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DVD Umberto D. - Criterion Collection
Umberto D. is one of the enduring masterpieces of Italian neorealism, considered by many to be one of the greatest films ever made. Everything that neorealism represents can be found in this simple, heartbreaking story of an aged Roman named Umberto (played by Carlo Battisti, non-professional actor and retired college professor) who struggles to survive in a city plagued by passive disregard for the post-World War II plight of the elderly. With his little dog, Flike, as his only companion, Umberto faces imminent eviction, and his insufficient pension and failed attempts to raise money lead him to contemplate suicide... if he can find a home for Flike. His dilemma--and director Vittorio De Sica's compassionate, unsentimental handling of it--results in a film of uncompromising grace and authenticity. Like De Sica's earlier masterpieces Shoeshine and The Bicycle Thief, Umberto D. earns its teardrops honestly; if this timeless classic doesn't make you smile and cry, you'd better check for a pulse. --Jeff Shannon
The first time i saw this on TCM i cried my ass of towards the end. I guess i am a sucker for movies with dogs in them. I like how the movie ends.(spolier alert) Umberto plans to kill himself but he wants to find a loving home for his beloved dog flag first. He first tries to give money to a man to take care of the dog but he already has a mean dog that flag seems scared of and it seems that umberto cant trust them to take care of him. Then he goes to the park and sees a little girl who he knows that always like the dog but and saids that the little girl can have him but her parents say no. Then umberto leaves and hides but flag finds him so umberto desides to take the dog with him while he tries to kill himself by jumping in front of a train. But the dog freaks out and leaves him. Umberto then go's after him but flag feelings are hurt. Then he starts playing with flag and then flag forgives him. That is how the movie ends with a sort of happing ending. Of course Umberto still has problems but as long as he has his dog by him he would be fine. Another thing this is a great double feature with the bicycle theif why cant some company put these great movies together.
Brilliant
An old man (Umberto Domenico Ferrari, played by Carlo Battisti), retired and living on a pension, hasn't enough money to pay his rent and is about to be evicted. He is proud and stubborn and tries to keep what little dignity he has left. The only thing he has left in the world is his dog Flike. The man decides suicide is the only way out, but what to do about the dog? Literally he can't sell it, can't give it away. He finally decides to take the dog with him as he dives in front of a train, but the dog breaks loose and the man's life is saved.
It's a very sad and poignant and emotional movie, illuminated by careful attention to tiny details. One of the movie's main themes is man's indifference to man. This is illustrated in many ways, big and small: a glance, a man turning in a seat as soon as it's vacated on a bus, a woman beating a rug from a fourth story window as a man unknowingly stands below, and many others.
The subplot of a servant girl who is pregnant doesn't add much to the movie, although there is one scene with her that is marvelous: she goes through a morning routine in the kitchen making coffee, and we realize at the end that she is crying. The whole scene means nothing, but it's so moving in its simplicity and realism that it's startling to see. The movie was not released in the US until 1955. Italy, understandably, was upset by the mean way the elderly are treated in the film. A beautiful masterpiece; its seeming simplicity hides a complex view of modern life underneath. Definitely worth a watch.
The best of the Italian neo-realist films
Vittorio DeSica's wonderful "Umberto D" was one of the last films of the Italian neo-realism movement and by far its best one. It is also one of my favorite movies ever. The movie's premise is simple: it is a slice of the life of a poor lonely pensioner, Umberto. Throughout the movie, we see Umberto struggle to find money to pay rent to his horrible landlady, love his dog Flike, and deal with the loneliness and disillusionment of the postwar era.
"Umberto D" is a character-driven film. It works very well because of its sharp observations on loneliness and poignant gestures. The gestures evoke powerful feelings without necessitating dialogue. Many of the scenes, even the ones that do not necessarily advance the plot, are hypnotically beautiful in their simplicity. Take, for example, a beautiful scene where Umberto finally needs to beg for money but cannot physically bring himself to do it. He extends his palm up, but when a passer-by stops to give him money, Umberto quickly flips his hand over, as if testing for rain. The film is full of these small gestures that quietly emphasize the desperate loneliness and poignancy of Umberto's situation.
The acting in this film is absolutely superb. Carlo Battisti, despite having never acted before, is wonderful as the titular character; his face is a fascinating blend of stubborn dignity and weariness of life. Maria Pia-Casilio, who plays the maid, is just as good as evoking life's loneliness and quiet desperation. The supporting cast is also very strong.
One of the very few criticisms I have heard of this film is that it is too sentimental and borderline sappy. While some scenes with Umberto and his dog Flike are sentimental, never is it "too" sentimental. DeSica knows how far he can push his film without making it sappy, and he wisely shows it as it is. Nothing feels forced. The subject material itself and the simplicity in which it is presented will bring tears. (If you don't cry in this movie, you need to have your heart professionally de-thawed.) But "Umberto D" is never dumbed down into sappiness and clichéd corniness. It is a very powerful film.
"Umberto D" is the masterpiece of the Italian neo-realist era. Just the powerful and ambiguous ending alone is worth the price. It's a rather bleak and very realistic movie, but it makes some fascinating commentary on the human condition, specifically the loneliness we face. Highly, highly recommended. 5/5
Vittorio De Sica's remarkable 1947 drama of desperation and survival in Italy's devastating post-war depression earned a special Oscar for its affecting power. Shot in the streets and alleys of Rome, De Sica uses the real-life environment of contemporary life to frame his moving drama of a desperate father whose new job delivering cinema posters is threatened when a street thief steals his bicycle. Too poor to buy another, he and his son take to the streets in an impossible search for his bike. Cast with nonactors and filled with the real street life of Rome, this landmark film helped define the Italian neorealist approach with its mix of real life details, poetic imagery, and warm sentimentality. De Sica uses the wandering pair to witness the lives of everyday folks, but ultimately he... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Lamberto Maggiorani - Enzo Staiola Director(s): Vittorio De Sica DVD Release Date: Released the 24 November 1998 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The Allies had barely driven the Nazis out of Rome when Roberto Rosselini went to work on Open City, considered by most to be his greatest work. Shot on bits and short ends of scavenged film, this film helped define Italian neorealism. Audiences were convinced that the actors were all amateurs (they weren't) and the whole film was improvised (it wasn't; the three screenwriters included Federico Fellini). With its semidocumentary camera style and use of actual locations, the film does feel very real. Of course, so does the opening half-hour of Saving Private Ryan, and like that film Open City is at its heart a classic war yarn any Hollywood studio would feel at home with. The story involves members of the Italian underground trying to smuggle badly needed cash out... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Aldo Fabrizi - Anna Magnani Director(s): Roberto Rossellini DVD Release Date: Released the 29 October 1997 Usually ships in 24 hours
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At three brief hours, La Dolce Vita, a piece of cynical, engrossing social commentary, stands as Federico Fellini's timeless masterpiece. A rich, detailed panorama of Rome's modern decadence and sophisticated immorality, the film is episodic in structure but held tightly in focus by the wandering protagonist through whom we witness the sordid action. Marcello Rubini (extraordinarily played by Marcello Mastroianni) is a tabloid reporter trapped in a shallow high-society existence. A man of paradoxical emotional juxtapositions (cool but tortured, sexy but impotent), he dreams about writing something important but remains seduced by the money and prestige that accompany his shallow position. He romanticizes finding true love but acts unfazed upon finding that his girlfriend has taken... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Marcello Mastroianni - Anita Ekberg Director(s): Federico Fellini DVD Release Date: Released the 21 September 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I had read about this movie because it comes up on an occassional "All Time Greatest Movie" lists. As such, I was aware of the fact that the movie was made with a complete cast of amateurs taken from a Sicilian fishing village which was also the location of the movie. The opening credits substantiate that by not naming the actors but, rather, citing them as the people of the village. They do a very good, sometimes excellent, job. There might not be an Academy Award-level preformance in the bunch but they out-shine the cast of most "B" movies I've seen. In fact, only the person who plays Mara's boy friend, the mason, give anything like a one-dimensional preformance and it is mostly noticeable by how it stands apart from the others.
Ossessione isn't just the finest film version of The Postman Always Rings Twice, James M. Cain's classic tale of murder, betrayal, and erotic obsession; it's also the first masterpiece of Italian neorealism and a key historical precursor of film noir. A handsome drifter (Massimo Girotti) fetches up at an isolated roadhouse, gets mutually besotted with the proprietor's sultry wife (Clara Calamai), and has soon carried out a plot to murder the older man in an apparent off-road accident. That's only the beginning, of course. In his directorial debut, Luchino Visconti weaves a sensuous, tragic spell, born equally of the stark, sun-struck settings--especially those utterly realistic yet somehow otherworldly highways, elevated above the surrounding marshland--and a dynamic... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Clara Calamai - Massimo Girotti Director(s): Luchino Visconti DVD Release Date: Released the 16 July 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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