Il Mio Viaggio in Italia
Martin Scorsese's fascinating account of the history of Italian cinema from the end of World War II to about 1961, a companion piece of sorts to his seminal documentary "A Personal Journey Through American Movies," firmly establishes the brilliant filmmaker as invaluable an educator as he is a director. Equally personal and informative, insightful and passionate, this four-hour work establishes its goal of illuminating the joys of Italian cinema to neophytes and experts alike.
Although its natural home eventually will be on video and television, "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia" has been picked up by Miramax for theatrical distribution; despite its demanding length, it well deserves to be seen on the big screen thanks to the superb restoration of its numerous film clips. Screened recently at the New York Film Festival, it is due to be exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles soon.
As its title suggests, "Viaggio" makes no claims to be an exhaustive history of Italian cinema. Rather, it is a personal essay in which Scorsese delivers not so much an overview but rather a guide to the films and filmmakers who have had the biggest influence on him. Staring directly into the camera in a series of monologues, he describes his early years growing up in Little Italy, watching Italian films broadcast on a black-and-white 16-inch TV set. Although there is a brief segment dealing with Italian silent epics, "Viaggio"'s first part deals principally with Italian postwar cinema, most notably the neorealist films made by such directors as Rossellini and De Sica.
Part Two deals with the stylistic advances made by such filmmakers as Visconti, Antonioni and Fellini, with the latter's works, most notably "I Vitelloni", "La Dolce Vita" and "8 1/2," having a particularly important impact on Scorsese's work. For instance, "I Vitelloni", he informs us, was a strong influence on Scorsese's "Mean Streets".
Admittedly, considering its four-hour-plus running time, "Viaggio" might be digested more easily in installments than in its current format. And one might argue that the film clips, while expertly chosen and edited (by Scorsese's longtime collaborator, the brilliant Thelma Schoonmaker), might be a bit too voluminous; many of the excerpts go on for 15 minutes or more. But there is no denying the passion or intelligence of this work, which is meant to be an encouragement to explore the films for ourselves rather than a dry history lesson. On that level, "Viaggio" fully succeeds.
IL MIO VIAGGIO IN ITALIA
Miramax Films
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriters: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Raffaele Donato, Kent Jones, Martin Scorsese
Producers: Barbara De Fina, Giuliana Del Punta, Bruno Restuccia
Executive producers: Giorgio Armani, Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz
Co-executive producer: Raffaele Donato
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Color and black and white/stereo
Running time -- 246 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Although its natural home eventually will be on video and television, "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia" has been picked up by Miramax for theatrical distribution; despite its demanding length, it well deserves to be seen on the big screen thanks to the superb restoration of its numerous film clips. Screened recently at the New York Film Festival, it is due to be exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles soon.
As its title suggests, "Viaggio" makes no claims to be an exhaustive history of Italian cinema. Rather, it is a personal essay in which Scorsese delivers not so much an overview but rather a guide to the films and filmmakers who have had the biggest influence on him. Staring directly into the camera in a series of monologues, he describes his early years growing up in Little Italy, watching Italian films broadcast on a black-and-white 16-inch TV set. Although there is a brief segment dealing with Italian silent epics, "Viaggio"'s first part deals principally with Italian postwar cinema, most notably the neorealist films made by such directors as Rossellini and De Sica.
Part Two deals with the stylistic advances made by such filmmakers as Visconti, Antonioni and Fellini, with the latter's works, most notably "I Vitelloni", "La Dolce Vita" and "8 1/2," having a particularly important impact on Scorsese's work. For instance, "I Vitelloni", he informs us, was a strong influence on Scorsese's "Mean Streets".
Admittedly, considering its four-hour-plus running time, "Viaggio" might be digested more easily in installments than in its current format. And one might argue that the film clips, while expertly chosen and edited (by Scorsese's longtime collaborator, the brilliant Thelma Schoonmaker), might be a bit too voluminous; many of the excerpts go on for 15 minutes or more. But there is no denying the passion or intelligence of this work, which is meant to be an encouragement to explore the films for ourselves rather than a dry history lesson. On that level, "Viaggio" fully succeeds.
IL MIO VIAGGIO IN ITALIA
Miramax Films
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriters: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Raffaele Donato, Kent Jones, Martin Scorsese
Producers: Barbara De Fina, Giuliana Del Punta, Bruno Restuccia
Executive producers: Giorgio Armani, Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz
Co-executive producer: Raffaele Donato
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Color and black and white/stereo
Running time -- 246 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 7/8/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Il Mio Viaggio in Italia
Martin Scorsese's fascinating account of the history of Italian cinema from the end of World War II to about 1961, a companion piece of sorts to his seminal documentary "A Personal Journey Through American Movies," firmly establishes the brilliant filmmaker as invaluable an educator as he is a director. Equally personal and informative, insightful and passionate, this four-hour work establishes its goal of illuminating the joys of Italian cinema to neophytes and experts alike.
Although its natural home eventually will be on video and television, "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia" has been picked up by Miramax for theatrical distribution; despite its demanding length, it well deserves to be seen on the big screen thanks to the superb restoration of its numerous film clips. Screened recently at the New York Film Festival, it is due to be exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles soon.
As its title suggests, "Viaggio" makes no claims to be an exhaustive history of Italian cinema. Rather, it is a personal essay in which Scorsese delivers not so much an overview but rather a guide to the films and filmmakers who have had the biggest influence on him. Staring directly into the camera in a series of monologues, he describes his early years growing up in Little Italy, watching Italian films broadcast on a black-and-white 16-inch TV set. Although there is a brief segment dealing with Italian silent epics, "Viaggio"'s first part deals principally with Italian postwar cinema, most notably the neorealist films made by such directors as Rossellini and De Sica.
Part Two deals with the stylistic advances made by such filmmakers as Visconti, Antonioni and Fellini, with the latter's works, most notably "I Vitelloni", "La Dolce Vita" and "8 1/2," having a particularly important impact on Scorsese's work. For instance, "I Vitelloni", he informs us, was a strong influence on Scorsese's "Mean Streets".
Admittedly, considering its four-hour-plus running time, "Viaggio" might be digested more easily in installments than in its current format. And one might argue that the film clips, while expertly chosen and edited (by Scorsese's longtime collaborator, the brilliant Thelma Schoonmaker), might be a bit too voluminous; many of the excerpts go on for 15 minutes or more. But there is no denying the passion or intelligence of this work, which is meant to be an encouragement to explore the films for ourselves rather than a dry history lesson. On that level, "Viaggio" fully succeeds.
IL MIO VIAGGIO IN ITALIA
Miramax Films
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriters: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Raffaele Donato, Kent Jones, Martin Scorsese
Producers: Barbara De Fina, Giuliana Del Punta, Bruno Restuccia
Executive producers: Giorgio Armani, Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz
Co-executive producer: Raffaele Donato
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Color and black and white/stereo
Running time -- 246 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Although its natural home eventually will be on video and television, "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia" has been picked up by Miramax for theatrical distribution; despite its demanding length, it well deserves to be seen on the big screen thanks to the superb restoration of its numerous film clips. Screened recently at the New York Film Festival, it is due to be exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles soon.
As its title suggests, "Viaggio" makes no claims to be an exhaustive history of Italian cinema. Rather, it is a personal essay in which Scorsese delivers not so much an overview but rather a guide to the films and filmmakers who have had the biggest influence on him. Staring directly into the camera in a series of monologues, he describes his early years growing up in Little Italy, watching Italian films broadcast on a black-and-white 16-inch TV set. Although there is a brief segment dealing with Italian silent epics, "Viaggio"'s first part deals principally with Italian postwar cinema, most notably the neorealist films made by such directors as Rossellini and De Sica.
Part Two deals with the stylistic advances made by such filmmakers as Visconti, Antonioni and Fellini, with the latter's works, most notably "I Vitelloni", "La Dolce Vita" and "8 1/2," having a particularly important impact on Scorsese's work. For instance, "I Vitelloni", he informs us, was a strong influence on Scorsese's "Mean Streets".
Admittedly, considering its four-hour-plus running time, "Viaggio" might be digested more easily in installments than in its current format. And one might argue that the film clips, while expertly chosen and edited (by Scorsese's longtime collaborator, the brilliant Thelma Schoonmaker), might be a bit too voluminous; many of the excerpts go on for 15 minutes or more. But there is no denying the passion or intelligence of this work, which is meant to be an encouragement to explore the films for ourselves rather than a dry history lesson. On that level, "Viaggio" fully succeeds.
IL MIO VIAGGIO IN ITALIA
Miramax Films
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriters: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Raffaele Donato, Kent Jones, Martin Scorsese
Producers: Barbara De Fina, Giuliana Del Punta, Bruno Restuccia
Executive producers: Giorgio Armani, Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz
Co-executive producer: Raffaele Donato
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Color and black and white/stereo
Running time -- 246 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/18/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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