Roberto Rossellini on Blu-ray and DVD

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numediaman2
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 4:51 pm

#26 Post by numediaman2 » Sat Jun 03, 2006 1:26 pm

FYI:

Stromboil and Europe '51 will be shown back-to-back on TCM in late August as part of a day of films featuring Ingrid Bergman.

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tavernier
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:18 pm

#27 Post by tavernier » Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:34 pm

Museum of Modern Art (NY) press release:

[quote]MoMA PRESENTS A COMPREHENSIVE U.S. RETROSPECTIVE OF DIRECTOR ROBERTO ROSSELLINI

Major Retrospective Includes Many Rare Films along with Exhibition of Posters and Photographs

ROBERTO ROSSELLINI - November 15–December 22, 2006

ROSSELLINI ON PAPER - November 15–April 9, 2007

NEW YORK, October 16, 2006—The Museum of Modern Art presents the first comprehensive American retrospective of the work of master filmmaker Roberto Rossellini. The films in Roberto Rossellini, which is presented November 15–December 22, 2006, in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters and The Celeste Bartos Theater, include such seminal Neorealist titles as Roma Città Aperta (Rome Open City, 1945), and Paisan (1946), along with less well-known work including his six-hour television epic L'Eta di Cosimo de' Medici (The Age of the Medici, 1972). Many of the titles are new prints, including MoMA's restoration of Paisan.
Roberto Rossellini is accompanied by Rossellini on Paper, an exhibition of posters from the director's films drawn largely from the Martin Scorsese Collection and Wesleyan University Cinema Archives, on view in The Roy and Niuta Titus 1 and Titus 2 Theater Galleries. Rossellini's daughters, Ingrid and Isabella, will introduce the screening of Rome Open City on November 15. This retrospective, co-organized by Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator, Department of Film; and James Quandt, Senior Programmer, Cinematheque Ontario, Toronto, is presented in collaboration with Cinecittà Holding (Rome). Rossellini on Paper is organized by Ron Magliozzi, Assistant Curator, Research and Collections, Department of Film.

Roberto Rossellini is presented in collaboration with Cinecittà Holding (Rome) and is made possible by generous grants from Fendi and Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro. Additional support is provided by The Italian Cultural Institute (New York) and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency. Presented with the support of the Menil Collection (Houston), National Film and Television Archive (London), Kino International (New York), Harvard Film Archive, Swedish Film Archive, New Yorker Films, Miramax Films, The Criterion Collection, Kramsie (Gibraltar), Tag Gallagher, and Martin Scorsese.

ROBERTO ROSSELLINI SCREENING SCHEDULE

Wednesday, November 15
5:00 Scorsese on Rossellini. Excerpted from Il Viaggio in Italia (My Voyage in Italy). 1999. Italy/USA. Directed by Martin Scorsese.

Rossellini is given pride of place in Scorsese's documentary about his relationship with Italian cinema. Scorsese discusses Neorealism and Rossellini's early films, illustrating his ideas with numerous film clips. Approx. 100 min.

7:30 Roma Città Aperta (Rome Open City). 1945. Screenplay by Rossellini, Sergio Amidei, Federico Fellini. With Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi.

An emotional bombshell when first released, Rome Open City was shot on Rome's streets shortly after the German Occupation and pieced together from the bits of 35mm film that Rossellini was able to scrounge. The action takes place during the final desperate months of the Occupation, rendering the title somewhat ironic. New restoration by the Cineteca Nazionale. In Italian, English subtitles. 105 min.
(Introduced by Ingrid and Isabella Rossellini)

Thursday, November 16
6:00 Paisà (Paisan). 1946. Screenplay by Sergio Amidei with Rossellini, Klaus Mann, Federico Fellini, et al.
Paisan includes six stories, all shot on location, that move from Sicily and the 1944 Allied landing to the north of Italy as the Germans gradually retreated. Some of the narratives capture the traumatic and murderous process of liberation (Sicily, Florence, the Po Valley) while others capture the confusions of a newly liberated but devastated society (Naples, Rome, Romagna). Print restored by MoMA. In Italian, English, German; English subtitles. 116 min.

8:15 Germania Anno Zero (Germany Year Zero). 1947. Italy/Germany. Screenplay by Rossellini, Carlo Lizzani, Max Kolpet. With Edmund Moeschke, Ernst Pittshau.

Shot among the ruins of postwar Berlin, this rarely seen film recognized the infectious power of Nazi ideology that lingered after the physical destruction of Germany. A 12-year-old boy, one year younger than the Third Reich itself, commits a horrendous crime. “Whether he excites pity or horror I do not know, nor did I wish to knowâ€

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gubbelsj
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#28 Post by gubbelsj » Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:32 pm

NYTimes preview of MoMA retrospective.

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Jem
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#29 Post by Jem » Fri Nov 17, 2006 1:40 am


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Don Lope de Aguirre
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#30 Post by Don Lope de Aguirre » Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:06 pm

I must say, this is a pretty insubstantial book, to say the least... :|

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Jem
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#31 Post by Jem » Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:58 am

Don Lope de Aguirre wrote:I must say, this is a pretty insubstantial book, to say the least... :|
Can you say why, I was thinking of purchasing it.

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Don Lope de Aguirre
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#32 Post by Don Lope de Aguirre » Sat Dec 09, 2006 8:05 pm

I must begin by saying that I haven't actually seen the Maddin film that comes with the book yet :oops:

The book itself though is neither here nor there. It includes some 'making of' text and illustrations, some pictures of the great man, some biographical writings, some of Rossellini's thoughts on the medium...

The emphasis is on the word some. I have probably read about a third of the text and flicked though the rest and though this is clearly a heartfelt project I can't help feeling that those with a serious interest in Rossellini will be left wanting a hell of a lot more of a thorough, more voluminous and more focused book.

peerpee
not perpee
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#33 Post by peerpee » Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:49 pm

Don Lope de Aguirre wrote:...I can't help feeling that those with a serious interest in Rossellini will be left wanting a hell of a lot more of a thorough, more voluminous and more focused book.
...and that book already exists... Tag Gallagher's Rossellini book is magnificent!

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ellipsis7
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#34 Post by ellipsis7 » Sun Dec 10, 2006 6:23 am

Third chime re. Tag G's book on Rossellini - unsurpassable... Check out his tome on John Ford also...

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Don Lope de Aguirre
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#35 Post by Don Lope de Aguirre » Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:44 pm

Has this rather tasty morsel been plugged?

N.B. I should also add that a lot of the later 'TV' work is available in English subtitled DVDs...

Doug Cummings
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#36 Post by Doug Cummings » Tue Dec 12, 2006 9:45 pm

I should also add that a lot of the later 'TV' work is available in English subtitled DVDs...
On the contrary, only Socrates and Cartesius have been--Augustine and Blaise Pascal are not subtitled.

fred
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#37 Post by fred » Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:02 am

I'm fairly certain that Anno uno is English subbed as well.

jonp72
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India: Matri Bhumi (Rossellini, 1959)

#38 Post by jonp72 » Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:16 pm

India: Matri Bhumi (Rossellini, 1959)

I got an e-mail from the Australian critic, Adrian Martin, who said that a DVD of Roberto Rossellini's documentary, India: Matri Bhumi, with a commentary track he recorded might be a "possible project" that could get released by Madman DVD. Unfortunately, the hedging suggests that Madman needs a little nudging to convince them to release it. Martin suggested e-mailing Alexander Strang at astrang@madman.com.au. I would encourage all Rossellini fans to send an e-mail to Strang, especially because so much of Rossellini's 1950s work is criminally underrepresented on available DVDs with English subs.

By the way, does anybody have any wish lists of their own or advice about tracking down Rossellini's work on DVD with English subs?

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otis
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#39 Post by otis » Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:53 pm

jonp72 wrote:India: Matri Bhumi (Rossellini, 1959)

By the way, does anybody have any wish lists of their own or advice about tracking down Rossellini's work on DVD with English subs?
I recently posted screen caps of Minerva Classic's new English-subbed DVD of Il generale Della Rovere (see Screen Captures thread).

Istituto Luce's Anno Uno, Cartesio and Socrate all come with English subs, I believe.

Ripley's Home Video have brought out nice editions of three of Rossellini's wartime films, Un pilota ritorna, L'uomo dalla croce and Desiderio, but without English subs (L'uomo dalla croce does have French subs). I can post caps if anyone's interested.

sskeats
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L'amore (Rossellini, 1948)

#40 Post by sskeats » Thu Aug 30, 2007 12:10 pm

L'amore (Rossellini, 1948)

Apparently there has been a release of Rossellini's L'amore in Italy this year by a company called Millennium Storm.

Does anybody have any actual viewing experience on how good this transfer might be? The DVD from Spain of L'amore is poor.

Thanks in advance.

Jerry

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vertovfan
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#41 Post by vertovfan » Thu Aug 30, 2007 4:07 pm

sskeats wrote:Does anybody have any actual viewing experience on how good this transfer might be? The DVD from Spain of L'amore is poor.
I own the Millennium Storm L'Amore DVD as well as one from Greece, and the Greek transfer is better (but still hardly great). Only Greek subtitles though, and none at all on the Italian version.

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pro-bassoonist
Joined: Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:26 am

Era notte a Roma (Roberto Rossellini)

#42 Post by pro-bassoonist » Tue Jan 29, 2008 4:37 pm

Via Studio Canal UK's Optimum are set to release Rossellini's Era notte a Roma on February 18th.

Ciao,
Pro-B

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ellipsis7
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#43 Post by ellipsis7 » Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:58 am

Optimum's ERA NOTTE A ROMA gets a big thumbs down... Non-anamorphic, cropped, terrible transfer of a poor print, only upside is the film itself which deserves much much better than this...

kekid
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#44 Post by kekid » Fri Mar 07, 2008 6:27 pm

It is incomprehensible to me why Rossellini has been ignored or poorly served on DVD. His great films are not available in good English-friendly editions anywhere. (Given this situation it is unfortunate that both Criterion and MoC chose the same film - at least we could have had two different ones) What seems to be the obstacle, and who has the best likelihood of correcting that?

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ellipsis7
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#45 Post by ellipsis7 » Fri Mar 07, 2008 6:45 pm

RR made such complicated and sometimes contrary business arrangements to fund his films, as was his way (art, love, life and film being the only valued things), uncertainty of rights and ownership of negatives may have contributed to this situation... However in ERA NOTTE's case it is certainly Optimum's very slack approach to the material... James Quandt, after apparently considerable work, put together a relatively recent retro at the Cinematheque Ontario, which toured to I think to MOMA/NY and NFT/LON etc.... The fruits of his labours could surely find their way to DVD...

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Awesome Welles
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#46 Post by Awesome Welles » Sat Mar 08, 2008 5:50 am

I caught four films at the resto and all the prints were in pretty poor shape (Paisa/La Nave Bianca/ L'Uomo dalla Croce/Germania, Anno Zero)

ptmd
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#47 Post by ptmd » Sat Mar 08, 2008 6:07 am

However in ERA NOTTE's case it is certainly Optimum's very slack approach to the material... James Quandt, after apparently considerable work, put together a relatively recent retro at the Cinematheque Ontario, which toured to I think to MOMA/NY and NFT/LON etc.... The fruits of his labours could surely find their way to DVD...
James Quandt did absolutely tremendous work on that Rossellini retro, and it took up the better part of two years. That said, many of the prints, which I am quite certain are in fact the best available, left a lot to be desired and many of the negatives are gone for the reasons you mentioned in your post. I actually saw Era Notte at the MoMA retro and while it looked a bit better than the Optimum DVD and they clearly could have improved certain aspects of the transfer, I'm not at all surprised that the disc looks the way it does. Sadly, many of Rossellini's greatest films are in even worse shape (the "restored" Italian version of India is astonishingly bad; the French version is a bit better but it has gone green). The film's a masterpiece, of course, but it's unlikely we'll see a good DVD of it in the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, I think that's equally true of many if not most of Rossellini's films.

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Tommaso
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#48 Post by Tommaso » Sat Mar 08, 2008 6:55 am

ptmd wrote: The film's a masterpiece, of course, but it's unlikely we'll see a good DVD of it in the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, I think that's equally true of many if not most of Rossellini's films.
You're quite right there, especially with regard to the earliest films (which sadly happen to be among his very best, like "Paisa"). But what about his later TV works, for instance? Some of them are out in France (unsubbed), so at least these could be presented to the English-speaking world until someone has managed to do good restos of the older films. And if I look at the screencaps of the Optimum "Era notte", a film made in 1960, and compare that mess to the Italian Minerva disc of "Generale della Rovere", made in 1959, I can't believe that the disc had to be that bad. The "Rovere" restoration is absolutely stunning and well-transferred to dvd (some slight compression issues notwithstanding), so I only hope that the Italians find the means and support to do some justice to at least some of the early films.

kekid
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#49 Post by kekid » Sat Mar 08, 2008 2:11 pm

In his "My Voyage to Italy" Martin Scorsese devotes longest time to Rossellini. The extracts included from his several films seem to be in reasonably good shape. What source did Mr. Scorsese use for his documentary? Does that source not have complete versions of these films?

ptmd
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#50 Post by ptmd » Sat Mar 08, 2008 3:20 pm

General Della Rovere is universally considered Rossellini's most commercial films, so the likely explanation is simply that the materials are in better condition because it was produced by a major studio. The TV films are in good condition, once again because they were produced by organizations that took care of the film materials, and they could definitely be released in English-friendly versions (many of them - Socrates, Anno Uno, and Cartesio - already are in Italy). The same holds true, much to everyone's surprise, with Joan of Arc at the Stake, which was long considered lost. Good prints of Viva L'Italia also exist, and I believe the negative is still extant, so that's another possibility. It's films like India and the Rossellini/Bergman collaborations that are in worse shape. The BFI disc of Voyage to Italy uses the best print of the English version in existence, the one owned by the BFI, and even that leaves a lot to be desired. The clips to the Scorsese documentary, by the way, come from various sources but are mostly limited to major films for which decent prints, or at least parts of prints, are available - Open City, Paisa, Flowers of St. Francis, Stromboli, and Voyage to Italy. The problem with some of these, like Stromboli, is that the print histories are often very complicated so while there might be long sections that look really good, the prints may also be incomplete for one reason or another.

Anyways, I keep holding out hope that Masters of Cinema or somebody will release a box-set of Rossellini's amazing TV films, which already exist in perfectly adequate digital transfers. This would be perfect Eclipse material, but somehow I don't see Criterion taking the plunge.

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