My Voyage To Italy
by Martin Scorsese
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DVD details
Actor: Martin ScorseseDirector: Martin Scorsese
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
Writer: Martin Scorsese
Cinematographer: Phil Abraham
Cinematographer: William Rexer
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Producer: Barbara De Fina
Producer: Giuliana Del Punta
Producer: Bruno Restuccia
Writer: Suso Cecchi D'amico
Writer: Raffaele Donato
Writer: Kent Jones
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 4 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2012-01-06
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: LIONSGATE
DVD Reviews of My Voyage To Italy
DVD Review: more film appreciation but some substantive analysis makes it worthwhile
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a very personal introduction to Italian neo-realism and the new directions of Italian cinema in the early 1960's. Scorcese's affection for Italian cinema is obvious and his discussion of the directors (Rossellini, De Sica, Visconti, Fellini, Antonioni)and their films is informative and insightful if also a bit tedious at times. Scorcese does not pretend to be a film scholar and he does not pretend to be offering a critical analysis of the movement or of the directors or of their films; instead he offers a film fans (albeit a very knowledgable film fans) enthusiasm for the subject matter. This approach has its strengths as Scorcese's enthusiasm is at times infectious, however, I, at times, wanted to hear a more critical appraisal/assessment of these films instead of merely a plot summary (Scorcese gives very detailed plot and theme summaries of several key films: My Italian Voyage, I Vitelloni, L'Avventura, L'Eclipse, La Dolca Vita, 8 1/2). I also wanted to hear a bit more about what was going on in other national cinemas during the same period (other national cinemas are mentioned only once and even then only very briefly). This is a documentary about Italian cinema but an occasional reference to French and American, as well as Indian, Latin and Japanese cinema may have allowed us to contextualize neo-realism. World Cinema became a phenomenon for the first time after WWII and it seems worth noting that there was a lot of cross-cultural influence going on especially in the 50's and 60's. The French specifically had their own very interesting pre- and post-WWII cinema and there were plenty of gritty noirs coming from America and England in the 30's and 40's. I think a mention and comparison of these parallel movements may have proved interesting and insightful. As it is we get a very personal journey through one national cinema and it does feel like a sentimental journey at times despite the decidely unsentimental subject matter of many the films under review.
The first disc of this two DVD set deals primarily with neo-realism and on this disc Scorcese talks mainly about how he felt about these films when he first saw them as a child or teen but he never discusses whether his judgements of particular films changed over the years or just how the experience of seeing a film at the age of 6 is different from seeing the same film at the age 16 or 26 or 36 or 66. We get an account of the enthusiastic first impressions these films made on the young and very impressionable Martin Scorcese (and the fact that these films remind him of a certain time in his own youth and family) mixed with the sober reflections of a discriminating and accomplished film maker who is also a film fan. But we don't hear Scorcese discuss how his own evaluative process developed and matured and changed over the years nor how a child most likely experiences and appreciates cinema in quite a different way than does the discriminating adult film maker. Nor do we hear any discussion of the extent to which Scorcese formed his own aesthetic in reponse to (or as a reaction against) the aesthetics of the Italian film makers he admires (or why neo-realism felt limiting to some film makers) . So we don't get a critical view of the movement (what it revealed as well as what it concealed; what were its strengths as well as weakneses) nor of the films themselves so much as an appreciation of them. Nor do we get a critical assessment of how Scorcese the artist chose his influences and how he used/altered/evolved those things that he saw and admired in these films in his own films. Thus despite the fact that he does engage with 25 or so films this documentary feels more like a four hour sightseeing tour than an artist's substantive voyage into film history. At least the first two hour disc does.
The second disc where Scorcese talks about early 1960's cinema is much stronger because Scorcese was an older more discriminating film fan when he first saw Fellini's and Antonioni's early work for the first time and so his account of of these films is much more substantive and analytical. And it is also these two film makers that seem to mean the most to him and have played the biggest part in shaping his own view of the world. Some of the shot by shot analysis of Visconti's Senso, Antonioni's L'Eclipse and Fellini's 8 1/2 is pure film class stuff that film students will greatly appreciate.
I think if you have only a passing interest in Italian neo-realism and early 60's Italian cinema then you will probably be assisted by Scorcese's enthusiasms but if you are a film fanatic and you really want to know about this period in cinema history then Scorcese's personal touches and interjections of personal history may feel like an interference. The neo-realist films pride themselves on their almost documentary like objectivity and lucidity but this documentary of the movement is full of flashes of Scorcese's own sentiments. The treatment of Italian neo-realism feels a little compromised for that reason. The treatment of early 60's films is, on the other hand, much more impersonal and therefore much more intellectually stimulating and engaging.
Scorcese makes a point of saying that this is a personal and not a scholarly journey. If you want an objective account of Italian neo-realism or an account of this national cinema from the Italian film artists themselves then you should probably look elsewhere.
Description of My Voyage To Italy
One of the most acclaimed directos of our time, Academy Award nominee Martin Scorsese (Gangs of New York, 2002; Good Fellas, 1990; The Last Temptation Of Christ, 1988; Raging Bull, 1980), directs and narrates this remarkable in-depth look at the careers of great Italian filmmakers and their profound influence on him. With My Voyage To Italy, Scorsese takes the viewer on a fascinating journey highlighting the classics of Italian cinema, from the neorealism of postwar Italy through its transition into opulent period drama and surrealist fantasy. Illuminatd by insightful movie clips and his own impassioned commentary, Scorsese's deeply personal observations offer not only an absorbing lesson in the history of Italian film, but its idrect connection to the best in contemporary filmmaking as well. As inspiriring as it is richly detailed you'll never look at movies the same way again once you've experienced this landmark documentary!This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.
This survey of Italian cinema by Martin Scorsese is a worthwhile follow-up to his 1995 documentary A Personal Journey Through American Movies. Packed with insight and film clips, Voyage covers Italian cinema from World War II through the early '60s, the time that the young Scorsese watched these films before starting his career. The heart of the documentary is the Neo-Realism movement--not the lightest of genres, but Scorsese's passion helps considerably. He introduces us to his family and Sicilian ancestors via photos and home movies allowing us to understand how powerfully these films affected him and his family. He talks about how he saw the films, often through inferior prints on television, and calls out details to observe. The filmmaker spends upwards of 15 minutes on a single film, with the bulk of the history centering on five powerhouse directors: Roberto Rossellini (Open City), Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thief), Luchino Visconti (Senso), Federico Fellini (8-1/2), and Michelangelo Antonioni(L'Avventura).
Scorsese's four-hour-plus survey should come with a college credit for film history. He examines the major films but also spends time on films that may be hard to find on home video (at least at this time): Rossellini's six-part Paisan, a heart-breaking look at the last days of the war; De Sica's episodic The Gold of Naples; Fellini's atypical I Vitelloni, which was a major influence on Scorsese's own Mean Streets; Antonioni's Eclipse with its radical ending; and Rossellini's Voyage to Italy, an examination of a marriage that failed worldwide as a film but was a touchstone for the French New Wave movement. The final results are not as accessible as Personal Journey but, at worst, a viewer will have working knowledge of more than 20 Italian films (and be able to cheat their way through a discussion). At best, these are four hours that will end too soon and leave you hungry to view these films that have fueled Scorsese's cinematic vision. --Doug Thomas
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