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I was reading about this film last night in European Noir, a chapter written by Mary Wood on Italian Noir. Wood describes this film as something of a Neorealismo Nero (Black Neorealism - due to the colour of the film). In her detailing of the narrative and shooting style the film sounds effortlessly noir. It is such a shame that there are so few Lattuada films readily available (there are two films from Minerva classics and Variety Lights). This one sounds particularly exciting and stars the wonderful Anna Magnani, let us hope for a DVD release or a retrospective.

FSimeoni wrote:I was reading about this film last night in European Noir, a chapter written by Mary Wood on Italian Noir. Wood describes this film as something of a Neorealismo Nero (Black Neorealism - due to the colour of the film). In her detailing of the narrative and shooting style the film sounds effortlessly noir. It is such a shame that there are so few Lattuada films readily available (there are two films from Minerva classics and Variety Lights). This one sounds particularly exciting and stars the wonderful Anna Magnani, let us hope for a DVD release or a retrospective.

The always intrusive, over-acting Anna Magnani would be pretty much the last reason for me to watch a movie .
The film has definitively a noir touch to it, but I remember one thing most clearly about it and that's its sentimentality. It is a massive tearjearker and Lattuada bathed the film in tears and cloying close-ups. Nevertheless it should be made available because the representation of Neorealism on DVD is dangerously narrow, three Visconti's, four De Sica's, three four Rossellini's and BITTER RICE and that's it. It's really dangerous if the available output of an epoch narrows down to such a small number of films.

lubitsch wrote:it should be made available because the representation of Neorealism on DVD is dangerously narrow, three Visconti's, four De Sica's, three four Rossellini's and BITTER RICE and that's it. It's really dangerous if the available output of an epoch narrows down to such a small number of films.

Bullseye.

Anyone wanta talk about Weimar cinema? Or the hideously overstretched definition of Expressionism?

lubitsch wrote:The always intrusive, over-acting Anna Magnani would be pretty much the last reason for me to watch a movie

Them's fighting words. Why you gotta make Nannarella cry?

HerrSchreck wrote:Bullseye.
Anyone wanta talk about Weimar cinema? Or the hideously overstretched definition of Expressionism?

Or about the realist German cinema of the Weimar Republic? Because that's an almost forgotten affair due to the focus of other nations on German angst, monsters, depression and Nazis. This heavy emphasis on the demonic German nature leads to a reception of German cinema outside of the country which is sometimes stunning for a German cineast (e.g. the heavy emphasis on Herzog). That's why I'm hoping every day for more releases of German, British, French or Italian films up to 1960 which are not by Lang, Renoir, Carne, Rossellini or Lean. We know the guys, we know their films. But we often know ONLY their films with a dozen films representing a decade.

Every release like Criterion's Bernard set is a necessity beacuse only this way we can begin to evaluate the output of these times ourselves instead of being forced into repeating the attitudes of critics decades ago which in fact defined which films we are watching today. If none of us would have any pre conceived idea of film history and just begin watching the available stuff which is often buried in the archives, if there would be a "new" start, then the written film histories might be another affair. Films like THE WISHING RING RING, BED OR SOFA, MISS LULU BETT or ABWEGE are virtually unknown because nobody championed them. Yevgeni Bauer has to work up decades of neglect because his films were hardly available.

And back to Lattuada who can really say how good he is or how deservedly forgotten? Seen any films? Aside from his collaboration with Fellini on LUCI DEL VARIETA? SENZA PIETA sounds interesting, GIOVANNI EPISCOPO is written by Fellini, but has pitiful 9 votes on the imdb. DVD is a fine thing, on the other hand we are not much further in 2007 than Truffaut was fifty years ago if it gets down to older films which are not from the USA. They remain buried in their countries.

lubitsch wrote:Or about the realist German cinema of the Weimar Republic? Because that's an almost forgotten affair due to the focus of other nations on German angst, monsters, depression and Nazis. This heavy emphasis on the demonic German nature leads to a reception of German cinema outside of the country which is sometimes stunning for a German cineast (e.g. the heavy emphasis on Herzog). That's why I'm hoping every day for more releases of German, British, French or Italian films up to 1960 which are not by Lang, Renoir, Carne, Rossellini or Lean. We know the guys, we know their films. But we often know ONLY their films with a dozen films representing a decade.

Every release like Criterion's Bernard set is a necessity because ...

Just off the top of my head, and just so you know, Image did a decent enough release of BED AND SOFA, as well as LULU BETTS, if you're looking for those on disc...

But your absolutely right. This is one of the reasons I try to clap for Kino and tweak MoC, because in terms of German cinema, MoC are still wallowing in the same old Langs and Murnaus. And for lack of other examples people call this material Expressionist... whereas beyond the mid twenties both men ended their very slight flirtation with the legitimate expresionist cinema as rendered by P Leni, Jessner, Grune, Robison, Weiine et al. And until these immediately identifiable pieces are brought out, with their strange, jerky, near-robotic stylized performance, people are going to go on thinkng that Expressionist means Really Really Nicely Photographed And Having SOmething To Do With A Lot of Shadows.. Like Noir... yeah thats it.

Realist Weimar cinema and the gloomy midcentury Kammerspiels are zones I have been screaming about for years, here, and to CC and Kino. The ssimple fact that there is no Lamprecht (am aching to see SLUMS OF BERLIN in the worst way... anyone who has a tv rip please pm), no Jutzi (i e MUTTER K's JOURNEY... or orig ALEXANDERPLATZ), et al on dvd is nauseating. I'm happy to see hi-def releases of NOSFERATU like everyone else but, you know.

Similar problem with Impressionist works, of course.

And you're asolutely right about Neorealism.

HerrSchreck wrote:Just off the top of my head, and just so you know, Image did a decent enough release of BED AND SOFA, as well as LULU BETTS, if you're looking for those on disc...

I have them both. But that's also the point. by now even that doesn't help these films and they remain obscure to a certain degree. And just how hard to get is Louis Delluc? Written up big in every film history, but completely unavailable.

BTW, I can help you with some German silents if you can live with German intertitles. I have a copy of IL BANDITO, too, but I guess a German dub isn't too thrilling for the members here.

lubitsch wrote:And back to Lattuada who can really say how good he is or how deservedly forgotten? Seen any films? Aside from his collaboration with Fellini on LUCI DEL VARIETA? SENZA PIETA sounds interesting, GIOVANNI EPISCOPO is written by Fellini, but has pitiful 9 votes on the imdb. DVD is a fine thing, on the other hand we are not much further in 2007 than Truffaut was fifty years ago if it gets down to older films which are not from the USA. They remain buried in their countries.

Rialto's theatrical release of Mafioso earlier this year was my first Lattuada film, and I absolutely loved it. I've been wanting to see it again ever since. Criterion should be releasing the DVD in 2008, which may raise Lattuada's profile a little.