707 Il sorpasso

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swo17
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707 Il sorpasso

#1 Post by swo17 » Wed Jan 15, 2014 5:41 pm

Il sorpasso

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The ultimate Italian road comedy, Il sorpasso stars the unlikely pair of Vittorio Gassman and Jean-Louis Trintignant as, respectively, a waggish, free-wheeling bachelor and the bookish law student he takes on a madcap trip from Rome to rural Southern Italy. An unpredictable journey that careers from slapstick to tragedy, this film, directed by Dino Risi, is a wildly entertaining commentary on the pleasures and consequences of the good life. A holy grail of commedia all’italiana, Il sorpasso is so fresh and exciting that one can easily see why it has long been adored in Italy.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New interviews with screenwriter Ettore Scola and film scholar and professor Rémi Fournier Lanzoni
• Interview from 2004 with director Dino Risi by film critic Jean A. Gili
• Introduction by actor Jean-Louis Trintignant from a 1983 French television broadcast of the film
A Beautiful Vacation, a 2006 documentary on Risi featuring interviews with the director and his collaborators and friends
• Excerpts from a 2012 documentary that returns to Castiglioncello, the location for the film’s beach scenes, featuring rare on-set color footage
• Trailer
• New English subtitle translation
• One Blu-ray and two DVDs, with all content available in both formats
• PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critics Phillip Lopate and Antonio Monda, as well as excerpts from Risi’s writings, with an introduction by film critic Valerio Caprara

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ellipsis7
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#2 Post by ellipsis7 » Wed Jan 15, 2014 6:20 pm

Interesting release out of the blue... Was just browsing the webpage of the Italian DVD earlier today, so can't say I'm disappointed... A tragicomic reflection on the social change of the early 60's, IL SORPASSO (The Easy Life) is referred to by Peter Bondanella as a sort of Italian EASY RIDER...

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Cold Bishop
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#3 Post by Cold Bishop » Wed Jan 15, 2014 6:33 pm

Highly recommended. Probably Risi's best film. I often wondered if this wasn't an acute influence on the whole '70s wave of freewheeling, bittersweetly comic buddy-films/character-studies Hollywood was so fond of.

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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#4 Post by giovannii84 » Wed Jan 15, 2014 6:33 pm

Wouldn't say the release was out of the blue. Janus Films has been distributing it, and Criterion's Facebook page has been plugging it the past few months.

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otis
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#5 Post by otis » Wed Jan 15, 2014 6:43 pm

Leaves something to be desired in the extras department. The Italian DVD came with a toy Lancia sports car:
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domino harvey
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#6 Post by domino harvey » Wed Jan 15, 2014 6:45 pm

Paging HTF!

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Moe Dickstein
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#7 Post by Moe Dickstein » Wed Jan 15, 2014 7:01 pm

What would you like HTF to say about this release?

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TMDaines
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#8 Post by TMDaines » Wed Jan 15, 2014 7:14 pm

This is one of the greatest Italian films of all time. Definitely one of those films that would come out much higher on a domestic "Best Ever" poll than it does invariably internationally. Can't wait to watch this again on Blu-ray.

Wittsdream
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#9 Post by Wittsdream » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:17 pm

The one Blu-Ray title that I had been anticipating a release for more than any other for almost two decades (since it was never released on laserdisc or DVD)! Truly excited about this edition, but I am a bit puzzled by the specs. I have the Italian release (with custom English subtitles) and it is definitely in the 1.85:1 ratio. Likewise, IMDB lists the film's OAR as 1.85 as well; yet the Criterion site lists 1.37:1 as the aspect ratio for this release.

Anyone know what to make of this?

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EddieLarkin
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#10 Post by EddieLarkin » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:26 pm

A mistake, surely. Criterion provided this a few days ago, which is in widescreen (and not cropped 16x9, but precise 1.85:1).

Wittsdream
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#11 Post by Wittsdream » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:33 pm

Quite a relief (though I thought as much). Thanks gents! I wrote a long letter to Jon Mulvaney two years ago about including this seminal Italian comedy in the collection, and am beyond thrilled that they followed through.

Between this and the Rossellini-Bergman set, I'm ecstatic, but still wanting more. How about some more Antonioni, per favore?

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Dylan
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#12 Post by Dylan » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:42 pm

Wonderful news. This is a great movie.
Last edited by Dylan on Fri Nov 25, 2022 2:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#13 Post by FrauBlucher » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:52 pm

domino harvey wrote:Paging HTF!
Toys and all, HTF has no interest in this I-talian movie.

Btw... just got back from the Film Forum where this was screening. Wow, what a terrific film. Very funny and yet, a very pointed and poignant film.

wllm995
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#14 Post by wllm995 » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:59 pm

Dylan wrote:Wonderful news. This is a great movie.

If anybody's interested to learn more about this movie before a (likely blind) buy, there is a fairly extensively researched post about Il Sorpasso complete with scans of collected material on my own blog dedicated to actress Catherine Spaak, who plays the daughter of Vittorio Gassman's character in the movie (and is lovely in it - I'm surprised she isn't featured on the cover & that the main summary on the website doesn't mention her as being one of the stars, but here we are).
Wonderful trailer in your post!

I just wish my Italian was a lot better...

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Fred Holywell
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#15 Post by Fred Holywell » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:30 pm

otis wrote:The Italian DVD came with a toy Lancia sports car:
Now, that's what I call an extra! And, apparently, it's still available: Sorpasso (Il) (Ltd) (2 Dvd+Gadget).

This is one I'm looking forward to getting, even without the model Lancia Aurelia. The only version I've seen was a VHS-rip with lousy subtitles, so this will be quite the improvement. Very much a film of its time, but wonderfully so. Interestingly, though it's relatively unknown now in the U.S., "Il sorpasso" got some great reviews when it played here back in '63, including a terrific one from the NY Times.

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Last edited by Fred Holywell on Sat May 26, 2018 11:14 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Yaanu
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#16 Post by Yaanu » Wed Feb 05, 2014 12:22 pm

This release will be getting a DVD-only edition, as well as RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11, A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME, and MASTER OF THE HOUSE.

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Minkin
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#17 Post by Minkin » Wed Apr 16, 2014 8:09 pm

Beaver

Wasn't aware the composer for this film, Riz Ortolani, also did Cannibal Holocaust's score.

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TMDaines
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#18 Post by TMDaines » Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:01 am

This looks fabulous. An absolute masterpiece that might now start getting some real attention from English-speaking audiences.

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Minkin
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#19 Post by Minkin » Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:39 am

Another rave review, this time from Bluray.com
Svet wrote:I think that it is one of the year's most important releases and I am convinced that come December it will appear on many prestigious Top 10 lists.

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Drucker
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#20 Post by Drucker » Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:58 am

Very excited for this release. Not sure why the Beaver review was so poorly written and lukewarm at best. But glad to see some sort of confirmation that we'll have a winner here.

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greggster59
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#21 Post by greggster59 » Fri Apr 18, 2014 8:42 am

Drucker wrote:Very excited for this release. Not sure why the Beaver review was so poorly written and lukewarm at best. But glad to see some sort of confirmation that we'll have a winner here.
Beaver: "Il Sorpasso is a masterpiece. Italian tragicomedy at its zenith. Absolutely brilliant on multiple levels. The Criterion Blu-ray package offers a great a/v presentation and magnificent, diligently procured extras. It has our strongest recommendation. Buy with extreme confidence."

Doesn't sound lukewarm to me.

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Drucker
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#22 Post by Drucker » Fri Apr 18, 2014 8:50 am

Uh huh.
Il Sorpasso looks reasonably solid on Blu-ray from Criterion. This is dual-layered with a supportive bitrate. Contrast is excellent and the image quality is fairly consistent aside from a few glossy sequences. I noted no strong damage. It is in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio and detail has impressive moments. They are a few examples of depth. I don't discount a bit of digital augmentation but I never found it intrusive upon the visuals. This Blu-ray provides an enjoyable 1080P presentation.
Poorly written, with verbiage errors. It seems to indicate that the blu-ray will be good, but not great, with possible digital manipulation.

Jack Phillips
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#23 Post by Jack Phillips » Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:01 pm

In this edition of the film the Italian dub is supported by English subs, and this is as it should be. But, as a correspondent has pointed out to me, there is a French dub of the film that features Trintignant's and Spaak's actual voices. Shouldn't Criterion offer multiple dubs on a release like this, so that in addition to the "main" dub, we could actually hear a famous performer speak actual lines? In the case at hand, the performance Trintignant gives in the Italian film is, after all, a hybrid: a voice-actor's voice has been inserted into his mouth. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to hear the leading man's actual voice? Or am I asking too much?

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MichaelB
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#24 Post by MichaelB » Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:16 pm

It may be a contractual restriction, although in my experience these things tend to affect European releases more than US ones. And I doubt this would explain things like Criterion omitting the arguably superior English track from And the Ship Sails On (narrated onscreen by the great Freddie Jones - and once you've heard his own inimitable voice doing it, the Italian dubber falls woefully short).

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Drucker
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Re: 707 Il sorpasso

#25 Post by Drucker » Mon May 26, 2014 12:24 pm

I'm going to put my whole post around spoilers. I'd say the part where I talk about the ending really needs it, but I don't want anyone to feel like I gave anything away.
SpoilerShow
This film totally lived up to the hype for me. Really a masterful film that is funny, touching, and beautiful to look at. It doesn't dwell on anything that makes it amazing for too long. It has plenty of time to breathe, and exercises all of its strengths at different points. The masterful shots in the first two reels, for example, of them tearing through the streets of Italy are not the whole movie, and we get plenty of time to slow down and learn about our protagonists. There's a great tendency of the film to marry the road with what the two are facing. As the film goes on, the problems and questions become more serious. And as the film goes on, it seems to get perpetually harder for Bruno to pass other people on the road. While the first person that gives him trouble is the one they drive past after leaving the cemetery, by the end, he's wholly unable to do it, and it leads to their demise.

I think it's deceptively easy to assume the whole film is about Bruno. The liner notes spend a bit more time on him, but to me Roberto moves the film so well. Roberto does not need to invite him up at the film's start, but Roberto is the one inviting Bruno into his life. Roberto faces the conflict which is quietly revealed, that he knows he's different and he knows he doesn't fit in. In a way, he is using Bruno to get what he wants. Bruno might be driving, but Roberto is the navigator.

It's as if we're asked, what would Roberto's life be like if he ended up like Bruno? And he sees the pros and cons of that throughout the film. Lucky with women, but overall, perhaps unfulfilled like life. (My wife pointed out to me that the color red and peppers are both signs of luck in Italy, something the liner notes don't seem to touch on ((I haven't gotten through the bonus features)).) So the irony of Roberto is that he thinks he can just turn off his brain, stop worrying so much, get a little drunk, and voila, he's Bruno. But it's not that simple. Bruno, after all, is the one with the pepper in his car. He's obviously had enough luck just to stay alive at this point in his life. Roberto might not be so blessed. We know that, because Roberto's father wasn't blessed. His uncle reveals that he showed promise as a young lad, but clearly never lived up to that promise. Roberto, on the other hand, has defied his nature by chasing after something honorable: a law degree. He's not following in his father's footsteps, which is good. But to find out what it could be like if he had, we have a bit of a taste of it by seeing him with Bruno. The successful influence of his uncle's castle gave Roberto something to aspire to as a boy. And it's what he's chasing. Though probably not having fun doing it. As he sees, if he's successful, he'll have a Fiat 1500 and a doting wife who blindly agrees with everything he says (like his cousin has), and this he doesn't want. He also scoffs at the overpriced food in the last restaurant they visit. If he hates these things, why is he chasing after them?

Of course, Bruno does, to a degree, steal the show. His swagger, charisma, and personality, leap off the screen. You could write a whole post just on the ridiculous contradictions he makes, but my absolute favorite had to be when he yells at the bikers he drives by. He tells the biker that he should "get a Vespa." And then the next person they pass is ON a Vespa, and he says, "Eat my dust, slowpokes!" He loves, then hates the country. He loves cars, but he hates machines (cigarette machine). And while he comes off shrill and arrogant, he constantly shows how wise he is. He realizes that his cousin is really the son of one of the workers of the house. And he's not blind to his own problems either. He warns Roberto that he can call that girl he's in love with, or end up a "stray dog" like him. It's not so fun being single at his age.

There are two big motifs in the film for me: 1) the chase and 2) momentum. Both men are all about the chase. If you are not chasing something, you are being passed. When they get passed, life is difficult. It is essential that if you are chased, you don't get caught. With that said, being caught is not fatal (I'll get to what is fatal in a moment). So Bruno passes the father and son in their car as they go through the village, but those two eventually catch up with Bruno. There's a fight. There's violence. But no death. Bruno thinks he'll be able to control his daughter when he finds out she is out with a man at 1:00am, but when she appears, he's taken off guard by her age and beauty. She clearly doesn't need her father anymore, and clearly won't listen to him. When Bruno gets caught by the employer he screwed over, it's another instance of life catching up, but not being fatal.

Coincidentally, Roberto hates being chased. When he's in the restaurant where the fight breaks out, there's a woman giving him eyes. He's clearly uncomfortable with it, and makes no movement on this woman. He obviously is not comfortable not being in control. Whether he's living a boring life and not pursuing girls, at least he does so on his own terms. And that allows him to be comfortable. Of course, the question of the movie is whether or not that comfort is worth it to him, so there you go...what's a man to do?

But back to fatality. What is fatal, after all? Fatal is the girl at the train station who gets picked up by her brother. That is it. That's over. Fatal would be if Bruno's wife re-married. These would not be examples of chases that go in the same direction, these are things in life moving head-on, in the opposite direction as our protagonists.

Momentum is essential for the film, and the need for momentum is their undoing. There is the need to always accelerate, to keep going. And once you are on a ride: whether it's law school or a car ride, the further into it you go, the harder and harder it is to get off. Roberto thinks about leaving on the bus, but Bruno stops him. He tries to take a train, but again, this trip and the momentum prove too hard to escape. And he could drop out of law school, but he's only got a year left. He seems not to be in love with it, but why stop now?

The momentum is stopped by being hit head on. Ultimately, nobody chasing them can stop Bruno or Roberto. Chasing others doesn't lead them astray. They may be slowed down by the events of life that chase them, whether priests who are broken down or motorists they've wronged, but ultimately, they can keep going. Not until life hits them head on, going the other direction, does the momentum stop and ultimately lead to their death. At first it's a girl who is going in another direction. But even on the road, nobody can catch them, just face them head on. And when they face that truck head on, they must totally bail at the last moment. Hitting the brakes and the post on the side of the road.

The road trip is life. Momentum is hard to maintain, and the need to always increase speed ends up being their undoing. They both touch that lucky pepper at the end, but only Bruno has the luck needed to survive.

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