Famous Italian war time adaptation of the Pushkin story was touted as the peak achievement of "Caligraphism" in movies
Knowing Castellani's later work and being curious about the pre Neo Realist Italian cinema, I had great hopes for this.
Unfortunately what we get we get is posed performers in wigs moving through an obvious mix of location, studio and process. I got really tired of Signora Norris's spot lit face beaming out of the center of the frame. The settings are detailed and some of the exteriors in snow, mist and rain are effective but the performances are cardboard.
For the curious, there is some striking imagery and the quality of the Cristaldi DVD (with Italian sub-titles) is exceptional.
Knowing Castellani's later work and being curious about the pre Neo Realist Italian cinema, I had great hopes for this.
Unfortunately what we get we get is posed performers in wigs moving through an obvious mix of location, studio and process. I got really tired of Signora Norris's spot lit face beaming out of the center of the frame. The settings are detailed and some of the exteriors in snow, mist and rain are effective but the performances are cardboard.
For the curious, there is some striking imagery and the quality of the Cristaldi DVD (with Italian sub-titles) is exceptional.
