Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Il Bidone Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 21, 2020

Federico Fellini's "Il Bidone" (1955) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include archival video interview with Dominique Delouche and exclusive new audio commentary by critic and author Frank Burke. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Augusto (Broderick Crawford, Fritz Lang's Human Desire) is the eldest of the three con men. He speaks only when spoken to and most of the time looks jaded. His partners are the energetic Picasso (Richard Basehart, La Strada, Titanic), who has told his girl (Giulietta Masina, La Strada) that he is a businessman, and the compulsive liar Roberto (Franco Fabrizi, The Italian Connection, Satyricon).

The men travel through the countryside and cheat the poor. Occasionally, they would also visit the slums and sell fake housing certificates to the naive. A portion of the money they earn is then spent in the city’s posh night clubs. The men are well respected there because they always drink the best champagne and tip generously.

For the most part Augusto, Picasso and Roberto are happy with the gigs, but they want more. They want to be as successful as the big-timers, who have other people working for them while they throw lavish parties to entertain themselves. During one such party Augusto attempts to talk to the host, a man like him who started from the bottom, but his business proposal is quickly rejected. It hurts him to admit it, but he understands perfectly why his offer isn’t taken seriously -- he is in a different league, the wrong league where small-time con men like him belong.

Augusto’s life changes dramatically when he accidentally meets his daughter Patrizia, whom he hasn’t seen since last Christmas. She is with friends and has to go. He promises to call her and spend some time with her. A few days later, they meet again and she reveals to him that she would like to continue studying, while working as a cashier to pay for her tuition. But to get the job she needs to deposit 300,000 lire which she does not have. Later that day Augusto promises to pay the deposit, but a former ‘client’ recognizes him and after a quick stop at the local police station his life begins to spin out of control.

Il Bidone a.k.a. The Swindle, the second entry in the great Federico Fellini’s Trilogy of Loneliness, is very much a film of two contrasting halves. The first is infused with light humor and sees Italy as a country that is slowly recovering from a devastating war. Life is neither easy nor fair there, but there is a feeling that with the new order, as flawed as it may be, life will eventually get better.

Halfway through the film, however, the humor disappears and Fellini takes out his whip. Italy is now a collapsed state where the poor and the naive are forgotten. Some have come to the cities looking for a new start but have quickly been pushed to the slums and then abandoned; others have chosen to remain in their rural homes but they have also been left to survive on their own. Living in extreme poverty, both groups have become easy targets for scammers like Augusto and his friends.

This sobering look at life in post-war Italy reminds of the works of the great Roberto Rossellini. Also during the second half, where Augusto undergoes a serious character transformation and is eventually forced to reevaluate his life, there are familiar religious overtones that point to Rossellini’s enormous influence. (In fact, the entire final act easily could have appeared in a Rossellini film).

The film’s episodic structure is most appropriate. In a way it supports the idea that there is no honor amongst thieves by imitating the gradual collapse of their friendship. Initially Fellini follows closely the three con men, but as the humor disappears Picasso and Roberto are slowly isolated and Augusto left alone with his thoughts.

The energetic music score was composed by the great Nino Rota (Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, Rene Clement’s Purple Noon).

Il Bidone Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Il Bidone arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The only other release of Il Bidone that I have in my library is the one Eureka Entertainment produced in 2013. (You can see our review of this release here). I liked it a lot, and I still do.

This release offers a slightly different and in my opinion a bit more pleasing presentation of the film, but the discrepancy comes from one area only. The gamma levels on this release are better balanced and as a result the entire film has a slightly darker and richer appearance. So, some subtle nuances could appear better defined, plus there are select ranges of shadows that look lusher. The rest looked the same on my system. After I finished viewing the film I tested specific areas to see if there are any noticeable improvements in density and fluidity, but I did not see any. Image stability was very good. The entire film looked very clean as well, though I am unsure if some additional cleanup work might have been performed. All in all, this is a very, very strong presentation that makes revisiting the film quite a treat. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Il Bidone Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

There are no technical issues to report in our review. The audio is clear and stable. During a few of the outdoor sequences you will likely notice slight unevenness popping up here and there, but this is an inherited limitation. The English translation is excellent.

Il Bidone Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by Frank Burke, author of Fellini's Films and coeditor of A Companion to Federico Fellini. The commentary was recorded in May 2020.

• Dominique Delouche - in this video interview, writer, producer and director Dominique Delouche (Man of Desire) recalls his first encounter with the legendary Federico Fellini which occurred after a disappointing screening of his La Strada. Mr. Delouche also discusses Fellini's unique directing methods, the initial reactions to Il Bidone in Italy, the sociological themes in the film, the decorative qualities in the Italian director's later films, etc. The interview was conducted by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith. In French, with optional English subtitles. (40 min, 1080i).

• Additional Content - deluxe packaging, including two lavishly illustrated books with hundreds of pages of content; notes on the films by scholar David Forgacs, essays by filmmakers Michael Almereyda, Kogonada, and Carol Morley; film critics Bilge Ebiri and Stephanie Zacharek; and novelist Colm Tóibín, and dozens of images spotlighting Don Young's renowned collection of Fellini memorabilia.

Il Bidone Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Il Bidone has an unforgiving wicked sense of humor that I find much more impressive than its social commentary. Yes, eventually Fellini tones it down so that the 'right' social contrasts become unmissable, but it is so easy to tell where the great director was at his absolute best. This release is sourced from a very solid restored master and is included in Criterion's upcoming Essential Fellini fifteen-disc box set. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.