Il Sorpasso Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Il Sorpasso Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 17, 2014

Dino Risi's "Il Sorpasso" a.k.a. "The Easy Life" (1962) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; video introduction by filmmaker filmmaker Alexander Payne; archival interview with Jean-Louis Trintignant; exclusive new video interview with director Ettore Scola; new video interview with film scholar Remi Fournier Lanzoni; archival interview with director Dino Risi; Fabrizio Corallo and Francesca Molteni's documentary film "A Beautiful Vacation" (2006); and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring essays by critics Phillip Lopate and Antonio Monda, as well as excerpts from Dino Risi's writings, with an introduction by film critic Valerio Caprara. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"Listen, you gonna stay inside all day studying?"

A very young Jean-Louis Trintignant plays Roberto, an ambitious law student who has to study hard for an important exam. While taking a break, Roberto notices Bruno (Vittorio Gassman, Big Deal on Madonna Street, Scent of a Woman), an older bachelor from out of town who has parked his stylish Lancia under his window. He asks politely if Roberto would be willing to make a phone call for him because he is late for an important party. Roberto immediately agrees, but then changes his mind and invites Bruno to come up and make the phone call himself. When Bruno discovers that his friends have left without him, he offers to buy Roberto a drink.

Soon after, however, the two men realize that there isn’t a single place in Rome where they can have a drink because everyone is away on holiday. Determined to have a good time, they decide to drive to the countryside, where people never stop working and the food is always delicious.

There are a couple of reasons why this seemingly very straightforward commedia all’italiana directed by the great Dino Risi in 1962 became such an influential film in Italy and abroad. First, its characters were easy to embrace. Though drastically different -- Bruno is an outspoken but quite vulnerable father while Roberto is an ambitious but notably shy student -- they spoke and acted as most Italian men did in the early ‘60s. Naturally, all of their minor triumphs and failures felt authentic. (Initially critical reception in Italy was mixed, but moviegoers in the rural south were just as enthusiastic about the film as those who saw it in the industrial north).

The lack of biting satire is another reason. In a different commedia all’italiana -- for example one directed by Alberto Lattuada -- Gassman’s character would have quickly evolved into a mindless clown whose behavior would have been used to produce various scathing generalizations about the "haves" and "have-nots" in post-war Italy. In Il Sorpasso the main characters never become targets. They are placed in different compromising situations -- the restroom sequence is a prime example -- but they are never ridiculed.

The film also remains firmly grounded in reality. It is uncharacteristically sincere, especially during the second half where the friends visit relatives, and it never seems interested in judging those who might have made crucial mistakes in their lives. Risi simply observes the euphoria caused by the easy life across Italy and in the process exposes some of the unusual contrasts that have emerged. These contrasts are what produce the overwhelming majority of the humor in the film.

Director Risi co-wrote the script (and the sharp dialog) with Ruggero Maccari and the great Ettore Scola. Two years after Il Sorpasso, Scola directed his first film Se permettete parliamo di donne a.k.a. Let's Talk About Women, a wonderful comedy about the games men and women play, again with Gassman, Sylva Koscina, Antonella Lualdi, Walter Chiari, and Umberto D'Orsi, amongst others.

Il Sorpasso was lensed by cinematographer Alfio Contini, who worked on such equally influential films as Michelangelo Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point and Liliana Cavani’s The Night Porter. The film’s very energetic soundtrack was created by another legend, the great Italian composer Riz Ortolani (Lucio Fulci’s Don't Torture a Duckling, Umberto Lenzi’s So Sweet…So Perverse).

Note: Il Sorpasso is the film that inspired the late Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda to shoot the cult classic Easy Rider.

Il Sorpasso Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Dino Risi's Il Sorpasso arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative at Technicolor Rome; additional footage was taken from a 35mm composite fine-grain, which was scanned in 2K at Deluxe Rome. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise management, jitter and flicker.

The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm soundtrack negative. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation.

Transfer supervisor and colorist: Lee Kline."

The new 2K digital restoration of this influential Italian film is simply beautiful. All close-ups boast wonderful depth and clarity, allowing one to easily see even extremely small details, while the large panoramic shots impress with terrific fluidity. Even the nighttime footage looks spectacular (see screencapture #20). Color stability and saturation are excellent -- the white and blacks are beautifully balanced and there is a wide range of nuanced grays (see screencapture #2). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Furthermore, there are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Throughout the entire film grain is evenly distributed and looking very healthy. There are no traces of compromising sharpening adjustments. Lastly, it is easy to see that dirt, scratches, damage marks, cuts, and stains have been removed as best as possible without affecting the integrity of the film. Also, overall image stability is outstanding. To sum it all up, this is a fantastic organic presentation of Il Sorpasso, which I am convinced will remain the film's definitive presentation on the North American home video market. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Il Sorpasso Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. (An extremely small portion of the dialog is in German with printed Italian subtitles, which are part of the film. The optional English subtitles appear above them).

Il Sorpasso is complimented by a wonderful score courtesy of the great Riz Ortolani. The music frequently sets the mood for entire episodes and later on eases the transitions between them. Fortunately, the lossless track allows the music to shine in all the right places without any problematic dynamic fluctuations. During the racing sequences sharpness and clarity are also very good -- the screeching tires and car horns sound terrific. The dialog is stable, clean, and exceptionally easy to follow. Finally, there are no pops, cracks, problematic background hiss, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

Il Sorpasso Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original Italian trailer for Il Sorpasso. Music only. (3 min, 1080p).

• Introduction by Alexander Payne - filmmaker Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways) quickly introduces Dino Risi's Il Sorpasso and explains what makes it a unique film. In English, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080p).

• Dino Risi - in this archival interview, conducted by film critic Jean A. Gili, director Dino Risi recalls how Il Sorpasso came to exist, and discusses its unique qualities, the significance of its title (in the United States the film was released as The Easy Life, but its Italian title has a very specific meaning), the film and its popularity abroad (Il Sorpasso was a major hit in Argentina), Vittorio Gassman and Jean-Louis Trintignant's careers and contributions to the film, etc. The interview was conducted in 2004. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (20 min, 1080i).

• Jean-Louis Trintignant - in this casual interview, conducted by actress Marie-Christine Barrault (Cousin cousine, My Night at Maud's) for the French television program Cine passion, Jean-Louis Trintignant recalls when and how he was approached by Dino Risi to play Roberto Mariani in Il Sorpasso, and discusses the unique balance between comedy and drama in the film. The interview was conducted in 1983. In French, with optional English subtitles. (9 min, 1080p).

• Ettore Scola - the great Italian director Ettore Scola (The Night of Varennes, Splendor), who began his career as a screenwriter and collaborated with Dino Risi on a number of his films, discusses the evolution of commedia all'italiana during the late '50s and early '60s, Il Sorpasso and its key themes, the controversial finale (criticized by producer Cecchi Gori), the social climate in Italy at the time when the film was completed, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2013. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (15 min), 1080p).

• Remi Fournier Lanzoni - in this new video interview, film scholar Remi Fournier Lanzoni discusses the social foundation of commedia all'italiana, Dino Risi's style, and the unique qualities of Il Sorpasso. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 1080p).

• Back to Castiglioncello - Gloria De Antoni's documentary film L'estate di Bruno Cortona - Castiglioncello nell'anno del Sorpasso (2012) returns to Castiglioncello, the small beach town where the majority of Il Sorpasso was shot. Presented here are excerpts from the film with comments from various cast and crew members. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (11 min, 1080p).

• A Beautiful Vacation - this excellent documentary film focuses on the life and legacy of Dino Risi. Included in it are long interviews with the late director, film scholars Valerio Caprara and Tullio Kezich, former mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni, actor/screen writer Franca Valeri (The Widoewer), and actors Lorella De Luca (Il Bidone) and Alessandra Panaro (Rocco And His Brothers, Poor and Beautiful), amongst others. The documentary was filmed in 2006 by Fabrizio Corallo and Francesca Molteni on the occasion of director Dino Risi's ninetieth birthday. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (56 min, 1080i).

• Speaking with Gassman - director Dino Risi and actor Vittorio Gassman made sixteen films together. In 2005, five years after the great Italian actor's death, Dino Risi's son Marco made a documentary about their complicated working relationship and how the director transformed Vittorio Gassman's career. Presented here are excerpts from the documentary. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (31 min, 1080i).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring essays by critics Phillip Lopate and Antonio Monda, as well as excerpts from Dino Risi's writings, with an introduction by film critic Valerio Caprara.

Il Sorpasso Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dino Risi is one of the true giants of Italian cinema. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of his films are incredibly difficult to see in North America. Il Sorpasso, one of the director's best films and one of the most influential classic Italian road comedies, has now been beautifully restored and transferred to Blu-ray by the folks at Criterion. I think that it is one of the year's most important releases and I am convinced that come December it will appear on many prestigious Top 10 lists. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.