Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Rocco and His Brothers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 15, 2016

Luchino Visconti's "Rocco and His Brothers" a.k.a. "Rocco e i suoi fratelli" (1960) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; documentary film about the life and legacy of Luchino Visconti; archival interviews with cast members; and more. The release also arrives with a 40-page illustrated booklet featuring writing by Guido Aristarco, essay written by Luchino Visconti, vintage interview with the director, and rare archival imagery. In Italian or French, with optional English subtitles. Region-B "locked".

The Parondis are from the South but in Milan they feel like foreigners. They look different and have accents. They are also ready to do jobs that the locals would not bother with.

They are five brothers and their mother, Rosaria (Katina Paxinou), who has taught them that if they help each other they can overcome anything life throws at them. The eldest son, Vincenzo (Spiros Focas), was the first to arrive in Milan and he will soon marry Ginetta (Claudia Cardinale), a beautiful girl who was born and raised in the city. Simone (Renato Salvatori), Rocco (Alain Delon), Ciro (Max Cartier) Luca (Rocco Vidolazzi) and Rosaria live together in a small basement apartment somewhere on the outskirts of the city. It is winter and the place is cold but no one complains. In fact, the brothers can barely wait for the first snow to fall so that they can go out and get hired to clean the streets.

When the Parondis accidentally befriend the beautiful prostitute Nadia (Annie Girardot) their luck changes -- she begins seeing Simone and introduces him to a shady businessman who convinces him that he can become a professional boxer and earn big money; Rocco is also invited to join the businessman’s club, but he refuses and instead lands a job in a laundromat. Soon after, the Parondis move into a bigger and better apartment.

But the money Simone earns as a boxer change his personality and hurt his relationship with Nadia. When she walks away from him and secretly begins seeing Rocco, things become even more complicated. Eventually, the family begins to crumble and despite Rosaria’s efforts the brothers turn against each other.

Luchino Visconti’s film is like a very long neorealist opera -- it has plenty of memorable characters, it is rich in emotions, and it is elegantly lensed and scored. It immediately draws one into its reality and it has a distinctive atmosphere that comes from a different era.

The narrative is broken into multiple acts in which life in Milan is seen through the eyes of each brother. They further strengthen the film’s operatic identity -- there is a lot happening in different places at the same time. As a result the drama becomes a lot more intense and the crucial events that rock the family leave a greater and longer lasting impression.

The film also chronicles the transformation of a country whose rapid post-war industrialization has created an obvious gap between the rural South and the richer North. People like the Parondis who come from the South searching for work and a better life have to earn the right to fit in the North. The tension that emerges from the division and is easily felt in the film exists even in modern Italy.

Some of the actors were dubbed in Italian, but the performances are magnificent. Delon looks young and incredibly handsome here and exudes pure star quality. Salvatori is simply magnificent as the jealous brother whose anger slowly destroys him. Girardot is unforgettable as the beautiful prostitute who can’t seem to be able to turn her life around. Paxinou becomes a real Italian mother who struggles to keep the large family together.

Rocco and His Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from the recent 4K restoration of the film which was completed by Cineteca di Bologna at the L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory. The grading was supervised by Giuseppe Rotunno, the film's original director of photography, and the initial Venice Film Festival print was used as a reference.

I recently attended a theatrical screening of the new restoration and thought that it looked quite wonderful. Its transition to Blu-ray, however, is less impressive. Indeed, while the improvements over the previous DVD release are substantial -- with detail and fluidity now being a lot more convincing -- there are areas of the film that show some unfortunate weaknesses. The most obvious ones appear to have been introduced by some light filtering adjustments that have impacted the dynamic range of the visuals. As a result, there are areas where some unusual flatness emerges and blocks of grays overwhelm what should be proper blacks. Many of the most obvious examples are during indoor footage (you can see examples in different screencaptures from #31-39), but the effects can be seen even during daylight close-ups (see screencaptures #5 and 27). Obviously, there are some inherited density fluctuations, but where the grays become prominent depth and the overall image balance are less than impressive. Fluidity suffers as well. The good news is that a lot of the daylight footage still looks terrific. Also, image stability is outstanding -- the edge flicker and the various shaky transitions that were present on the old Italian DVD release are effectively removed. Ultimately, this is very clearly the best presentation of Rocco and His Brothers, but it should have had a more convincing organic appearance on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Rocco and His Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 1.0 and French LPCM 1.0. There optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The original Italian track is fantastic. I did some direct comparisons with the lossy track from the Italian DVD release of Rocco and His Brothers and I can confirm that it immediately becomes obvious how much better depth and fluidity are. Balance is also improved. Nino Rota's beautiful score also has a much more prominent presence throughout the film. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital distortions.

Rocco and His Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original Italian trailer for Rocco and His Brothers. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• Cinecronaca Newsreel - an original vintage Italian newsreel with footage from the Venice Film Festival. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (8 min).

• Caleidoscopio Newsreel - an original vintage Italian newsreel with footage from the shooting of Rocco and His Brothers. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• Les coulisses du tournage - this archival French documentary focuses on the production history and success of Rocco and His Brothers. Included in the documentary is an interview with Claudia Cardinale in which she recalls her initial encounter with Luchino Visconti and discusses their work together. The documentary was produced in 2003. In French, with optional English subtitles. (21 min).

• Giuseppe Rotunno Interview - presented here is an archival interview with cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno, who lensed Rocco and His Brother. In the interview, the acclaimed cinematographer discusses his career in the film industry, his work at Cinecitta, his work with Luchino Visconti, how cinema evolved during the years, etc. The interview was conducted for Italian TV in 1999. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (27 min).

• Annie Girardot Interview - in this archival interview, actress Annie Girardot (Nadia) discusses her contribution to Rocco and His Brothers and the interactions she had with director Luchino Visconti. The interview was conducted in 2002. In French, with optional English subtitles. (31 min).

• Claudia Cardinale Interview - in this archival interview, actress Claudia Cardinale (Ginetta) discusses her background, love for cinema (her idol was Marlon Brando), and her contribution to Rocco and His Brothers. The interview was conducted for the Italian RAI series Memories of Italian Cinema in 1999. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (24 min).

• Luchno Visconti - this archival documentary takes a closer look at the life and legacy of director Luchino Visconti. Included in it are clips from interviews with actor Vittorio Gassman, Burt Lancaster, Jean Marais, and directors Carlo Lizzani and Giuseppe De Santis, amongst others. The documentary was produced by RAI in 1999. In Italian, English, German, and French, with optional English subtitles. (61 min).

• Booklet - 40-page illustrated booklet featuring writing by Guido Aristarco, an essay written by Luchino Visconti in 1960, a vintage interview with the director, and rare archival imagery.

Rocco and His Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers is not only one of the big masterpieces of Italian cinema, but also one of the greatest films ever made. It tells the tragic story of a large family from the Italian South that relocates to Milan during a post-war transformation that divided the country and its people. It is brilliantly directed and acted, and is complemented by a fantastic score by the legendary Nino Rota. Eureka Entertainment's new Blu-ray release is sourced from the recent 4K restoration of the film. It represents a big upgrade in quality over previous DVD releases, but it could have been even more convincing. RECOMMENDED.