Vittorio de Sica on DVD

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Lino
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Vittorio de Sica on DVD

#1 Post by Lino » Sat Feb 04, 2006 5:10 am

From DVDTimes:
Arrow Films have announced the UK Region 2 DVD release of two films by Italian director Vittorio De Sica for 20th February 2006. Priced at £17.99 each are...

The Bicycle Thieves is Vittorio de Sica's remarkable 1947 drama of desperation and survival in Italy's post-war depression which earned a special Oscar for its affecting power.

Features include:

- Full Frame Presentation
- Italian DD2.0
- Optional English subtitles
- Timeless Cinema: A Documentary on Vittorio De Sica (54:35mins)
- Poster Artwork and Lobby Stills
- Trailer

Miracle in Milan illustrates the frustration of innocence in the face of life's harsh realities and is another award-winning masterpiece from De Sica representing one of the watershed films of the Italian cinema renaissance.

Features include:

- Full Frame Presentation
- Italian DD2.0
- Optional English subtitles
- Premiere in Milan (2:38mins)
- Interview with Manuel De Sica (6:52mins)
- Interview with Brunella Bovo (5:18mins)
- Poster Artwork and Lobby Stills
- Trailer

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ellipsis7
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#2 Post by ellipsis7 » Sat Feb 04, 2006 5:37 am

Have acquired Arrow's release of ROME OPEN CITY, I have to say unless there is a significant improvement in quality, I will not be going for any of their other releases... Mediocre transfer and print, incomplete subtitling etc...

atcolomb
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#3 Post by atcolomb » Sun Feb 05, 2006 3:06 pm

I only have the Criterion laserdisc of Miracle in Milan so it will be nice to see it on dvd and Image released Bicycle Thieves on a dvd region 1 but was not a good transfer. I hope somebody will release a better dvd version of his 1971 film The Garden Of The Finzi Contins. Columbia Home Video release a poor looking version with no extras!!

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Lino
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#4 Post by Lino » Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:47 am

Miracle in Milan review:

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=60281
The Disc

Gaining a release in the UK from Arrow, Miracle in Milan's DVD handling is generally fine. The picture quality is somewhat variable – one scene will present superb clarity and cleanliness, the next a barrage of scratches – but on the whole watchable. The disc itself handles this somewhat erratic print well – there are no technical flaws worth speaking of and original Academy ratio is maintained – though some may find the shifts in quality a little distracting. That said, this does appear to be a restored print as supervised by Vittorio De Sica's son, Manuel, and as such this may very well be the best available. As said, it remains watchable and if approached in the right spirit shouldn't disappoint.

The original Italian soundtrack (here present with optional English subtitles) is in much the same condition. Damage is notable from time to time in the form of an underlying crackle – and some may find this moderately distracting – but for the most part it remains listenable and shouldn't disappoint if approached in the correct manner.

As for extra features, the disc does well with a handful of interesting additions. There's a newsreel piece on the film's original Milan premiere (which also includes a specially filmed segment in which De Sica discusses his work). A pair of interviews – with Manuel De Sica and one of the leads, Brunella Bovo – fill us in the film's context and offer on-set anecdotes. A gallery presents a brief, if welcome, look at various poster and lobby card designs. And the original theatrical trailer is a lengthy specially filmed piece in which lead Francesco Golisano discusses De Sica's previous efforts (with specific mention, of course, to his previous venture Bicycle Thieves) and how this latest effort fits in with those. Moreover, it's also in surprisingly good condition, easily the match of the film itself.

All extras were applicable come in the original Italian with optional English subtitles.

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Lino
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#5 Post by Lino » Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:24 pm

Bicycle Thieves review by our very own Anthony Nield:

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=60391
The Disc

As with Arrow's release of Miracle in Milan, Bicycle Thieves presentation is generally fine if a little erratic. For one scene we'll find superb clarity and a spotless print, for the next we'll find prominent tramlining and a host of scratches. Again, as with Miracle in Milan this appears to be a restored print, though of the two it is perhaps the lesser offering. The overall clarity isn't perhaps quite as sharp as we'd like, whilst the contrast levels are likewise a little darker. The soundtrack is in much the same position – ultimately watchable, though still host to instances of damage – and thankfully comes with optional English subtitles. However, the subtitling doesn't always cover every word, especially during the more heavily populated scenes. Indeed, some sequences abandon subtitles altogether, though it must be said that this shouldn't really be classed as a problem given that the gist can easily be discerned.
Anthony, both your reviews are great but we need some screen captures!

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antnield
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#6 Post by antnield » Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:57 pm

Annie Mall wrote:Anthony, both your reviews are great but we need some screen captures!
Time to click on those above links again Annie :D

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Lino
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#7 Post by Lino » Thu Feb 16, 2006 4:44 am

Wow, thanks Anthony! The picture looks decent enough and the extras are at least appropriate. Overall, both editions are very worthwhile I think.

Just going to wait a couple of months and let the prices get lower. Then I'll take the plunge on both.

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Lino
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#8 Post by Lino » Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:39 am

Beaver updates their comparison of Bicycle Thieves:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/Reviews/bicycle_thief.htm

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Lino
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#9 Post by Lino » Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:13 am

Beaver review of Miracle in Milan and it looks very good indeed:

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Scharphedin2
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#10 Post by Scharphedin2 » Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:07 am

I watched the Arrow release (UK R2) of MIRACLE IN MILAN last night, and I thought it would be interesting to hear some thoughts on this film.

The disc as such is commented on above, and although I can see this receiving a lavish treatment by Criterion some day, I for one did not want to wait, and I think the Arrow DVD is fine. As mentioned, some scenes look better than others, but it is an old film, and the print used for the transfer was not in pristine condition.

As with BICYCLE THIEVES that preceded it, and UMBERTO D, which followed, MIRACLE IN MILAN was directed by Vittorio DeSica from a script by Zavatini. Having seen the film back in the late ‘80s, my memory of it was a little vague, and my main surprise was how different it is in tone from BICYCLE THIEVES and UMBERTO D. This film is certainly not “neo-realistâ€

blackbird13

Question about The Garden of the Finzi-Continis

#11 Post by blackbird13 » Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:59 pm

Can anyone tell me about the DVD history of The Garden of the Finzi-Continis? Is there or has there ever been a better version than the R1 currently in print?

peerpee
not perpee
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Re: Vittorio de Sica on DVD

#12 Post by peerpee » Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:16 pm

There's a recent French DVD. The picture quality isn't as good as it should be, looks like a cinema print.

atcolomb
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:49 pm
Location: Round Lake, Illinois USA

Re: Vittorio de Sica on DVD

#13 Post by atcolomb » Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:14 am

A few years ago the Independent Film Channel (IFC) did broadcast the film and i made a copy of it to my dvd recorder and did compare it to the R1 dvd and to my suprise the IFC broadcast had a better sharper picture!! I did read somewhere that the original negative to film was in bad shape and they did do a restoration in Rome in 1996 for which the laserdisc and the dvd has but still the picture is not that great looking. The R1 dvd is out of print so maybe the dvd could be redone sometime looking better?....

atcolomb
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:49 pm
Location: Round Lake, Illinois USA

Re: Vittorio de Sica on DVD

#14 Post by atcolomb » Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:00 pm

Was looking at Ebay when i saw that De Sica's "Garden of The Finzi Contins" is on sale from a seller in South Korea on dvd for $13. I know that the region 1 Columbia release is out of print so i have a feeling that this Korean release is a copy of that.

dino

Re: Vittorio de Sica on DVD

#15 Post by dino » Thu May 19, 2011 4:53 am

Several years ago, I saw THE GOLD OF NAPLES at the IIC in Los Angeles with English subtitles. Has anyone ever been able to purchase this ? It may just be on VHS.

atcolomb
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:49 pm
Location: Round Lake, Illinois USA

Re: Vittorio de Sica on DVD

#16 Post by atcolomb » Thu May 19, 2011 7:21 pm

Amazon.com sells a combo version with Bicycle Thief but the reviews on the dvd are very poor. Also Amazon.com in the UK sells a region 2 PAL disc but the quality of the print is unknown. I think this is one movie that is hard to get on dvd.

Kauno
Joined: Sun Dec 18, 2011 4:01 am

Re: Vittorio de Sica on DVD

#17 Post by Kauno » Sun Jan 08, 2012 8:07 am

Miracolo a Milano was released last October by San Paolo. Do we have any idea how is it picture wise?

atcolomb
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Location: Round Lake, Illinois USA

Re: Vittorio de Sica on DVD

#18 Post by atcolomb » Sun Jan 08, 2012 4:50 pm

Have the Arrow films region 2 PAL dvd and it looks good and worth getting. Also have the laserdisc version released by Criterion years ago...suprised Criterion has not released it on dvd or blu-ray yet.

broadwayrock
Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:47 am

Re: Vittorio de Sica on DVD

#19 Post by broadwayrock » Sun Jan 08, 2012 4:59 pm

Kauno wrote:Miracolo a Milano was released last October by San Paolo. Do we have any idea how is it picture wise?
Screencaps and opinions on the blu-ray can be found here.

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