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Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: March 19th, 2013, 7:05 am
by JackFavell
Well observed is a good phrase describing the movie. I think the greatness of it is that it draws no conclusions of it's own, like most neo-realistic films. This is why I like them very much, just as Alison said in her first post. They are not judgmental. We see the dynamics of a relationship....as opposed to the romance of it, played out as in real life. Your partner walks in and says something that completely drives you away, but you and he are the only ones who know it, so innocuous is the comment to other people. We see how words, or the lack of words alienate them, they are helpless to really change, and then at the end we see how tenuous their marriage is.... are they coming together forever? is this just a brief moment like all the other moments in the film? Maybe you didn't care, but this kind of cinema shows people as they are, warts and all, Ingrid is not Ingrid Bergman, but a woman in a boring, stale deteriorating marriage, not a perfect creation of Hollywood and these things do happen. I was tremendously moved by the film, it's about day to day existence with another person, not the beginning, and maybe not quite the end. It provokes thought in a way that is different for me than other more standard films. I don't believe we are supposed to love the characters at the outset of the film, but instead to recognize ourselves in them, and it isn't pretty. It's a mode of self exploration to watch this film. What is good? What is bad? What is selfish? ultimately, what is love?

Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: March 19th, 2013, 3:25 pm
by charliechaplinfan
I haven't seen Fear, I would watch anything he's made for curiosity if nothing else. Journey to Italy was not what I expected when I watched it but it didn't matter, it was refreshing (I had that self same thought about Pompeii) but if I didn't know Rossellini and had tuned in to watch Bergman and Sanders together being only accustomed to their American work I'd have been I'd have been confused. Apparently the filming was not a happy experience for Sanders, he didn't work well with Rossellini who's directing methods were haphazard to say the least.

Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: April 12th, 2014, 10:07 am
by moira finnie
Fernando drew my attention to an interesting short film about De Sica and Neo-Realism, comparing Selznick's takes and De Sica's in Stazione Termini (1953) with Jennifer Jones & Montgomery Clift. This analysis, which was created for Sight and Sound magazine in 2013, may be of interest here:

[vimeo][/vimeo]

Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: December 5th, 2022, 7:00 pm
by LostHorizons
L’eclisse was on TCM yesterday. A snoozer but watchable at least for Alain Delon being his handsome self. I don’t know what I expected from the story of a bored housewife and a stockbroker getting together. A but intriguing but one of the side characters is a British colonial from Nairobi. This is interesting because it was filmed right before the massacres in Kenya and Zanzibar which happened two years later in 64.

Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: December 5th, 2022, 11:51 pm
by LostHorizons
While the film itself was boring, Delon’s tailoring for the film was top notch. From a clothing blog: In L’Éclipse, he was Piero: a lively stockbroker whose uniform only ever consisted of single-breasted suits, skinny silk printed ties and penny loafers.

You can also see quite clearly the Tank watch on his arm in some shots. If this film were purely rated on style it would be 10/10.

Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: December 6th, 2022, 1:49 pm
by Cinemaspeak59
L'Eclisse, like Antonioni's previous two films, explores the emptiness of modern life. The deliberate pacing can by trying. I liked L'Avventura and La Notte more.

Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: December 6th, 2022, 10:09 pm
by Arsan444
I could barely sit through L'Eclisse and La Notte. Antonioni's style can be tedious and difficult to follow. Still, for some reason, L'Avventura and Blow-Up are among my favorite films.

Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: December 6th, 2022, 10:11 pm
by LostHorizons
Arsan444 wrote: December 6th, 2022, 10:09 pm I could barely sit through L'Eclisse and La Notte. Antonioni's style can be tedious and difficult to follow. Still, for some reason, L'Avventura and Blow-Up are among my favorite films.
I feel the exact same way about Blow up, Arsan. I am listening to the Criterion commentary for L’eclisse and stuff makes more sense when the narrator puts into perspective the sets and scene meanings (I would have never guessed Ure tower was a nouveau rich hotspot or that a still photograph was used). Still not that interesting a movie to me but less confusing in some parts.

Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: December 6th, 2022, 10:19 pm
by Arsan444
I haven't seen L'Eclisse in a long time. I find commentaries distracting, that's why I avoid them. After watching a movie, I try to find articles or videos with analysis of the movie to help me understand it better.

Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: December 7th, 2022, 12:11 pm
by nakanosunplaza
Same for me Arsan..

Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: December 7th, 2022, 1:31 pm
by Allhallowsday
Italian Neo-Realism is one of my favorites... LA DOLCE VITA 8 1/2 GERMANIA ANNO ZERO OSSESSIONE LA STRADA NIGHTS OF CABIRIA ... all favorites.

Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: December 7th, 2022, 2:04 pm
by LawrenceA
Allhallowsday wrote: December 7th, 2022, 1:31 pm Italian Neo-Realism is one of my favorites... LA DOLCE VITA 8 1/2 GERMANIA ANNO ZERO OSSESSIONE LA STRADA NIGHTS OF CABIRIA ... all favorites.
Maybe I have a misunderstanding of Neo-realism, but I wouldn't consider La Dolce Vita or 8 1/2 as such. Those early Rossellini flicks, and Visconti's Ossessione, yeah. But I don't know about the Fellini flicks.

Re: Italian Neo Realistic Films

Posted: December 7th, 2022, 2:47 pm
by LostHorizons
Allhallowsday wrote: December 7th, 2022, 1:31 pm Italian Neo-Realism is one of my favorites... LA DOLCE VITA 8 1/2 GERMANIA ANNO ZERO OSSESSIONE LA STRADA NIGHTS OF CABIRIA ... all favorites.
Those aren’t neorealism. Neorealism is mostly plotless and has none of the traditional cinematic flourishes like booming scores. It has boring, static cinematography that intentionally feels lame. I think the average camera shot length in L’eclisse was 30 or 40 seconds for example. The camera just lingers on nothing and when it cuts it is to something really inane or pointless.