Fellini’s The Clowns (1971/Raro Video DVD) + Last Tango In Paris (NC-17/1972/MGM Blu-ray) + Senso (1954/Criterion Blu-ray)
Picture: C+/B-/B Sound: C+ Extras: B-/C-/B Films: B (Clowns: B-)
Though
the Italian Cinema was the only other cinema standing after WWII besides Hollywood, there was much
rebuilding involved. Italian spectacles
gave way top Italian Neo-Realism as well as some important filmmakers. Here are unique, key works from each.
First we
have The Clowns, a 1971 TV project
by Federico Fellini for Italian Television (and RAI) that actually had a U.S.
theatrical film release before Amarcord
(reviewed on Criterion Blu-ray elsewhere on this site) and has now been
released in a new DVD edition by Raro Video.
Like TV projects by other major directors of the time (Ingmar Bergman’s Magic Flute, Jacques Tati’s Parade, reviewed elsewhere on this
site), the project is self-reflective, deconstructive and wants to dig into the
backstage happenings of performers, their art and how that relates to the stage
and the world.
Some of
the views of childhood foreshadow Amarcord,
but more eccentric characters are on hand, Nino Rota does the music, Anita
Ekberg makes a cameo that references her appearance in La Dolce Vita (also reviewed on this site) and Fellini reveals more
of his dreams, memories and even nightmares.
He loved clowns, this is a tribute and it is a film worth seeing once,
but know it is not a work to find easy entry into. This includes the differences between two
types of clowns: white and augusto. This
includes every clown in between. A very interesting work indeed.
Bernardo
Bertolucci’s Last Tango In Paris
(1972) continues to be one of the most daring and boldest films any of its
participants ever made. A mix of sex,
ideology and daring, Marlon Brando plays an older man who gets involved
anonymously and thoroughly with a much younger, sexier Maria Schneider. At the time, the sex scenes alone were
shocking, even as XXX films had begun to become common after Deep Throat the same year, but the film
offers so much more, more twists and remains one of the most intelligent films
about sexuality ever made.
It has
dated in some ways, but it holds much of its impact and is just an amazing film
that still possesses much of its power today, remarkably.
Finally
we have Luchino Visconti’s Senso
(1954), a romance set in 19th Century Italy as Austrians occupy the
country. Originally intended to star
Ingrid Bergman and Marlon Brando, Bergman turned it down to be with Roberto
Rossellini and the studio picked Farley Granger over Brando thinking Granger
was the better bet to have a longer career.
Granger is an Austrian who falls for a countess (Alida Valli) who is
actually part of the secret resistance to drive them out of the country.
This
rich, beautifully shot film was one of the very first Technicolor films ever
made in Italy
and was a big even film. Because of his
leftist politics (and being gay), Visconti’s films have been overly ignored and
rarely made it to the U.S., but this is an amazing film and proves that he may
very well be the most underrated Italian filmmaker of all time. This is a remarkable, powerful film with
mature themes and fine performances.
Visconti makes it involving and it takes us someplace we have not been
before. I like this film very much and
recommend it as strongly as any of the offerings here. Criterion has delivered a great Blu-ray and
now everyone can appreciate the film. I
hope the rest of Visconti’s films make it to Blu-ray soon.
All the
films were issued in three-strip, dye-transfer Technicolor prints, but these
versions vary in capturing what are the best and most valuable possible prints
of these keys works. The 1.33 X 1 image
on Clowns has some good shots, but
it is apparent that some of the footage is from a video source and does not
look as good, while color can be good ion some shots and plugged up in
others. Detail is the same way, but Raro
has fixed this up the best they can and unless such a print surfaces, this may
never look better. I would still like to
see a Blu-ray sometime.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 digital AVC @ 38 MBPS High Definition image transfers on Tango is not bad, but has some shots
that are not as good as others and detail can be an issue. It could look better, but this is the best it
has ever looked on home video. Too bad
MGM did not license this to Criterion as Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography
deserves even better.
The 1080p
1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers on Senso was restored by Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation and is
amazing in capturing the range of color this film offers, though some shots can
look grainy or faded, that is not very often and considering this is the oldest
film, it still manages to look the best of the five.
The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono on Clowns shows its age, but can sound pretty good for being
the only lossy mix of the three releases.
Tango has a DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) 2.0 Mono mix that sounds pretty good for its age, though maybe the sound
could be cleaned and I know MGM let Rykodisc issue the soundtrack on a now
out-of-print CD. Could this be upgraded
to stereo? Senso has a restored Italian soundtrack in PCM 2.0 Mono sound comes
form the restored optical track on a restored 35mm print and though much of the
audio was looped and recorded in post-production, sounds quite good for its
age.
A trailer
is the only extra on Tango, while Clowns has a high quality 50-pages
booklet with essays by Fellini and Fellini scholars, is illustration heavy and
nicely bound, while the actual DVD includes Adriano Apra’s visual essay Fellini’s Circus and Fellini’s 1953
black and white short (16 minutes/35mm film) called Un Agenzia Matrimoniale. Extras
on Senso include a shorter
English-language version titled The Wanton Countess that features
the original English-spoken dialogue recordings by the Granger and other actors
very much worth seeing after the restored longer version, visual essay by
scholar Peter Cowie, 1966 BBC documentary Man Of Three World: Luchino Visconti,
new documentary Viva Verdi and new Making
Of Senso featurette. There is also
yet another informative booklet in the Blu-ray case with technical information
on the film, how it was restored and two essays all about the film and its
participants.
- Nicholas Sheffo
