Viva l'Italia

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domino harvey
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Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Viva l'Italia

#1 Post by domino harvey » Sun Nov 05, 2017 9:20 pm

Image

“Viva l’Italia is a documentary made after the event, trying to figure out what happened. I tried to place myself in front of the events of a century ago, the way a documentarist would have done who had the good fortune to follow Garibaldi’s campaign with his camera.” - Roberto Rossellini

To celebrate the centenary of Italy, the Italian government commissioned Rossellini to make a biopic of Giuseppe Garibaldi, one that would follow his exploits with ‘the Thousand’ and their role in the country’s unification. Rossellini approached the film as he had Francesco, giullare di Dio, presenting the main character in neo-realist mode, as though making a documentary.

Restored by Arrow Films from the original negative, this disc marks the first UK home video release of Viva l’Italia in any format, allowing English-speaking audience to discover another Rossellini classic.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
  • Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
  • Original Italian mono soundtracks with optional English subtitles
  • Garibaldi, an alternate shorter cut of the film originally prepared for the US market
  • Brand-new interview with Roberto Rossellini’s assistant on the film, Ruggero Deodato, recorded exclusively for this release
  • "I Am Garibaldi", a brand-new visual essay by Tag Gallagher, author of The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini: His Life and Films
  • Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet containing new writing on the film by filmmaker and critic Michael Pattison

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Big Ben
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2016 12:54 pm
Location: Great Falls, Montana

Re: Viva l'Italia

#2 Post by Big Ben » Sun Nov 05, 2017 11:21 pm

A quick search online shows that while this has apparently hasn't received as much attention as things like Rome, Open City or Paisan, Rosselini thought very highly of it and was most proud of this film above all his others. Anyone know anything about it?

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Rayon Vert
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Re: Viva l'Italia

#3 Post by Rayon Vert » Sun Nov 05, 2017 11:27 pm

I like it, and I'm very glad to see it come out. It's somewhat of a precursor to his later television history films (Rossellini’s take on the Risorgimento, specifically Garibaldi), though it’s more of a spectacle. I'd say the film is only half-successful, suffering from a certain impersonality, but there’s a great visual quality throughout and some wonderful landscape battlefield tableaux.

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rohmerin
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:36 am
Location: Spain

Re: Viva l'Italia

#4 Post by rohmerin » Mon Nov 06, 2017 5:48 am

I've seen it twice and I don't like and enjoy it very much.

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Gregory
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm

Re: Viva l'Italia

#5 Post by Gregory » Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:57 pm

Rossellini himself was quite the fan of it.
Of all my films, I'm proudest of Viva l'Italia. I consider it important as a work of research, as the most carefully done of all my films, and then because I feel it to be intimately true. I must confess, at the risk of sounding ridiculous, that when I watch Viva l'Italia and it's the only one of my films that I've seen two or three times — my hair stands on end and tears come to my eyes. (from Tag Gallagher's excellent book)
Everything I've ever read about this film, from critics on both sides and Rossellini's own statements, has made it lowest-priority viewing for me.

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Re: Viva l'Italia

#6 Post by tag gallagher » Mon Nov 06, 2017 10:32 pm

It's a wonderful and remarkable movie!

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Re: Viva l'Italia

#7 Post by TonyleStephanois » Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:57 am

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
• Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original Italian mono soundtracks with optional English subtitles
• Garibaldi, an alternate shorter cut of the film originally prepared for the US market
• Brand-new interview with Roberto Rossellini’s assistant on the film, Ruggero Deodato, recorded exclusively for this release
• "I Am Garibaldi", a brand-new visual essay by Tag Gallagher, author of The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini: His Life and Films
• Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by filmmaker and critic Michael Pattison

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kinjitsu
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 1:39 pm
Location: Uffa!

Re: Viva l'Italia

#8 Post by kinjitsu » Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:39 pm

david hare wrote:And I hope Mr Nield invites you to do the video commentary.
No Tag Gallagher commentary, David, but we do get a video essay. Just brought this home and will watch tonight.
tag gallagher wrote:It's a wonderful and remarkable movie!
Am with you, Tag. I found it a thrilling experience.

Slant review

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