7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The fates of two childhood friends born on the same day in 1901 at opposite ends of the social scale through five decades of class struggle.
Starring: Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda, Francesca Bertini, Laura BettiDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 82% |
History | 22% |
Melodrama | 14% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
French: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (2 BDs, 1 DVD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It may be hard for those born in the Baby Boomer or Generation X eras to realize, but there was a time when Communism was cool. Even (and perhaps especially) American Communism had a sway over the intelligentsia and artistic class that was profound and keenly felt, at least in the decades before World War II. Even in the grips of the worst recession most of us alive have ever known, it’s next to impossible to understand the calamitous economic conditions that beset America and the rest of the world during the thirties, a time that saw a real rise in the popularity of two competing ideologies which sought to combat the perceived failures of Capitalism: namely, Communism and Fascism. While the ostensible errors of Capitalism were seen as contributing mightily to the worldwide Depression then enveloping the globe, there were two somewhat linked, yet rather drastically different, approaches in dealing with the so-called problem. Both of these approaches advocated a centralized power, an absolute dictatorship, but while Communism at least ostensibly aggrandized the force of the collective (though of course in reality there was a much different state of affairs), Fascism was pure, unadulterated top down totalitarian leadership that exerted its authority without much regard for the “little people”, even while, like in the case of Communism, it claimed to be all about the “folk”. In a situation of the lesser of three evils, it’s little wonder, then, that Communism providing such an apparently appealing alternative for so many people, including a wide swath of the American cultural elite. Italy has had its own contentious history with both Communism and Fascism, and the interplay between the two ideologies plays an important role in one of Bernardo Bertolucci’s most celebrated films, Novecento (literally “nine hundred” but meaning here the 20th century, translated as 1900 for domestic American release). This is a film with a troubled release history and an equally turbulent critical reception, but part of the negative critical reaction to the film upon its initial release was based on the fact that it had been heavily edited. While some notables like Roger Ebert shuddered to even consider what the film would look like even longer than it was in its first release, there’s no denying the slow accretion of power and impact the original director’s cut of 1900 amasses over its more than five hour length (yes, you read that right—more than five hours).
Novecento is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Bertolucci and his cinematographer Vittorio Storaro paint with light throughout this film, using seasonal changes as counterpoint to the interior life of the characters, and some of the mist strewn sylvan settings may lead some to believe this transfer is overly soft, but it isn't for the most part. This will in fact be something of a minor revelation for those who have seen Novecento only in a number of at least relatively substandard home video releases through the years, many of which were extremely poorly color timed. The overall image here is crisp and precise (with certain exceptions, noted below) with some very appealing fine detail in close-ups. Color is accurate, appropriately robust in some of the autumnal scenes but almost desaturated at other points, intentionally so. Some midrange shots, especially those capturing wide vistas out of doors, have a relatively softer appearance than the bulk of the film. As with most HD masters provided to Olive, there has been little to no digital tweaking of the source elements, and so natural film grain is completely intact, as are a few very minor blemishes, something rather negligible given the film's extreme length, and generally speaking this retains a beautifully natural cinematic appearance that very accurately recreates a mid-seventies film look. Some of this film is almost like a Breugel painting come to life, with peasants working in honey colored wheat fields with crimson-orange skies bleeding in the background, and this high definition presentation offers it all rather beautifully. About the only complaints some videophiles may have is due to some slightly inconsistent contrast, which seems to lurch just a bit erratically from interior to exterior shots, and some resultant murkiness of shadow detail in a couple of very dimly lit sequences.
Novecento features three lossless audio options, an English language track in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and two DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mixes, one in Italian and one in French. As with many multi-national productions, actors seem to have spoken in their native languages, so the "big" American stars like Lancaster, Hayden, De Niro and Sutherland speak English, but it also appears that Depardieu and Sanda did as well. Several other characters are obviously dubbed, though there's no horrible difference in reverb or general ambience with regard to these looped elements and the bulk of the soundtrack. (It doesn't appear that Novecento was filmed silently and entirely post-looped, as was the custom in the Italian film industry well into the seventies.) The soundstage here is fairly narrow even in the 2.0 mix, but fidelity is strong, and dialogue, effects and Ennio Morricone's elegantly elegiac score are all presented cleanly and clearly.
Neither of the two Blu-ray discs which contain the main feature offer any supplements, but a bonus DVD includes:
Novecento is not for the faint of heart, on any number of levels. First of all, it's an incredibly long film and it requires a certain amount of patience. Second of all, it has some extremely troubling elements that are at the very least unsettling. Third of all, there's simply no denying that the film is wild and unfocused at times, which, as with its length, requires a certain amount of patience. But even with these caveats, Novecento is an incredibly visceral experience, breathtakingly beautiful and stunningly brutal in almost equal amounts. I first saw Novecento when I was still a teenager in one of its drastically edited forms at a little art house that played second run films, and the experience has stayed with me for a lifetime. Seeing this unedited version now in high definition is like revisiting a slightly tattered old novel that hasn't been read in years—it's weathered, but it's still full of incredibly vivid characters and situations. This new Blu-ray offers solid video and audio and it contains a remarkably fascinating bonus documentary on the included DVD. Highly recommended.
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