1997:
Checking some videos that my dad had recently brought,I spotted a double video of a wonderfully looking film.Opening the case,I was disappointed to find that the set only contained the second Video.
2014:
With having spent over 10 years trying to track a DVD/video version of the title,I decided to ask a DVD seller,who to my surprise revealed that he had recently gotten hold of the film! This led to me excitingly getting ready to finally pay a visit to Eboli.
View on the film:
Adapting Carlo Levi's (who would end up unsuccessfully running for the Senate as an independent communist in the 1963 elections)autobiography over a 200 minute running time (good to see they kept things short & sweet!) the screenplay by writer/ (along with Tonino Guerra and Raffaele La Capria)director Francesco Rosi disappointingly never fully expresses the passage of time that the movie attempts to cover,with the progression of Levi's relationship with the villages being one which progresses in sudden bursts,rather than a more gradual,natural pace.
Separating the 200 minutes as 4 TV episodes,the writers go into a superb amount of detail into the daily struggle that people in the south of Italy face,with every change in tax and the withdrawal of doctors that the government makes turning the village into a waste land which is on a completely different planet to the mighty Rome.
Creating a mysterious atmosphere,Rosi and cinematographer Pasqualino De Santis brilliantly use over-saturated colours to display the almost otherworldly landscape that Levi finds himself surrounded by,which is revealed in expertly handled wide-shots.As Levi starts to become friends with the village residences,Rosi heats up the colours into warm blues & yellows which show the warmth that has built up between Levi and the towns people.
Stealing every scene that he's in, Paolo Bonacelli gives a tremendous performance as fascist mayor Don Luigi Magalone,with Bonacelli giving Magalone a bumbling kick as he finds himself getting out smarted in every direction by Levi.Perfectly expressing Levi's initial uncomfortable feelings over stepping out of his comfort zone, Gian Maria Volonté gives a striking,subtle performance as Levi,with Gian Maria Volonté injecting Levi's voice with a real sense of gravitas,as he finds himself getting deeply involved with a community,from what was previously an unknown land.
Checking some videos that my dad had recently brought,I spotted a double video of a wonderfully looking film.Opening the case,I was disappointed to find that the set only contained the second Video.
2014:
With having spent over 10 years trying to track a DVD/video version of the title,I decided to ask a DVD seller,who to my surprise revealed that he had recently gotten hold of the film! This led to me excitingly getting ready to finally pay a visit to Eboli.
View on the film:
Adapting Carlo Levi's (who would end up unsuccessfully running for the Senate as an independent communist in the 1963 elections)autobiography over a 200 minute running time (good to see they kept things short & sweet!) the screenplay by writer/ (along with Tonino Guerra and Raffaele La Capria)director Francesco Rosi disappointingly never fully expresses the passage of time that the movie attempts to cover,with the progression of Levi's relationship with the villages being one which progresses in sudden bursts,rather than a more gradual,natural pace.
Separating the 200 minutes as 4 TV episodes,the writers go into a superb amount of detail into the daily struggle that people in the south of Italy face,with every change in tax and the withdrawal of doctors that the government makes turning the village into a waste land which is on a completely different planet to the mighty Rome.
Creating a mysterious atmosphere,Rosi and cinematographer Pasqualino De Santis brilliantly use over-saturated colours to display the almost otherworldly landscape that Levi finds himself surrounded by,which is revealed in expertly handled wide-shots.As Levi starts to become friends with the village residences,Rosi heats up the colours into warm blues & yellows which show the warmth that has built up between Levi and the towns people.
Stealing every scene that he's in, Paolo Bonacelli gives a tremendous performance as fascist mayor Don Luigi Magalone,with Bonacelli giving Magalone a bumbling kick as he finds himself getting out smarted in every direction by Levi.Perfectly expressing Levi's initial uncomfortable feelings over stepping out of his comfort zone, Gian Maria Volonté gives a striking,subtle performance as Levi,with Gian Maria Volonté injecting Levi's voice with a real sense of gravitas,as he finds himself getting deeply involved with a community,from what was previously an unknown land.