving for more Italian crime cinema, I highly recommend checking out the “Fernando De Leo Crime Collection” from RaroVideo which will be available on Blu-ray and DVD and includes four films in the set: “Miano Calibro 9″ (1972), “The Italian Connection” (1972), “The Boss” (1973) and “Rulers of the City” (1976). The set will be released on March 15, 2012.

Overall, “Liberi armati pericolosi” may not be for everyone, but if you do enjoy mindless, amoral ’70s violent crime action films that isn’t kitsch, then you’ll definitely want to give this film a chance!

Filed Under: DVD Reviews, RaroVideo

Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno (Conversation Piece) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

March 6, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Considered as Luchino Visconti’s “last will & testament”, “Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” (also known as “Conversation Piece”) is another magnificent Visconti film and a personal film that I appreciated in so many levels. “Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” has always been one of my favorite Visconti films and it’s definitely a film that I highly recommend!

DVD TITLE: Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno (Conversation Piece)

DATE OF FILM RELEASE: 1974

DURATION: 125 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Color, 2:35:1 (16×9), Monaural

COMPANY: RaroVideo

RATED: NOT RATED

RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2012

Directed by Luchino Visconti

Story by Enrico Medioli

Screenplay by Suso Cecchi D’Amico, Enrico Medioli, Luchino Visconti

Produced by Giovanni Bertolucci

Music by Franco Mannino

Cinematography by Pasqualino De Santis

Edited by Ruggero Mastroianni

Production Design by Mario Garbuglia

Set Decoration by Carlo Gervasi, Dario Simoni

Starring:

Burt Lancaster as Il Professore

Helmut Berger as Konrad Huebel

Silvana Mangano as Marchesa Bianca Brumonti

Claudia Marsani as Lietta Brumonti

Stefano Patrizi as Stefano

Elvira Cortese as Erminia

Philippe Hersent as Portiere

Guy Trejan as Venditore di quadri

Jean-Pierre Zola as Blanchard

Romol Valli as Micheli

The setting for Conversation Piece is a handsome old Roman palazzo owned by a Professor (Burt Lancaster), an aging, American-born, Roman bred art historian who devotes his life to his books, his paintings, and his stereo recordings of Mozart. His life is turned upside down when his house and his intellectual life is invaded by a rich, pushy, overdressed marquesa, played by Silvana Mangano, the wife of a Fascist industrialist, and her teen-age daughter (Claudia Marsani), her young German lover (Helmut Berger) and her daughter’s lover (Stefano Patrizi). These four characters are able to persuade the Professor to lease them his upstairs apartment for a year and what unfolds is a truly revealing exploration of the idle rich, their kinky side, and what the stuffy old professor can learn from them.

For Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti, although his oeuvre may not be as lengthy compared to Roberto Rossellini or Federico Fellini, he is among the few that have crew created films that not only were beloved in his country, but have remained cinema classics worldwide.

Visconti was also involved with filmmakers Rossellini, Fellini, Puccini, Pietrangeli and De Santis in collaboration in creating the first Italian neorealist movie “Obsession” in 1943. Breaking away from neorealism in the ’50s, Visconti pursued realism and romanticism and set his own path of creating films that were personal.

Well-known for directing theatre and opera but for cinema, he is best known for creating masterpiece after masterpiece such as “The Leopard” (1963), “Sandra” (1965), “The Damned” (1969), “Death in Venice” (1971), and for many, his films such as “La terra trema”, “Bellissima”, “Senso”, “Le notte bianche”, “Rocco and His Brothers” and “The Stranger” would also rank high on the list for many cineaste.

But one film would also rank high among cineaste, some may consider it another masterpiece and that was his 1974 film “Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno”, also known as “Conversation Piece”. Winner for “Best Film” at the David di Donatello Awards”, “Blue Ribbon Awards”, “Fotogramas de Plata”, “Kinema Junpo Awards” and the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists”, the film would receive recognition worldwide.

But also, the film would be known as Visconti’s “Last Will & Testament”. In an interview with actor Burt Lancaster, Lancaster said that Visconti told Lancaster that the character he was playing was him. Lancaster said, “I knew that the old man I was playing was him. He told me another time, ‘This is my life. I am very much alone. I never knew how to love. I never had a family.’”

And now this classic Visconti masterpiece has arrived on DVD (March 2012) and a Blu-ray release (scheduled for April 2012) courtesy of RaroVideo. As the film has had its fair share of being censored (due to the political dialogue and profanity in the film), the version featured on DVD is the uncut version.

“Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” is also a personal film for Visconti. The film would be critical of the Jet Set high society lifestyle, the film would star Visconti’s partner Helmut Berger but the film also was a comeback for Visconti who was incapacitated due to health reasons.

This comeback for cinema would be the second-to-last film that Visconti would write and direct before his death due to a stroke two years later.

While the film’s titled “Gruppo di famiglia in Un Interno” describes the internal situation of a family, the English title “Conversation Piece” refers to artwork of 18th Century English paintings, typically of a group engaged in conversation but also a reference to the protagonist’s observance of a wealthy family and their way of engaging in conversation.

“Gruppo di famiglia in Un Interno” revolves around a recluse professor (played by Burt Lancaster, “From Here to Eternity”, “Airport”, “Atlantic City”) who lives in a luxurious palazzo in Rome.

The professor invests his money in collecting conversation piece artwork and displaying it around his home and is passionate about learning of the conversations behind the painting and the characters depicted in the paintings as well.

But he lives his life in peace with no disturbance.

The film begins with the Professor deciding if he wants to purchase a conversation piece artwork but unsure if he wants to pay the high price for it. As he considers purchasing the painting, another woman who he assumes is the owner of the painting is waiting in his home.

The wealthy woman, Marquise Bianca Brumonti (played by Silvana Mangano, “Death in Venice”, “Teorema”, “Dune”), her daughter Lietta (played by Claudia Marsani) and her boyfriend Stefano (played by Stefano Patrizi) tell the Professor that they want to rent out the room above the professor’s palazzo for an entire year. She has seen the statues and the room from high above and since she has the money to pay for renting the room, she hopes the professor will say yes.

The professor is adamant that he has no desire to do that as his plan was to use the room to display some of the art and antiques he has collected over the years. So, his answer is “no”.

The following day, as the Professor has decided to purchase the painting he was deciding on, he finds out that someone has purchased it. Next thing you know, Lietta and Stefano come to the Professor’s room and informs him that the Brumonti family has purchased the painting and will gladly give him the painting if he allows them to live in the room above.

Seeing how far this family would go to get the room and since it’s only for a year, the Professor gives in.

And as the Professor goes on to his normal business, all of a sudden his peaceful moments are disturbed by sounds from the room above. It appears that work is being done in the room and a man named Konrad Huebel has taken residence inside the room.

The Professor quickly finds out that the room he will be renting out to the Brumonti is actually for her daughter, her boyfriend and Konrad Huebel (played by Helmut Berger, “Ludwig”, “The Godfather Part III”), the paid lover of Marquise Bianca Brumonti.

The Professor could care less about the people who live there but he just wants his silence. Konrad informs him that the room is his and he can do what he wants but he was not told by the Marquise that the room was just rented for only a year. The Professor then witnesses the volatile communication between both Konrad and the Marquise.

As Konrad apologizes to the Professor, the two talk to each other and they begin to share a commonality. As they continue to talk, the Professor is surprised to see how much of an intellect Konrad is. Despite being young and brash, Konrand has an appreciation of classical music but also, surprised that Konrad is showing some knowledge and appreciation of the conversation pieces around the Professor’s library and sure enough, the two have a pleasant conversation.

But the reclusive Professor starts to be bothered by the family above as they are noisy and intrusive, while the Marquise’s presence always leads to an argument between her and her paid lover Konrad, Lietta Brumonti starts to enjoy spending time with the Professor (which he finds bothersome) and immediately, these new tenants start to change the life of the reclusive professor. And he finds himself bringing dragged into their lifestyle.

As we see flashbacks of the Professor’s old life when he had a woman at his side, we start to learn that his life changes because he begins to see this new family now becoming part of his family, because the young adults are spending more and more time with him.

As the Professor starts to help Konrad in various situations, Lietta starts to joke with him that because Konrad respects the Professor so much and she can see that he cares about him, he could be like the son that he never has. Jokingly saying that the Professor should adopt him. As ridiculous as it may sound, the Professor has always wanted to pass on his knowledge to someone who would listen to him.

Being a lonely man for so long, this is the first time in a long time in his life where he feels that he almost has a family and that he has been developing a father-and-son bond with Konrad.

But the more he spends time with this family, things begin to unravel and will change the lives of the Professor and the tenants forever.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” (Conversation Piece) is presented in 2:35:1 (16×9) and in English monaural. It’s important to note that for those who want the best version of this film to date, RaroVideo will be releasing a Blu-ray version in April 2012.

With that being said, “”Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” (Conversation Piece) has been digitally restored. The picture quality of this DVD is amazingly good for a near 40-year-old film. Considering how much we have seen in terms of restoration of Visconti films in the last two years for DVD and Blu-ray release, I have watched this film before and the film looked its age.

Because this film rarely takes place outside of the professor’s home, you really can’t tell this is a 1974 film. The colors look very good and I detected no major defects with picture quality. Granted, in HD, I would expect to see much more detail and noticeable light and warmer colors. But for DVD, picture quality is good as one can expect.

As for audio, audio is presented in monaural, English dialogue is clear and understandable. As with the music and noises emanating from the tenant’s room. But it’s a clear soundtrack that had no hissing, crackling, pops or any issues.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno (Conversation Piece)” comes with the following special feature:

Interview with Alessandro Benccivenni - (9:33) Film critic and screenwriter Alessandro Benccivenni talks about Luchino Visconti and the making of “Grippo Di Famiglia in Un Interno”.
Original Trailer – (3:46) The original theatrical trailer for “Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno (Conversation Piece)”.

EXTRAS:

“La Visita” comes with a slipcover case and an 18-page booklet featuring critical analysis by Mark Rappaport and a Luchino Visconti biography.

“Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” is a film that has always hit me in so many levels. As I appreciate its humorous take on high society, it’s almost dreamlike surreal situations that often take place, I enjoy how the film was cleverly written and his ability to allow his obsession of politics especially sexuality be displayed in his films.

And like so many other Luchino Visconti films that I adore, this film was also intriguing for me in the fact that it was a personal Visconti film.

If a filmmaker could predict his own demise, what kind of film would you make? I look towards Andrei Tarkovsky’s “The Sacrifice” as an example. As a fan of Luchino Visconti films, “Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” was a film that I had looked differently at compared to any other films in Visconti’s oeuvre.

Mainly for the reason as the more you research Visconti’s work, you begin to research him not only as Visconti the filmmaker but also as an individual. As a man who is an aesthete, his films can depict an acerbic tone, some may be towards the society, politics or even sexuality and while “Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” is no different, especially when compared to his film “Death in Venice”, but this film, it appears that he is also directing this scathing tone towards himself.

I have read that this legendary Italian filmmaker felt lonely. Never had a family. May it be depression or something that happened within his life that gave him that state of mind, the fact is that in this film, he has created a character based on himself and asks the question, if you have art. If you have music. If you have these expensive possessions that many people acquire with wealth, is it still enough to fill the void in life, if you don’t have love or family?

We often read about many classic Hollywood celebrities who lived the final days of their life as recluse and for the character of the Professor, he chose his passion over love and family. And when that opportunity came to have people in his home, he begins to realize how much it meant to him, despite having wealth and all the possessions that he desired.

Visconti’s “Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” is a film that has a message that life is short and one should be able to live life to its fullest.

The film parallels the life of the Professor and Visconti not only in life but also in the manner of death. Not to say that Visconti could have predicted how his last years of his life would be on this planet but somehow he knew that his life would not last that long while making this film. Premonition, intuition? Who knows.

But in the film, the Professor felt a new synergy in his life when he starts to consider the new tenants almost like a part of his family, moreso for the Professor and Konrad. In real life, Visconti and Helmut Berger (who plays the character of Konrad) were a real life couple and in the film, the relationship between Konrad and Konrad Huebel) was like father-and-son. A father wanting to take care of someone. But when you look at the context of life and cinema, was there more to it? Was there an underlying message between the Professor and Konrad and the real life Visconti and Helmut Berger.

This is my take and my personal opinion but when I first watched this film and knowing a little about Visconti’s life, it was my feeling that Visconti knew he wouldn’t have a long life and discovered the love and passions in his life quite late. Would he have a much more fulfilling life if he pursued love and family earlier on.

In the film, we see how the character Lietta tells the Professor how she turns him on and if he asked her to marry him, she would. But he tells her that he doesn’t have much time and the characters then get into a discussion about his life and family. With the professor wanting to share that passion of art and music with someone but as much as he thought that the enjoyment of life was embodied in the art that he has collected, it’s been far too long since the Professor was able to care for someone.

The great artist Salvador Dali once ridiculed Visconti’s lifestyle by saying that “he was a communist who only liked luxury” and Visconti’s character of the Professor was similar but perhaps it was a wakeup call for Visconti that he needed to change his life, not place so much into luxury but towards love but his discovery of that was possibly a little too late.

Visconti may have felt that because of his older age and ill health (it is said that Visconti smoked up to 120 cigarettes a day), he didn’t have much time to live and so, thus “Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” became known as the director’s last will & testament.

And for me, that is why I appreciate this film on a different level compared to Visconti’s other films. This is a man near death, putting his heart and soul to this film with a character about himself but yet, in Visconti-fashion, he is able to create this idiosyncratic film.

And while this film is enjoyable, one of its most controversial moments is when we realize who Konrad really is and when “Conversation Piece” was screened at the 1975 New York Film Festival, it was not well received. Possibly the most problematic part of this film that I have read over time is the casting of Helmut Berger to play Konrad. A plaything for a woman possibly in her ’50s and his involvement in a movement which I don’t want to spoil but yet it was hard for others to take in because Helmut Berg looked very young for his age. This has always been a sore point for certain viewers who felt his character looked “too good” and “too young” to play the part.

But for those who have watched a Visconti film, there has always been an underlying premise of silliness. Does everything have to be right? One should know from a Visconti film by now that things, especially with characters are imperfect. For me, I was never bothered by the casting of Berg and it was no surprise that he was in the film as well. This is a story by Visconti, about Visconti and as the Professor has discovered a new meaning to life with Konrad, Visconti in real life found love with Helmut Berger and both Visconti/Professor knew the one thing they did not have was time.

As for the DVD release, RaroVideo has continued to impress me release after release. Picture quality is good on DVD and considering this is a new digital restored film, I was quite impressed of how good this film looks compared to an older release in which the film did show its age. But “Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” doesn’t look like a 1974 film because the quality of the video is pretty good. But with that being said, it’s also important to remind those wanting to purchase this film is that a Blu-ray version of this film will be released a month later. So, if you want the best picture and audio quality, you may want to wait for the Blu-ray release.

Overall, “Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” is a Visconti idiosyncratic film that I have enjoyed over the years. Yes, “The Leopard”, “Death in Venice”, “Senso” and many other Visconti films can be considered as magnificent, but I have to put this film high on my list of favorite Visconti films because of its grandeur, its beauty, its humor, its absurdity, its acerbic tone and message.

“Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” may be known as Visconti’s last will & testament but it’s also a film that everyone can relate too. Life is short, enjoy it while you can.

“Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno” (Conversation Piece) is highly recommended!

Filed Under: DVD Reviews, RaroVideo

La Visita (The Visitor) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

March 5, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Among the Italian filmmakers of the ’50s-’60s that were forgotten and have now been rediscovered by today’s cineaste, Antonio Pietrangeli’s “La Visita” is true commedia all’italiana. Featuring a wonderful performance by Sandra Milo and Francois Perier, “La Visita” is an enjoyable comedy that takes on a disillusioned point of view of life between two lonely individuals who meet each other after corresponding by mail. Captivating, fun and highly recommended!

DVD TITLE: La Visita (The Visitor)

DATE OF FILM RELEASE: 1963

DURATION: 111 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: B&W, 1:85:1, 4:3 Letterboxed, Italian Digital mono 2.0 with English subtitles

COMPANY: RaroVideo

RATED: NOT RATED

RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2012

Directed by Antonio Pietrangeli

Story by Gino De Santis, Ettore Scola, Ruggero Maccari

Written by Ruggero Maccari, Antonio Pietrangeli

Produced by Moris Ergas

Music by Armando Trovajoli

Cinematography by Armando Nannuzzi

Edited by Eraldo Da Roma

Production Design by Luigi Scaccianoce

Set Decoration by Sergio Dona

Costume Design by Margherita Ferrone, Piero Tosi

Starring:

Sandra Milo as Pina

Francois Perier as Adolfo Di Palma

Mario Adorf as Cucaracha

Gastone Moschin as Renato Gusso

Angela Minervini as Chiaretta

Didi Perego as Nella

Thirty-something stunning beauty Pina (Sandra Milo) takes out an ad in the personal column hoping to find a man to take her away from the tiny Italian village where she lives. For months now she has been trying to find the right one – a man with a solid career, a family in mind, and plenty of stamina. Adolfo (Francois Perier) lives in Rome running a profitable business. Looking to share his life with that special person willing to raise a family Adolfo replies to Pina’s ad. The couple arrange to meet in the village where Pina lives. Incorporating flashbacks that highlight Pina’s and Adolfo’s lives, the complexity of the characters are slowly revelaed and when the two finally meet Pina quickly concludes that Adolfo is the one. He appears noble, cultured, and ready for a serious commitment – Pina can hardly believe her luck!

I spoke with a friend on the phone the other day and a friend who is absolutely passionate about cinema. I told him about a film that I watched recently, “La Visita” directed by Antonio Pietrangeli.

My friend replied with, “Who is Antonio Pietrangeli?”.

And I’m sure that within the last few decades, many have replied similarly when hearing about this director for the first time.

But it’s not surprising. In the 1950′s and 1960′s, there were Italian filmmakers who were known for their post-war Italian neorealism films or sexual comedies. Similar to other countries in Europe, there was a huge growth of filmmakers and writers who worked on cinema and very few were known for their work in the genre.

Others were forgotten until now. Among those filmmakers who were forgotten was Antonio Pietrangeli (“March’s Child”, “I Knew Her Well”, “Empty Eyes”), a filmmaker known for Commedia all’italiana (Italian style comedy) and worked in the Italian neorealism movement.

While Pietrangeli is also known in Italy for his cinema articles for “Bianco e Nero” and “Cinema” magazines, his films didn’t garner too much attention as his other associates were creating films with deep storylines and films that had the best actors or actresses of that era in time.

But in 1963, Pietrangeli would go on to create a film known as “La Visita” (The Visitor) that was truly Commedia all’italiana and have not only captured the attention of today’s cineaste but also for many to recognize Antonio Pietrangeli as one of Italy’s finest filmmakers. The film would also go against other Commedia all’italiana films in terms of structure and instead of focusing on a male character, “La Visita” would feature a strong female character who was independent and also self-sufficient, which was rare to see in Italian cinema.

The film would star Sandra Milo (“Il generale della Rovere”, “8 1/2″, “Juliet of the Spirits”, “Classe Tous Risques”) and French actor Francois Perier (“Nights of Cabiria”, “Le Samourai”, “Z”, “Orpheus”).

“La Visita” would be nominated for a Golden Bear Award at the 1964 Berlin International Film Festival and would win the FIPRESCI Prize.

And now, “La Visita” will be released on DVD in March 2012 courtesy of RaroVideo.

“La Visita” is a film that focuses on two individuals: Pina (played by Sandra Milo) and Adolfo Di Palma (played by Francois Perier).

Pina is a 36-year-old woman who lives in a small town. She lives alone with her parrot, a dog and a turtle and put an ad in a personal column hoping to correspond with a man who is wanting to raise a family, has a career and is healthy.

And sure enough, the man that responds to her ad is Francois, who lives in the city of Rome and the two begin corresponding with each other via letters.

And now, it’s the big day as Pina has invited Francois to her village to stay with her at her home for a few days. Hoping that he will be “Mr. Right”.

As the two meet each other, Adolfo is taken by Pina’s beauty (and big derriere, which he likes). But immediately when he goes to her home, he starts to impress her with his city knowledge and how much things cost. And as the two try to become acquainted with each other, we start to see flashbacks of their lives prior to the two meeting with each other.

For Pina, she is a lonely woman and she has been having an affair with a truck driver named Renato Gusso (played by Gastone Moschin). He is happily married with two children but he looks at Pina as a woman he can have sex with during his truck stops in her village. But for Pina, she wants a relationship, a man that she can love, have a family with and if needed, take her away from her small village if needed.

While Renato does know this, he wishes her the best in finding a man that will treat her right. Even though he knows that Pina would love to be with him.

As for Francois, we find out that he works for a book store and is not well-appreciated by his boss. In fact, his boss enjoys him more when he’s not working. Unlike the kind man that he portrays himself, he is rude, a chauvinist and a racist. He is also living alone and lonely. Even though he has sexual experience with a woman who cleans his clothes.

And whenever Pina leaves the room, his thoughts are more of how he can move his antique furniture to her home and getting rid of her pets (which is like family to Pina).

As Pina tries to get him used to her small village, Francois runs into a few people such as the town lunatic named Cucaracha (played by Mario Adorf). Cucaracha loves to dance and he also likes Pina and hates Francois.

Another person that Francois meets is the beautiful teenager Chiaretta (played by Angela Minervini) who likes to use her sexuality to get Francois’ attention. And for Francois, being the man that is constantly thinking about sex, he even is allured by her.

And as Pina and Francois talk about their life together, both start to wonder if its impossible for them to find true love.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“La Visita” is presented in 1:85:1 black and white and in Digital Mono 2.0 Italian with English subtitles.

The following DVD features a new digitally restored transfer from the original 35mm negative print. I was pretty amazed by how beautiful the film looks, considering it is 50-years-old. There is no sign of aging, contrast is amazing as black levels are deep, whites and grays are well-done. There is some scratches and a scene with a few damage but it’s only a few seconds long but the entire film looked magnificent. In fact, I was hoping this was one title that would receive a Blu-ray release from RaroVideo, but for the most part, this film looks fantastic on DVD.

As for audio, dialogue is clear and understandable. I didn’t hear any hiss or clicks or any crackle during my viewing of the film. Subtitles are easy to read.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“La Visita” comes with the following special features:

Interview with Ettore Scola - (18:37) Director writer Ettore Scola talks about perceptions of Antonio Pietrangeli than and how people are discovering his work now.
Interview with Armando Trovajoli – (9:49) Interview with composer Armando Trovajoli who talks about working with Pietrangeli.
Interview with Paolo Pietrangeli – (14:45) Interview with director and musician Paolo Pietrangeli about his relationship with his father and how he has been forgotten in Italy but probably be remembered if he directed in other countries.
PDF Booklet – Featuring a wonderful 16-page booklet which includes a film analysis by Gabrielle Lucantonio, “Comments of the Director” by director Antonio Pietrangeli (“Bianco e Nero, 1967) and “Comments of the Leading Actress: Sandra Milo” by Patrizia Pistagnesi, “Hommage a Anna” (1989).

EXTRAS:

“La Visita” comes with a slipcover case.

But I have to admit, even I have not heard of Antonio Pietrangeli and this is rare considering he has made films that were nominated for awards, he was a film critic for major Italian magazines, he helped jumpstart the career of Sandra Milo and for a filmmaker and screenwriter of this caliber, how is it that his name has been forgotten?

The fact is that with Italian cinema, there was always a focus on Italian neorealism and commedia all’italiana and very few filmmakers were remembered because their work played worldwide. They were written about in cinema magazines all over the world but access to films, especially during that era in time when so many were being released and only the films by notable filmmakers were being focused on, a number of Italian filmmakers fell through the cracks to never be remembered.

But that was then, this is now.

Like in America who many had forgotten actor Harold Lloyd, who is one of the three kings of comedy of silent film, Lloyd started to receive recognition nearly 50-years after his films were released. While Lloyd’s awareness was low because he had control over his films, in Italy, Pietrangeli was forgotten because his films were unlike Fellini, Mastroianni, De Sica, Rossellini. In fact, unlike France where many film critics for Caheres went on to write and direct their own films, it was not really appreciated in Italy.

And thus, many people ask, who is Antonio Pietrangeli? And now, here we are with RaroVideo’s release of a digitally restored “La Visita”, one of the cinema highlights in the career of Pietrangeli but also talents such as Sandra Milo and Francois Perier.

For some, the whole storyline may seem banal. Two lonely people who have corresponded with each other and are perhaps destined to fall in love. But this is not an Ersnt Lubitsch “The Shop Arround the Corner” type of film. These characters are flawed, disillusioned and total opposites and there is no “opposites attract” and trying to sugarcoat it.

Sandra Milo does a fantastic job playing Pina, a woman that is well-known for her posterior that she puts Kim Kardashian to shame. Pietrangeli was especially hard on the actress in order to get her character right, especially having to wear so much butt padding that she eventually realized that the reason why the director was tough on her is because he wanted to get that sense of delusion, that sense of loneliness and she succeeds. She is 36-years-old, absolutely beautiful but perhaps her standards are too high? Or perhaps she needs to travel and find herself elsewhere. But instead, she tries her chances on a newspaper ad.

But unlike female characters in Italian cinema, this woman doesn’t rely on her man. She is self-sufficient, she is independent, has her own house, servant and vehicle. So, her character was quite different than what was usually seen in Italian cinema during that era.

Francois Perier is equally wonderful as the disillusioned Francois. A man who lives a ho-hum life, no excitement and because he is treated like a nobody, he has a negative outlook on his life and when he arrives to meet Pina, immediately he looks at her as a plaything, her home as his place to do what he wants. An arrogant man who thinks he can spank any woman’s behind whenever he wants, speaks what he wants and eventually the more we get to know him, we are turned off by his attitude.

Which leads us to the director Antonio Pietrangeli. We know that filmmakers Michelangelo Antonioni who take on relationships focus on alienation. Pietrangeli doesn’t go for alienation but he does share his disillusion of society with his two characters, two total opposites that don’t deserve each other. As Hollywood was about total opposites finding love, this was not going to follow that banality of regurgitating storylines. Nor was this film going to have the same supporting characters. Who would imagine that you would have a character named Cucaracha who is a buffoon that is constantly dancing or tries to wash Pina’s car in the rain, who would expect to see a teenager named Chiaretta trying to use her sexuality and see if she can get Francois all hot and bothered.

You just don’t come across films like “La Visita” that often and for me, it was refreshing to watch a film and really enjoying it, despite knowing that these two characters are flawed.

As for the DVD release, RaroVideo has done cineaste a great service in releasing this digitally remastered version of the film. For a film that is 50-years-0ld, it looks fantastic on DVD but with that being said, having gone through digital restoration, I really do feel that this film should be released on Blu-ray. It’s too beautiful of a film to be only on DVD, so I hope RaroVideo considers an HD release in the near future.

As for special features, you get three interviews that try to focus on how can a filmmaker such as Antonio Pietrangeli be forgotten. Interesting and intriguing interviews and also a wonderful booklet via PDF.

Overall, “La Visita” is captivating, fun and highly entertaining! “La Visita” is true commedia all’italiana, a rare gem that you rarely come across and should be recognized as a masterpiece by Italian filmmaker/writer Antonio Pietrangeli.

Highly recommended!

Filed Under: DVD Reviews, RaroVideo

L’Automobile (The Automobile) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

March 4, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

One of the final films featuring one of the greatest actresses of cinema, Anna Magnani. “L’Automobile” (The Automobile) showcases the actresses in another amazing performance, but it’s also a ’70s film that makes a statement to Italian society of its dependence on the automobile. A televised film that was a sign of the times, but still a film demonstrating Magnani’s brilliance as an actress.

DVD TITLE: L’Automobile (The Automobile)

DATE OF FILM RELEASE: 1971

DURATION: 93 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Color, 1:33:1 aspect ratio, Italian with English Subtitles, Monaural

COMPANY: RaroVideo

RATED: NOT RATED

RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2012

Directed by Alfredo Gianetti

Written by Alfredo Gianetti

Produced by Giovanni Bertolucci

Music by Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by Pasqualino De Santis

Edited by Renato Cinquini

Production Design by Francesco Bronzi

Set Decoration by Osvaldo Desideri

Costume Design by Maria Baroni

Starring:

Anna Magnani as Anna

Vittorio Caprioli as Giggetto

Christian Hay as Lou

Donato Castellaneta as Guidino

Renato Malavasi as Matteo

Pupo De Luca as Istruttore di guida

Ettore Geri as Un tedesco

From the 1962 Oscar winner writer of Divorce – Italian Style and available for the first time on DVD, The Automobile, an episode from the TV mini series The “Three Women”, featuring Italian movie icon Anna Magnani with music composed by the genius Ennio Morricone, comes this classic 70s Italian story of Anna, an experienced prostitute who has become an institution in the Roman nightlife. In reality she is lonely and aimless, and decides to buy a car in order to satisfy her need to feel like a normal woman. On an outing to the beach to celebrate her new sense of freedom she meets two men who convince her to let them drive her new car, and things deteriorate from there.

In 1971, a three film mini-series (“L’Automobile, “1943: Un incontro” and “La Sciantosa”) which aired on Italian television and would feature the work of filmmaker/writer Alfredo Giannetti (“Divorce Italian Style”, “Il ferroviere”, “A Man of Straw”), the music of Ennio Morricone (“The Untouchables”, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, “Once Upon a Time in the West”) and most notably the final year of acting for renown actress Anna Magnani.

For many cineaste and those who have watched many Italian Neo-Realism films, Anna Magnani is an actress who was important to cinema as she was known for her roles such as Roberto Rossellini’s “Rome, Open City” (1945), Luchino Visconti’s “Bellissima” (1951), Daniel Mann’s “The Rose Tattoo” (1955), Sidney Lumet’s “The Fugitive Kind” (1959) and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Mamma Roma” (1962) to name a few.

So, for many cinema fans, 1971 was the final year to watch Anna Magnani and suffice to say, many fans tuned in.

“L’Automobile” (The Automobile) is a film that features a role that Anna Magnani has played before, a prostitute in post-war Italy, a sign of the time. But in the case of this film, Anna Magnani is Anna, the prostitute who has been in the business for far too long.

And while observing the younger prostitutes having fun as part of the Roman nightlife, she also notices that the days of women and men meeting indoors have changed to women now leaning in cars waiting for a man.

For Anna, she doesn’t own a car, she rides a bus to the Pines Hotel where she lives and is best known by many men as “The Countess”.

But now Anna wants to experience something different in her life and possibly get out of the career as a prostitute. What about buying a car? She has saved up all her hard-earned money, why not buying something she can love, take care of and travel anywhere she wants to go.

Problem is, she doesn’t know how to drive. So, Anna calls her good friend Giggetto (played by Vittorio Caprioli, “Il Generale della Rovere”, “Tout va bien”, “Le magnifique”), who happens to own a vehicle, that tends to not run all that well. But hopes he will teach her the basics for riding a car and so it will prepare her for taking a test to obtain her driver’s license.

Eventually, Anna passes her test and buys her dream car, a yellow convertible Fiat. And for Anna, it’s the first major purchase she has made with her life. She uses all her savings as a down payment, she purchases the best car insurance possible and she worries about her car as if it was like a child.

But when Anna decides to venture outside of the city with her new automobile, life for Anna will change forever.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“L’Automobile” is presented in 1:33:1, color and and monaural Italian with English subtitles.

Picture quality for a 1971 film is actually very good, as the film doesn’t look like an early ’70s film in the fact that it’s not that aged. In fact, the film looks a lot better than some ’90s films that I have watched on video, so the overall picture quality is pretty good for its age, considering the film is 40-years-old and is a TV film.

Audio is monaural, Italian dialogue was clear as with Ennio Morricone’s score. English subtitles are white and easy to read.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“L’Automobile” comes with the following special features:

Original Trailer - (1:44) The original theatrical trailer for “L’Automobile”.
Video Introduction – (16:34) Featuring a video introduction by Mario Sesti (film critic and curator of the International Rome Film Festival).
PDF Booklet – Featuring a wonderful 12-page booklet which includes a film analysis by Bruno Di Marino, “Cinema according to Anna Magnani” from “Arianna” (1963) and “L’Europe” (1973) and “Two or Three Things about ‘Nannarella’” by Patrizia Pistagnesi, “Hommage a Anna” (1989).

Anna Magnani has had a long career of impressive films and working with the best directors and writers in the business. Beloved in Italy, adored by cineaste and even winning an Oscar for “Best Actress” for the 1955 film “The Rose Tattoo”. She was an amazing actress who was compared to Greta Garbo because of her acting and came to the United States and won various awards.

But by the early ’70s, Magnani health would be at a decline and 1971 would be the final year of the actress who would die of pancreatic cancer in 1973.

While those who have never watched a Magnani film would probably look at “L’Automobile” as standard ’70s cinema and a slice-of-life tale about an older woman buying her first automobile and venturing outside of the city with it.

But Anna Magnani as an actress who had worked in post-war Italian neorealism films, she comes from the old Italy who saw how her beloved city has changed. From the automobile was a sign of economic prosperity of the ’60s and by the ’70s, everyone has one and the city has become nothing but a 24/7 traffic jam.

And in 1971, French filmmaker Jacques Tati also depicted this in his 1971 film “Trafic” featuring his character Monsieur Hulot who came from the old country of France and had to get used to the modernizing of society and its dependence on the automobile.

But watching the film, actress Magnani is able to capture this disenchantment of life and society through her career with remarkable efficacy and perhaps this film of an older Magnani was evident that the actress still has it. She demonstrates genuine emotions and expressions that make you believe in the character.

Sure, “L’Automobile” is a televised movie and part of a trilogy. It is comedy but also statement to Italian society from a generation who saw the city of Rome transformed into a near immobile parking lot. And while there are more impressive Anna Magnani films out there, her 1971 films including “L’Automobile” would show that no matter if she was succumbing to pancreatic cancer, no matter if it was an older Anna on film, because it was on television, a large audience would get to experience Anna Magnani, actress extraordinaire that was able to play a character and become it.

As for the DVD from RaroVideo, the picture quality is in very good shape considering it’s a ’70s film and has no signs of the usual aging film. As mentioned, I have seen ’90s films that look its age and for “L’Automobile”, aside from clothing and the music played by a live band at the beginning of the film, the film doesn’t look terrible as you would expect from a ’70s TV film. So, this new digitally restored “L’Automobile” looks very good on DVD.

And as far as special features go, you get a verbose video introduction from film critic Mario Sesti and a PDF booklet of Bruno Di Mariono’s critical analysis of the film and more.

With that being said, I enjoyed “L’Automobile” and felt that Anna Magnani gave an amazing performance. There are magnificent films that she starred in from the past which overshadows this 1973 film and while her performance was great, including her interaction with actor Vittorio Caprioli, the scenes leading up to the finale felt a bit rushed and made me wonder if that was because they had to create TV films in a set amount of time.

Nevertheless, because it is a televised film, I’m grateful to RaroVideo for bringing it out on DVD. But I do hope that the the other two films in the trilogy “1943: Un incontro” and “La Sciantosa” will be released on DVD in the near future.

Overall, “L’Automobile” is still a must purchase for cineaste who adore actress Anna Magnani. It’s one thing to watch the films from her past, especially films that she was best known for but to have the opportunity watch her later, final work for me, for a cineaste who have watched many films that she has starred in, having the opportunity to watch Anna Magnani in “L’Automobile” as one of her final films, on DVD in the U.S., I am grateful to RaroVideo for making it possible.

Filed Under: DVD Reviews, RaroVideo