Sexy, glamorous and fun! “Nine” has its share of shortcomings but when it comes to the cinematography, its style and musical performances, by the end of the film, I found the film to be quite enjoyable!
Images courtesy of © 2009 The Weinstein Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Nine
DURATION: 118 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Anamorphic Widescreen (2:40:1), English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH
RATED: PG-13
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Released Dated: May 4, 2010
Directed by Ron Marshall
Screenplay by Michael Tolkin and Anthony Minghella
Based on the Broadway musical by Arthur Kopit, Maury Yeston and “Nine” Italian original by Mario Fratti
Executive Produced by Kelly Carmichael, Michael Dreyer, Gina Gardini, Ryan Kavanaugh, Arthur Kopit, Tucker Tooley, Bob Weinstein, Maury Yeston and Michael Zimmer
Produced by John DeLuca, Rob Marshall, Marc Platt, Harvey Weinstein
Production Executive: Michael Cole
Supervising Producer: Steven Squillante
Associate Producer: Michael Zimmer
Music by Andrea Guerra
Cinematography by Dion Beebe
Edited by Claire Simpson, Wyatt Smith
Casting by Kate Dowd, Francine Maisler, Razzauti Teresa
Production Design by John Myhre
Art Direction by Peter Findley, Phil Harvey, Simon Lamont
Set Decoration by Gordon Sim
Costume Design by Colleen Atwood
Starring:
Daniel Day-Lewis as Guido Contini
Marion Cotillard as Luisa Contini
Penelope Cruz as Carla
Sophia Loren as Mamma
Nicole Kidman as Claudia
Judi Dench as Lilli
Kate Hudson as Stephanie
Stacey Ferguson (Fergie) as Saraghina
Ricky Tognazzi as Dante – Producer of “Italia”
A vibrant and provocative musical filled with love, lust, passion and glamour. A world famous film director reaches a creative and personal crisis of epic proportion, while balancing numerous women in his life. With its incredible all-star cast, amazing performances and stunning visuals, this razzle-dazzle extravaganza will make you long to BE ITALIAN.
Director Rob Marshall Featurette
In 1973, “Nine” was but a dream for American composer Maury Yeston. Before Yeston became the popular American composer and lyricist that he is right now, he was inspired by Director Frderico Fellini’s “8 1/2”, about an Italian filmmaker who had writer’s block in which the film would deal with his memories and flashbacks that were intermeshed onscreen.
After several attempts to having a book created, he joined with American playwright Arthur Kopit in 1981 as Yeston would write the music and lyrics while Kopit wrote the book and sure enough, by 1982, the Broadway play of “Nine” was born.
In a 1982 interview with Yeston in regards to how “Nine” relates to Fellini’s “8 1/2”, Yeston said, “When Fellini made 8 1/2 he already had done seven films and a documentary, so he called his next movie 8 1/2. I thought, if you add music, it’s like half a number more.” Fortunately, with the help of Katharine Hepburn who saw the original production, Hepburn contacted Fellini and Fellini granted Yeston the rights to write a fictional musical inspired by his film.
The musical was a huge success as it won five Tony Awards, ran for 729 performances and has had several revivals but it wasn’t until 2009 when Director Rob Marshall (“Chicago”, “Memoirs of a Geisha”), screenwriters Michael Tolkin (“Changing Lanes”, “Deep Impact”, “The Player”) and Anthony Minghella (“The Talented Mr. Ripley”, “The English Patient”, “Cold Mountain”) began writing the film adaptation of the musical and also bringing in Maury Yeston to write a few songs for the film.
For many people, Rob Marshall’s success with “Chicago” was definitely going to bring people into the theaters but where “Nine” has literally struck gold is with its all-star talent. “Nine” stars Daniel Day-Lewis (“Gangs of the New York”, “The Last of the Mohicans”, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”); Marion Cotillard (“Contagion”, “Public Enemies”, “Taxi” films); Penelope Cruz (“Broken Embraces”, “Sahara”, “Elegy”); Nicole Kidman (“Australia”, “The Others”, “Cold Mountain”); Judi Dench (“Quantum of Solace”, “Pride & Prejudice”, “007” films); Kate Hudson (“Bride Wars”, “Raising Helen”, “Almost Famous”); the Black Eyed Peas vocalist Stacey “Fergie” Ferguson; and legendary actress Sophia Lauren (“Matrimonio All’Italiana”, “La Cicoiara”, “I Girasoli”).
Despite the film receiving mixed reviews, “Nine” would be nominated for four Academy Awards which include “Best Supporting Actress” (Penelope Cruz), “Best Art Direction” (John Myhre, Gordon Sim), “Best Costume Design” (Colleen Atwood) and “Best Original Song” (“Take It All” Music and Lyrics by Maury Yeston).
“Nine” is a film that that takes place in the late ’60s and revolves around famous director named Guido Contini (played by Daniel Day-Lewis). As production of “Italia” is about to begin, he is having a mid-life crisis in which he is having problems balancing time with his wife Luisa (played by Marion Cotillard), his mistress Carla (played by Penelope Cruz) and many women that work for him or want some of his personal time such as his muse Claudia (played by Nicole Kidman), his costume designer Lilli (played by Judi Dench), American journalist Stephanie (played by Kate Hudson) and also imaginary dreams of his youth such as the prostitute Saraghina (played by Fergie) and his communication with his dead mother (played by Sophia Lauren).
With the press and his film crew thinking that everything is ready for Guido to start filming, the truth is that he hasn’t even written one word for “Italia” at all. Despite his writer’s block, he is also dealing with the disintegration of his marriage life, knowing that his sexual promiscuity is starting to get the best of him and affecting his personal life and this man, who everyone thinks is so much in control, is really not. Guido is lost and needs direction.
Using Fellini’s “8 1/2” as a source of inspiration for the film, certain aspects make it to the film as the case of fantasy and real-life are hard to distinguish in “Nine” until each layer of Guido Contini is slowly peeled away and in “Nine”, the question is asked about what kind of man are we left with? Through the life that this famous director is living now, what would truly consume him and who or what would become his priority?
VIDEO:
“Nine” is presented in 2:40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen.  Let me first say that if you were deciding on the Blu-ray or DVD, this is one of those films that you would want to watch on Blu-ray. Various scenes are just vibrant with color and for each musical number, there is a wonderful style to each that simply screams to be in HD. But for the DVD, picture quality is still beautiful.
The cinematography by Dion Beebe is simply ravishing and what helps is the wonderful cuts used for the musical segments, so a big credit to editors Claire Simpson and Wyatt Smith. It’s hard to believe that the majority of the musical numbers takes place on one adjustable set (which you will see in the special features) but how each set was created, modified and enhancing the dancers and their choreography was fantastic. Great art direction, production design and also costume design from Colleen Atwood.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
And when it comes to musicals, its simply about the music and the DVD is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital. Again, this is a type of film that screams of HD and I recommend listening to a lossless audio track via Blu-ray but overall, the music and dialogue are clear. Subtitles are in English and English SDH.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Nine” comes with the following special features:
- Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by Director Rob Marshall and Producer John DeLuca. Rob Marshall talks about the scenes, bringing the musical onscreen and also discussing the misunderstanding by people who thought they were remaking Fellini’s “8 1/2”. Also, discussing the performances of the talent.
- The Incomparable Daniel Day-Lewis – (5:13) The casting of Daniel Day-Lewis as Guido and the cast talks about how he is an amazing actor and once he gets on the set, he is not Daniel Day-Lewis, he is the character.
- The Women of Nine – (10:48) Casting the women of Nine. Each of the main female cast talk about being hired for their role and being in a musical. The women talk about being among a major cast of women and striking friendships with each other. Director Rob Marshall talks about why he hired each actress.
- Director Rob Marshall – (6:28) The cast talk about working with Rob Marshall and how as a performer/dancer, he is perfect as director for a musical such as “Nine”.
- Behind the Look of Nine – (8:23) Director Rob Marshall talks about working with a great team for “Nine” and working with the team he worked with in “Chicago” and the importance of having people with experience in creating the look of “Nine”. Also, information on the impressive and adjustable stage and working with production and costume design.
- The Dancers of Nine – (4:41) Featuring the casting process of the dancers for “Nine” and how many of the dancers dream of being in a film, let alone being in a film directed by Rob Marshall.
- The Choreography of “Be Italian” – (4:17) The making of “Be Italian” and bringing in 14 tons of sand to make the soundstage seem like a real World War I beach. Fergie talks about the choreography and how she enjoyed rehearsing the song for two months.
- The Making of “Cinema Italiano” – (2:54) Kate Hudson talks about her song “Cinema Italiano” and the challenges of singing the song. Also, showing the musical side of Kate Hudson and the support she received from Fergie.
- The Choreography of “Cinema Italiano” – (8:39) Director Rob Marshall and Producer John DeLuca talk about the Kate Hudson’s character and wanting to bring the ’60s and emphasize it for “Cinema Italiano”.
- Music Videos – Featuring the music videos for “Cinema Italiano” feat. Kate Hudson, “Take It All” feat. Marion Cotillard and “Unusual Way” feat. Griffith Frank.
- Previews – Sony Pictures Home Entertainment music videos
When there was word that director Rob Marshall would be working on his next musical, needless to say, people were excited to see if Marshall can recreate the magic that he brought onscreen with “Chicago”. So, when the word came out that he was bringing “Nine”, the popular musical onscreen, many wondered if he could pull it off. Meanwhile, new cinema fans were worried (and many who misunderstood) that Federico Fellini’s “8 1/2” would receive a remake.
It’s important to let viewers know that the musical was inspired by “8 1/2” which Fellini gave Maury Yeston approval for the musical version, while for the film adaptation, Maury gave Rob Marshall free reign to do what he can and what he wanted for the film.
What director Rob Marshall was able to create was a glamorous and strikingly beautiful film that showcases the talent of Daniel Day-Lewis who was fantastic! Although playing an Italian director, Day-Lewis looks strikingly similar to French director Jean-Luc Godard but more amazing is that his performance is as remarkable as he has done in his previous films with the exception that in “Nine”, the thespian shows off his vocals. Who would of thought that Daniel Day-Lewis can sing? Needless to say, he did a remarkable job.
But equally remarkable was Penelope Cruz. Her musical performance was not just sexy but again, shows off her amazing talent as an actress.  And almost similar to her last films “Los abrazos rotos” (Broken Embraces) and “Elegy”, she’s able to make the character of a woman scorned, come alive. It’s one thing to portray her character of Carla with depth, but to transform to this sexual vamp during her musical segment and even titillate the horny Guido in their scene was enjoyable.
“Nine” definitely features an all-star cast with Marion Cotillard, like Penelope Cruz, brings the emotional and musical aspect to full force onscreen where Penelope’s Carla is the mistress, Cotillard’s Luisa is the lonely wife and her transformation onscreen during her musical performance is also fantastic. Other memorable moments include Stacy Ferguson (Black Eyed Peas vocalist ala Fergie) as the buxom beauty/prostitute Saraghina in one of the most memorable musical performances of the film singing “Be Italian”.
As mentioned, the film does feature an all-star cast, and there is no doubt that Sophia Lauren’s appearance brings style and a homage to the ’60s for this film. Judi Dench’s Lilli brings the professionalism that compliments Day-Lewis’s Guido and yes, Dench can sing as well! Nicole Kidman’s Claudia brings more of the sexual, classy Veronica Lake like character but unfortunately is lost among the more sexually charged performances of the film and Kate Hudson’s Stephanie brings the American sexiness to the film but somehow, felt a bit out of place in terms of the context of the other performances in the film.
With some of the musical segments definitely standing out from the film, I give credit to the dancers and the set and costume designer for making these characters come alive, especially in choreography. Amazing! And most of all, credit to the cinematographer Dion Beebe (and the editors Claire Simpson and Wyatt Smith) for the beautiful cinematography and making sure each sequence was dazzling, simmering and delightful onscreen.
If there is one thing about “Nine”, because of the multiple characters, the meshing of the flashbacks, Guido’s dreamstate and reality, “Nine” does have a commonality with Fellini’s “8 1/2”. Some may find the banality within the concept but the characters and their musical performance is what emerges out of the banal setting and brings some fervor towards the actual screenplay.
But a problem that Rob Marshall has probably found is the film’s comparison to “Chicago”. The music of “Chicago” was literally songs that came from the soul of the character and works with the movie. While “Nine”, you find yourself not zeroing in on the lyrics but simply watching the sexiness on screen as Penelope Cruz and Fergie’s characters demonstrating naughtiness.
There is no impact emotionally but more sexually. If there was a character in which the music helps you feel the emotion and soul from the lyrics is through Luisa Contini’s “Take It All” as a woman who has had enough as her soul has been sapped by Guido. She is the only character who sings about how she is feeling while the others sing about how Guido is feeling. And it’s those stinging words that resonate in Guido’s head.
So, I felt the musical numbers, while they look great on film, were quite uneven. I may not be the musical erudite but I would imagine that the film is quite different from the actual musical and those who are familiar with the musical may share its disappointment of the film.
But there is something about “Nine” that attracts you to the film despite its shortcomings. May it be the cinematography, the ’60s glitz, the sexual innuendo or just seeing some of the talents on film giving a wonderful performance.  Needless to say, that by the end of the film, I was not disappointed at all by “Nine” and can easily say that I had fun watching this film.