I have heard that the organizers of the 2002 Minneapolis/St. Paul Int'l Film Festival worked mightily to bring us this film. If that is true, I'd like to thank them for their efforts. I came to this film happily, having enjoyed Scorsese's "Personal Journey Through American Movies". Although less wide-ranging than the previous film, this one is sure to confirm Scorsese's place among the people whom we'd most enjoy watching movies with.
This film is, in some ways, much more personal. It opens with Scorsese reminiscing about his upbringing in the province of Sicily that his part of lower Manhattan became after the wave of Italian immigrants in the early part of the 20th Century. He talks about his family and his neighborhood. Each brownstone on Elizabeth St. became an outpost of a different Sicilian town. Scorsese jokes that it took many years before people from different buildings would intermarry. One of the highlights of this section is home movie footage shot by one of Scorsese's uncles. It is very poignant and moving.
He goes on to describe how he watched Italian films on a small B&W television. Badly dubbed and edited as they were, their power came through to the young boy. Scorsese uses this nostalgic opening to lead in to his history of post-war (mostly) Italian film and an analysis of its techniques and its importance. There is some coverage of prewar directors (including Alessandro Blasetti), but the film mostly covers the period from WWII to Fellini's 8½.
Scorsese spends a great deal of time on many films. His discussions are not geared to make pretentious insights, although insights abound; rather, it seems to be his intent to give us as much information as possible. He tells us about the characters, the plot, the techniques and lets us see for ourselves with extensive clips. He wants to convince us to see these films. If that was his intent, he is largely successful. I know I'll never willingly pass up another opportunity to see an Italian film.
Scorsese, it is reported, is working on another film to bring his idiosyncratic survey (I mean that in a nice way!) up to the present. I hope that is true. If you have a chance to see this film, make every effort to do so. It will be 4 hours well spent.
This film is, in some ways, much more personal. It opens with Scorsese reminiscing about his upbringing in the province of Sicily that his part of lower Manhattan became after the wave of Italian immigrants in the early part of the 20th Century. He talks about his family and his neighborhood. Each brownstone on Elizabeth St. became an outpost of a different Sicilian town. Scorsese jokes that it took many years before people from different buildings would intermarry. One of the highlights of this section is home movie footage shot by one of Scorsese's uncles. It is very poignant and moving.
He goes on to describe how he watched Italian films on a small B&W television. Badly dubbed and edited as they were, their power came through to the young boy. Scorsese uses this nostalgic opening to lead in to his history of post-war (mostly) Italian film and an analysis of its techniques and its importance. There is some coverage of prewar directors (including Alessandro Blasetti), but the film mostly covers the period from WWII to Fellini's 8½.
Scorsese spends a great deal of time on many films. His discussions are not geared to make pretentious insights, although insights abound; rather, it seems to be his intent to give us as much information as possible. He tells us about the characters, the plot, the techniques and lets us see for ourselves with extensive clips. He wants to convince us to see these films. If that was his intent, he is largely successful. I know I'll never willingly pass up another opportunity to see an Italian film.
Scorsese, it is reported, is working on another film to bring his idiosyncratic survey (I mean that in a nice way!) up to the present. I hope that is true. If you have a chance to see this film, make every effort to do so. It will be 4 hours well spent.