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Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 5:49 pm
by Don Lope de Aguirre
Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 7:32 pm
by Tommaso
Yeah, I saw that announcement, too, and actually thought about picking it up on my coming holidays in Italy; so has anyone seen "Amore di mezzo secolo"? From the description I read somewhere it sounded somewhat similar to "L'amore in citta" (which I quite liked), but I would like to know more. The inclusion of a Rossellini episode is intriguing in any case.
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:04 pm
by wpqx
Pardon me for bumping an older thread, but I got a chance to watch Socrates today and was impressed more by the quality of the DVD transfer than the film itself. Certainly fits into his biographical period and it's a curious choice considering the myth of Socrates and whether or not he actually did exist or was a creation of Plato. The film does get dialogue heavy at times and the subtitles were good but not perfect. However the more Rosselini I see the more I enjoy, but it seems that every time I see a film from one of Italy's big four (Fellini, Antonioni, Visconti, Rossellini) I seem to have a new favorite.
Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 3:58 am
by myrnaloyisdope
Why isn't Europa '51 available on DVD? It's my favorite Rossellini film, as well as being one of the few he made with Ingrid Bergman. A great film with a big star should equal a DVD release right? So why has Europa been neglected for so long?
Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 9:33 am
by ellipsis7
myrnaloyisdope wrote:Why isn't Europa '51 available on DVD? It's my favorite Rossellini film, as well as being one of the few he made with Ingrid Bergman. A great film with a big star should equal a DVD release right? So why has Europa been neglected for so long?
I'm speculating, but Rossellini left many of his films in a rights mess - he cared about his art, but left the financial and business end in a tangle, sometimes selling the same rights to different parties simultaneously etc... Anyone who would give him money would be entertained...
The History Films about to appear on Eclipse were made for television stations (RAI etc.) so the rights situation for these is clear and simple... They lie with the single commissioning body who fully financed the productions...
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 1:52 pm
by ellipsis7
Madman have confirmed they those DVD rights to INDIA - MHATRA BRUMI for Aus/NZ, now they're trying to locate a print - I've pointed them in the direction of James Quandt who put together the centenary retro, which included screenings of INDIA......
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:53 pm
by ptmd
They really need to get access to the French version in the Cinematheque Francaise, because the restored Italian print is a disaster: they let the color stock deteriorate and then didn't compensate properly, resulting in a red-tinted image that looks like an old slide. The French print is slightly greenish, but it's generally in much better condition and is also more complete. Ideally, they could include both versions, since they are slightly different, but that's probably not practical and if a choice is necessary, the French print is the way to go. Unfortunately, there aren't really any good options other than these two; despite the undeniable greatness of the film, history has not been kind to the materials.
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:19 pm
by ellipsis7
The Cinematheque Ontario retro showed this print apparently...
India, Mother Land)
Director: Roberto Rossellini
Year: 1958
Runtime: 85 minutes
Country: Italy/France
Screening Times:
November 6, 2006 6:30 PM
Screens at Jackman Hall
"INDIA MATRI BHUMI is the creation of the world" (Jean-Luc Godard). In the long tradition of European directors depicting India (e.g. Malle, Renoir, Duras, Corneau), Rossellini presents a very personal, idiosyncratic view of the country with which he fell in love. (He criticized Malle's India films for being too negative, one-sided, not compassionate.) Divided into four sections, the film begins in Bombay before moving into the countryside, offering an episodic portrait of the country through the stories of emblematic figures, including animals: a mahout (elephant driver) whose amazing charges labour in the Karapur jungle and then, in one of the sequences cited by many as one of Rossellini's most sublime, take a ritual bath in a river to cool off; a young engineer on a dam project; an old man and a tiger; and - most memorably - a pet performing monkey whose master dies during a heat wave. After its triumphant premiere at Cannes, the film fell into disrepair, its vivid colours fading to such a point that Rossellini reportedly preferred having the film shown in black-and-white. This is one of two colour restorations undertaken of the film. "One of the prodigious achievements of the century" (Andrew Sarris). "A profound and moving experience" (Peter Brunette).
Please note that we will also show on DVD the concluding moments of the French version of this film, which differs from this restoration and which Tag Gallagher considers essential to our understanding of Rossellini's purpose.
Note the ending of the French version was shown, but only on DVD, and it 'differs from this restoration'... This print is 'one of two colour restorations undertaken of the film'... Implies that this version does best justice to the film, but indeed a DVD release could do with including the French ending as an extra...
I have the Cinecitta book (ed Adriano Apra) ROSSELLINI INDIA 1957 and indeed...
they let the color stock deteriorate and then didn't compensate properly, resulting in a red-tinted image that looks like an old slide.
... the colour images mostly look like that....
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 5:13 am
by ptmd
Note the ending of the French version was shown, but only on DVD, and it 'differs from this restoration'... This print is 'one of two colour restorations undertaken of the film'... Implies that this version does best justice to the film, but indeed a DVD release could do with including the French ending as an extra...
Well, since this was part of the Rossellini series James Quandt organized, I'm quite certain that it was in fact the Italian restoration, which is the more easily accessible one and the one that MoMA showed as well. As I said, the French version is green-tinted, so it isn't ideal either, but the images have considerably more depth and saturation than the ones in the Italian version, although I know there's still some debate about this.
My understanding is that it should still be possible to do a proper photochemical restoration of this, but that it would take a lot more money than anyone is willing to invest in such a niche title. Some people, myself included, consider this to be Rossellini's masterpiece, but like many of his films, the production method presented its own unique difficulties and the general obscurity of most of the post-Ingrid Bergman films doesn't help matters either.
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 7:08 am
by ellipsis7
The impression I get is that Madman are simply trying to source an existing print or tape master, rather than perform or back a restoration...
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 4:54 pm
by ptmd
No, they're definitely not equipped to do a restoration, financially or legally, I was just saying in a more general sense that it's a shame that this film is so neglected. They should definitely try to get access to the Cinematheque print if possible, even if they do use the RAI restoration as the primary source for their transfer. One other major issue, of course, is that the Italian restoration is subtitled and the French one is not, but presumably that is not a problem for a DVD.
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 8:09 pm
by zedz
ptmd wrote:Some people, myself included, consider this to be Rossellini's masterpiece.
Please elaborate! I saw this last year and thought it was a decent enough documentary, but nothing special, and far more time-locked than other Rossellinis of the period, so I'd love to hear what I missed.
Re: Roberto Rossellini on DVD
Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:40 am
by ellipsis7
A 'restored and remastered' dvd of EUROPA '51 (with Italian soundtrack however) just released in Italy....
Apparently in a single disc or double disc
Collector's Edition....
Re: Roberto Rossellini on DVD
Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 11:12 am
by foggy eyes
Quick question - does anyone know whether the old BFI/Connoisseur VHS of Germany, Year Zero has the German or Italian soundtrack?
Re: Roberto Rossellini on DVD
Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 12:47 pm
by foggy eyes
Oh, that's good news. Thanks, David. I can't stand to watch this with the Italian dub again, and hopefully the copy I can get my hands on won't be too battered...
Re: Roberto Rossellini on DVD
Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:34 am
by rohmerin
Tommaso wrote: so has anyone seen "Amore di mezzo secolo"? From the description I read somewhere it sounded somewhat similar to "L'amore in citta" (which I quite liked), but I would like to know more. The inclusion of a Rossellini episode is intriguing in any case.
Yes, I've seen it. I bought the Italian dvd and the film is nice but poor. Nothing to be compared with
Amore in città, that is a masterpiece collection of short films. The film is in color, it had troubles with censorship. I saw it 2 weeks ago and I can't remember too much, so imagine how it is. The Rosselllini story is nice, may be the best with the last one, that is very a La ronde.
On the oppossite, the RHV box with the two Fascist propaganda films and Desiderio is VERY interesting, specially
Un pilota ritorna, where you can find all the Rossellini's resources he'd show later.
Re: Roberto Rossellini on DVD
Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 4:41 pm
by Tommaso
rohmerin wrote:. I bought the Italian dvd and the film is nice but poor. Nothing to be compared with Amore in città, that is a masterpiece collection of short films. The film is in color, it had troubles with censorship. I saw it 2 weeks ago and I can't remember too much, so imagine how it is. The Rosselllini story is nice, may be the best with the last one, that is very a La ronde.
Well, I bought and watched it last year and probably remember even less about it than you. I found it completely conventional, with mediocre acting and would certainly not recommend it to anyone who isn't a die-hard Rossellini completist. I think his episode was the best, but still rather unengaging.
rohmerin wrote:On the oppossite, the RHV box with the two Fascist propaganda films and Desiderio is VERY interesting, specially Un pilota ritorna, where you can find all the Rossellini's resources he'd show later.
Nice; if this has ever been mentioned here, I have forgotten all about it. Does it have English subs?
Re: Roberto Rossellini on DVD
Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 4:50 pm
by rohmerin
No, the RHV box has only ITALIAN subtitles. Sorry, it's not English friendly.
By the way, Vanina Vanini (that is on Italy on DVD) is by distance the worst Rossellini's film I know. It's a mess of acting. Sandra Milo and the Russian guy from Pontecorvo's Kapò aren't good enough to develope their carachters.
Re: Roberto Rossellini on DVD
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 1:09 pm
by Zazou dans le Metro
Coming from Carlotta..
21st. October
* Coffret Rossellini : BLAISE PASCAL (1972) / AUGUSTIN D’HIPPONE (1972) / L’ÂGE DE COSME DE MÉDICIS (1973) / DESCARTES (1973)
Also some Sirk précoce
03 December
* Coffret Douglas Sirk : LA FILLE DES MARAIS (1935) / LES PILLIERS DE LA SOCIÉTÉ (1935) / PARAMATTA, BAGNE DE FEMMES (1937) / LA HABANERA (1937)
Re: Roberto Rossellini on Blu-ray and DVD
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:37 pm
by eerik
Re:
Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 5:32 pm
by Saimo
Tommaso wrote:
Yeah, I saw that announcement, too, and actually thought about picking it up on my coming holidays in Italy; so has anyone seen "Amore di mezzo secolo"? From the description I read somewhere it sounded somewhat similar to "L'amore in citta" (which I quite liked), but I would like to know more. The inclusion of a Rossellini episode is intriguing in any case.
My DVD review:
http://journeys-italy.blogspot.it/2013/ ... loves.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Roberto Rossellini on Blu-ray and DVD
Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 5:38 am
by Rayon Vert
Any chance of getting Socrates again with English subtitles? I've got an old rip back from the days of megaupload but it appears the only extant DVD (from Flamingo Video) is now without English subtitles. The film is on youtube with subtitles but I'd love to get this on phys media. I would also like to see Acts see the light of day at some point in the near or distant future (my rip from that one is of very bad quality), but that feels hopeless.
