Vittorio De Sica
- DarkImbecile
- Ask me about my visible cat breasts
- Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 6:24 pm
- Location: Albuquerque, NM
Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica (1902-1974)
"The pictures I direct are nearly always melancholy. This comes from the contrast between my love and my disillusion. I am an optimist. I love life. I seek perfection. If my art seems pessimistic, it is a consequence of my continuing optimism and its disillusion. At least I have enthusiasm."
Filmography
Features
Rose scarlatte / Red Roses [co-directed with Giuseppe Amato] (1940)
Maddalena ... zero in condotta / Maddalena: Zero for Conduct (1940)
Teresa Venerdi / Doctor Beware (1941)
Un Garibaldino al convento / A Garibaldian in the Convent (1942)
I bambini ci guardano / The Children Are Watching Us (1944)
La porta del cielo / The Gate of Heaven (1945)
Sciuscià / Shoeshine (1946)
Cuore / Heart and Soul [co-directed with Duilio Coletti] (1948)
Ladri di biciclette / Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Miracolo a Milano / Miracle in Milan (1951)
Umberto D. (1952)
Villa Borghese / It Happened in the Park [uncredited, with Gianni Franciolini] (1953)
Stazione Termini / Indiscretion of an American Wife (1953)
L'oro di Napoli / The Gold of Naples (1954)
Il tetto / The Roof (1956)
La ciociara / Two Women (1960)
Il giudizio universale / The Last Judgment (1961)
I sequestrati di Altona / The Condemned of Altona (1962)
Il boom (1963)
Ieri, oggi, domani / Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963)
Matrimonio all'italiana / Marriage Italian-Style (1964)
Un monde nouveau / A New World (1966)
Caccia alla volpe / After the Fox (1966)
Woman Times Seven (1967)
Amanti / A Place for Lovers (1968)
I girasoli / Sunflower (1970)
Il giardino dei Finzi Contini / The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970)
Lo chiameremo Andrea (1972)
Una breve vacanza / A Brief Vacation (1973)
Il viaggio / The Voyage (1974)
Shorts
"La riffa" [segment, Boccaccio '70] (1962)
"Sera come le altre, Una" [segment, Le streghe / The Witches] (1967)
"Il leone" [segment, Le coppie / The Couples] (1962)
Television
I cavalieri di Malta / The Knights of Malta (1971)
La nascita della Repubblica - "Il 2 guigno" (1971)
Books
Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives by Howard Curle and Stephen Snyder, eds. (2000)
Vittorio De Sica: Director, Actor, Screenwriter by Bert Cardullo (2002)
Forum Resources
Vittorio de Sica on DVD
The Witches
33 Shoeshine
201 Umberto D.
202 Indiscretion of an American Wife & Terminal Station
323 The Children Are Watching Us
374 Bicycle Thieves
Web Resources
“A Noble Ruin: Remembering De Sica" by Dan Harper, Senses of Cinema (2000)
"Working with De Sica" a documentary by Johanna Schiller (2005)
"Why Vittorio De Sica is One of Europe's Greatest Tragic Film-makers" by Michael Newton, The Guardian (2015)
"The pictures I direct are nearly always melancholy. This comes from the contrast between my love and my disillusion. I am an optimist. I love life. I seek perfection. If my art seems pessimistic, it is a consequence of my continuing optimism and its disillusion. At least I have enthusiasm."
Filmography
Features
Rose scarlatte / Red Roses [co-directed with Giuseppe Amato] (1940)
Maddalena ... zero in condotta / Maddalena: Zero for Conduct (1940)
Teresa Venerdi / Doctor Beware (1941)
Un Garibaldino al convento / A Garibaldian in the Convent (1942)
I bambini ci guardano / The Children Are Watching Us (1944)
La porta del cielo / The Gate of Heaven (1945)
Sciuscià / Shoeshine (1946)
Cuore / Heart and Soul [co-directed with Duilio Coletti] (1948)
Ladri di biciclette / Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Miracolo a Milano / Miracle in Milan (1951)
Umberto D. (1952)
Villa Borghese / It Happened in the Park [uncredited, with Gianni Franciolini] (1953)
Stazione Termini / Indiscretion of an American Wife (1953)
L'oro di Napoli / The Gold of Naples (1954)
Il tetto / The Roof (1956)
La ciociara / Two Women (1960)
Il giudizio universale / The Last Judgment (1961)
I sequestrati di Altona / The Condemned of Altona (1962)
Il boom (1963)
Ieri, oggi, domani / Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963)
Matrimonio all'italiana / Marriage Italian-Style (1964)
Un monde nouveau / A New World (1966)
Caccia alla volpe / After the Fox (1966)
Woman Times Seven (1967)
Amanti / A Place for Lovers (1968)
I girasoli / Sunflower (1970)
Il giardino dei Finzi Contini / The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970)
Lo chiameremo Andrea (1972)
Una breve vacanza / A Brief Vacation (1973)
Il viaggio / The Voyage (1974)
Shorts
"La riffa" [segment, Boccaccio '70] (1962)
"Sera come le altre, Una" [segment, Le streghe / The Witches] (1967)
"Il leone" [segment, Le coppie / The Couples] (1962)
Television
I cavalieri di Malta / The Knights of Malta (1971)
La nascita della Repubblica - "Il 2 guigno" (1971)
Books
Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives by Howard Curle and Stephen Snyder, eds. (2000)
Vittorio De Sica: Director, Actor, Screenwriter by Bert Cardullo (2002)
Forum Resources
Vittorio de Sica on DVD
The Witches
33 Shoeshine
201 Umberto D.
202 Indiscretion of an American Wife & Terminal Station
323 The Children Are Watching Us
374 Bicycle Thieves
Web Resources
“A Noble Ruin: Remembering De Sica" by Dan Harper, Senses of Cinema (2000)
"Working with De Sica" a documentary by Johanna Schiller (2005)
"Why Vittorio De Sica is One of Europe's Greatest Tragic Film-makers" by Michael Newton, The Guardian (2015)
- Donald Trampoline
- Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2005 3:39 pm
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
This one is now also on the Lionsgate Sophia Loren set in R1.I girasoli / Sunflower (1970) Tohokushinsha (R2 JP)
- AtlantaFella
- Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:19 pm
Re: Vittorio De Sica
I finally went to add "A Brief Vacation" to my collection during the recent sale at DVD Planet but the order was canceled due to the title being "discontinued" (the distributor is Homevision/Image).
Other sites are also showing the disc as unavailable, so anyone with an interest may want to act soon... I was able to order a copy from Amazon.
Other sites are also showing the disc as unavailable, so anyone with an interest may want to act soon... I was able to order a copy from Amazon.
- TMDaines
- Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:01 pm
- Location: Stretford, Manchester
Re: Vittorio De Sica
My God! I just attempted watch a copy of La Ciociara (Two Women) borrowed from my university library but I gave up after five minutes. This edition by Madacy Entertainment under their Hollywood Classics brand has to be the worst DVD I've ever seen. This takes "unwatchable" to a whole new level. I beg of either Criterion or MoC to give this film a decent release.
- TMDaines
- Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:01 pm
- Location: Stretford, Manchester
Re: Vittorio De Sica
Shit loads of De Sica films being released by Corriere della sera in Italy. They won't have English subs and, I'll need to check but, I'm fairly sure some of these films have never been released before.
http://store.corriere.it/catalogo-arret ... index.html
http://store.corriere.it/catalogo-arret ... index.html
Last edited by TMDaines on Fri May 07, 2010 10:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Dylan
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:28 pm
Re: Vittorio De Sica
Are there DVDs available for "A Young World" and "A Place for Lovers?" These are far from his best-reviewed films, but I'm no less intrigued.
- TMDaines
- Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:01 pm
- Location: Stretford, Manchester
Re: Vittorio De Sica
AmantiDylan wrote:Are there DVDs available for "A Young World" and "A Place for Lovers?" These are far from his best-reviewed films, but I'm no less intrigued.
- Dylan
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:28 pm
Re: Vittorio De Sica
Good that Amanti has made it to DVD, but seeing as it stars Faye Dunaway I'm pretty surprised that there isn't an English dub included. A trailer and numerous scenes can be watched on YouTube, and I think it looks like a neat film.
- dad1153
- Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:32 am
- Location: New York, NY
Re: Vittorio De Sica
Harvard Film Archive Retrospective on DeSica starting June 5th-13th
Wall Street Journal:
Wall Street Journal:
Could there be a better time to revisit the compassionate films of Vittorio De Sica? De Sica (1902–1974), who often addressed the theme of economic hardship, accounted for the melancholy in his best movies by describing himself as a disillusioned optimist: "I love humanity, I trust humanity, but humanity has a way of disillusioning me." The series "Vittorio De Sica—Neo-Realism, Melodrama, Fantasy" at the Harvard Film Archive arrives not only in the midst of a recession, but also during a time when critics have been placing movies by various American independent directors, including Kelly Reichardt, Ramin Bahrani and Lance Hammer, in the neo-realist tradition.
Born from the ashes of war and fascism, Italian neo-realism has had a lasting impact around the globe. In the aftermath of World War II, such filmmakers as De Sica, Roberto Rossellini and Luchino Visconti, short on funds and eager to explore a truthful new mode, began using real-life situations, location shooting, nonprofessional actors and a patiently observant visual style. De Sica began an inspired partnership with the screenwriter, novelist and theoretician Cesare Zavattini, whose scripts came brilliantly alive through De Sica's warmth, sensitivity and talent for eliciting naturalistic performances. Neo-realism's greatest achievement, Zavattini later wrote, was to abandon "superimposing dead formulas over living social facts."
Dashingly handsome, De Sica turned to directing after abandoning a career as a stage performer and screen idol (although he continued to act throughout his life). He began with fluffy entertainments to gain the confidence of producers, but his fifth film and first collaboration with Zavattini, "I bambini ci guardano" ("The Children Are Watching Us," 1943), was a creative leap forward that anticipated neo-realism. Blending melodrama and unadorned realism, it follows a 5-year-old abandoned by his tormented, love-struck mother, showing through his eyes a selfish society weakened by fascism and war. De Sica then directed a Vatican-supported project, which he credited with saving him from having to work for Joseph Goebbels.
And finally the war ended, but it left more misery in its wake—including homelessness and massive unemployment. Determined to bear witness to what they saw, De Sica and Zavattini made "Sciuscià " ("Shoeshine," 1946), a tale of corrupted innocence in which two impoverished, high-spirited boys intent on buying a horse are drawn into crime and land in an appalling juvenile prison. With "Ladri di biciclette" ("The Bicycle Thieves," 1948)—which captures Roman faces and streets with crystalline beauty and stars an extraordinary nonprofessional (Lamberto Maggiorani) as a man searching with his young son for his stolen bicycle, needed for a coveted job—their neo-realist vision reached its peak.
These works didn't exclude imagination: The horse in "Shoeshine," for example, makes a dreamlike appearance at the grim conclusion. Fantasy plays a larger role in "Miracolo a Milano" ("Miracle in Milan," 1951), based on a novel by Zavattini. In this sparkling fable echoing early cinema, shantytown residents wage a bloodless battle against a top-hatted businessman to defend their shanties, fortified by miracles. But no angels are visible in "Umberto D." (1952), a portrait of loneliness and old age in which a debt-ridden pensioner—loved only by his small dog and a teenage housemaid—is played with complicated dignity by a linguistics professor (Carlo Battisti). Although now recognized as one of De Sica's masterpieces, it was a box-office flop and excoriated by the Italian government. Escapism had come back in style.
Despite starring Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift, "Stazione Termini" ("Terminal Station," 1953) was De Sica and Zavattini's final truly neo-realist film, a depiction of an adulterous affair's last gasps that unfolds in real time in a vast train station. The producer, David O. Selznick, butchered it in the editing room, releasing a much shorter version as "Indiscretion of an American Wife." Those who have seen only the latter should find "Terminal Station," the version being shown at the HFA—in which time and space take on almost unbearable weight—nothing short of a revelation.
The harrowing "La Ciociara" ("Two Women," 1960), featuring Sophia Loren's Oscar-winning performance as a refugee struggling to protect her teenage daughter, was a greater success, but De Sica spent most of the '60s resigned to making commercial films that didn't showcase his greatest strengths, though they employed his flair for comedy. The retrospective includes "Caccia alla volpe" ("After the Fox," 1966), a send-up of the Italian film industry co-written by Neil Simon and Zavattini and starring Peter Sellers as a criminal who hilariously poses as a neo-realist director to smuggle stolen gold.
Many saw "Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini" ("The Garden of the Finzi-Continis," 1970) as a return to De Sica's old mastery. Based on a Giorgio Bassani novel set during World War II, about a wealthy, dreamily reclusive Jewish family oblivious to looming dangers, it glows with repressed emotion and painful nostalgia. Although his shooting style had evolved, De Sica's disillusioned love for humanity was once again piercingly palpable. Writing in The New Yorker, Pauline Kael called it "a beautiful surprise—a return not to neo-realism but to the limpid style of his neo-realist days."
The purity of De Sica's neo-realist vision found a powerful echo in Ms. Reichardt's "Wendy and Lucy" (2008), released after the recession began. It's a radiantly minimalist story about a young loner, en route to Alaska to look for seasonal fishery work, who commits a desperate act after her car breaks down and loses her dog as a result. Although Ms. Reichardt's film stars a professional actress (Michelle Williams), it features a resonant sense of place, understated acting and a protagonist under duress who crosses paths with people on the fringes of society.
De Sica's work hasn't convinced all critics. Manny Farber, for example, complained in 1957 of his "cute, little-guy worshipings." But despite the presence of children, a dog and an elderly retiree, cuteness is in short supply in films like "Shoeshine," "The Bicycle Thieves" and "Umberto D." Rather, they radiate a clarity and generosity that are timeless but may offer special comfort in difficult times.
- TMDaines
- Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:01 pm
- Location: Stretford, Manchester
Re: Vittorio De Sica
I must have missed this: Ieri, oggi, domani on Blu-ray. Eureka's DVD of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow looked sensational. Going to have to pick this up.
-
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 3:34 pm
- Location: Rome
- knives
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm
Re: Vittorio De Sica
I watched Two Women last night and it started off as a breath of fresh air. Really the best De Sica film I've ever seen with it's much more complex interest in the characters. Towards the end though there's an event which I just felt was excessive especially since it wasn't needed for what came after it. I'm referring to the scene where the teams of soldiers harass the two particularly the end of the scene. It's funny that the scene isn't that graphic but for some reason it still felt gratuitous and disgusting for me. The worst part though it doesn't add anything to the characters because all of their subsequent actions seem determined by events from the farm house scenes rather than that which at best makes the mother more cautious.
I know it's a bit of a silly thing to get hung up on especially when the rest of the film is so excellent, but at least in my experience I can't think of when showing a scene like that hasn't been unnecessary and here it was particularly disturbing to me because it was directed at a child.
I know it's a bit of a silly thing to get hung up on especially when the rest of the film is so excellent, but at least in my experience I can't think of when showing a scene like that hasn't been unnecessary and here it was particularly disturbing to me because it was directed at a child.
- bringmesomechemicals
- Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2010 4:21 pm
Re: Vittorio De Sica
E1 will be releasing a new DVD edition of Shoeshine on May 17, 2011, according to Amazon.com. The rights were apparently acquired by E1 along with those to La Dolce Vita (Fellini), Ossessione, La Terra Trema, and Bellissima (latter three, Visconti) according to Blu-ray.com. http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=4083" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. The rights acquisition was previously reported on this thread. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=752&p=273425&hilit= ... ne#p273425" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I'm not disappointed by this news.
http://www.amazon.com/Shoeshine/dp/B004 ... 764&sr=1-6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I'm not disappointed by this news.
http://www.amazon.com/Shoeshine/dp/B004 ... 764&sr=1-6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
-
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:49 pm
- Location: Round Lake, Illinois USA
Re: Vittorio De Sica
The Garden of the Finzi Contins is now out of print on dvd so i hope somebody will get the rights and make a better version than Columbia/ Sony Pictures did with a so so print of the film and no extras.
-
- Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2013 2:52 pm
Re: Vittorio De Sica
So I'm probably going to buy Arrow's blu-ray of MIRACLE IN MILAN. But before doing so, I'd like to know what any of you think of this film. Oddly, I haven't really read a lot about it and, well yeah, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
EDIT: Also, THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS?
EDIT: Also, THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS?
-
- Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:07 pm
- Location: Bracara Augusta, Portugal
Re: Vittorio De Sica
It's quite different from the more canonical works. Imagine kurosawa's dodeskaken about life on the slums, but with more fantasy and humor. Enjoyed quite a but, but don't expect a thieves or Umberto d.
-
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:49 pm
- Location: Round Lake, Illinois USA
Re: Vittorio De Sica
Liked the film very much and had something to say about the displaced people after the war and tuff times with no job. This movie was one of the first Criterion laserdiscs i ever purchased when laser was around.
-
- Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:02 am
Re: Vittorio De Sica
Marriage Italian Style restored
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: Vittorio De Sica
Do you think all the stars who signed on for Il giudizio universale realized they would be dubbed into Italian singing en masse a song to a black baby about how he's actually so beautiful that now he's white, or appearing in a movie in which one of the "jokes" is a sketchy adoption peddler trying to convince a young boy to go with him to be sent to American parents by lamenting that if the Italian boy won't go they'll have to send black children because "they're cheaper" and then promising the boy that he'll live in a house with a black servant, which he then illustrates by showing the child a photo of a monkey?
- Never Cursed
- Such is life on board the Redoutable
- Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2016 12:22 am
Re: Vittorio De Sica
Sounds about on par with the most wince-inducing "jokes" at the expense of the female characters in Il Boom (has any other film gone from "lost masterpiece" claims to irrelevance in as short a timespan?)
- Matt
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:58 pm
Re: Vittorio De Sica
The Film Foundation’s restoration of Shoeshine will be streaming online for 72 hours starting 7 PM local time on Saturday, November 11th. Register on their site.
- criterionsnob
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:23 am
- Location: Canada
Re: Vittorio De Sica
This new restoration looked fantastic. With it being a Film Foundation release, I wonder if we could expect a Criterion disc release.Matt wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2023 10:57 pmThe Film Foundation’s restoration of Shoeshine will be streaming online for 72 hours starting 7 PM local time on Saturday, November 11th. Register on their site.
- TechnicolorAcid
- Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2023 7:43 pm
Re: Vittorio De Sica
It could also go to Eureka considering they previously released a copy of it on DVD. However that seems a bit unlikely at the moment with Eureka’s current focus of more Asian cinema on Blu-Ray.criterionsnob wrote: ↑Sun Nov 12, 2023 8:34 pmThis new restoration looked fantastic. With it being a Film Foundation release, I wonder if we could expect a Criterion disc release.Matt wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2023 10:57 pmThe Film Foundation’s restoration of Shoeshine will be streaming online for 72 hours starting 7 PM local time on Saturday, November 11th. Register on their site.