Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Stromboli Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 8, 2015

Roberto Rossellini's "Stromboli terra di Dio" a.k.a. "Stromboli Land of God" (1950) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the disc include Francesco Patierno's documentary "Bergman & Magnani: The War of the Volcanoes"; archival video interview with Ingrid Bergman conducted by critic John Taylor Russell; and visual essay written, produced, and narrated by critic Tad Gallagher. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. Region-B "locked".

Note: Stromboli Land of God is part of BFI's The Roberto Rossellini Ingrid Bergman Collection Blu-ray box set.

Stromboli, the first collaboration between Italian master Roberto Rossellini and the great Ingrid Bergman, begins in a displaced persons’ camp somewhere in Farfa, Italy. There the beautiful Karen (Bergman), a Lithuanian refigee, hopes to get a permit that will allow her to immigrate to Argentina. While waiting for the Argentinean authorities to review her application, Karen frequently sees Antonio (Mario Vitale), a charming soldier from Sicily who knows only a few words of English.

When her application is rejected, Karen agrees to marry Antonio and go back with him to Stromboli, a small but supposedly very beautiful Mediterranean island. The enthusiastic Antonio immediately promises Karen, in broken English, that they will have a happy life together.

But shortly after they reach Stromboli, Karen begins to question her decision to follow Antonio because the island is very much a place where time seems to have stopped. Excluding a few fishermen, there are hardly any young people around. And not too far away from Antonio’s house, which looks more like a hut, there is an active volcano. Feeling misled, Karen begins questioning her husband, and later on, barely able to contain her anger, she announces that she will leave him as soon as she can. When Antonio vows to work hard to give her what she needs, Karen tells him that he simply does not deserve her.

The local priest occasionally meets Karen and tries to help her understand the way people on Stromboli live their lives, but she becomes even more depressed. Eventually, after the volcano erupts and nearly destroys Antonio’s house, Karen vows to do the impossible - cross the mountain alone and reach the village on the opposite side of the island where she can ask the owner of the only motorboat in the area to transport her back to the mainland.

The majority of Stromboli feels like a documentary feature about an exotic place where life has a very unique rhythm. The camera follows closely the disillusioned Karen as she visits different corners of the island and tries to come to terms with the fact that she has essentially become a prisoner, but large portions of the film are also dedicated to fishing rituals and the seemingly alive volcano.

Both Karen and the volcano undergo fascinating transformations. The first transformation is linked to religious overtones that effectively change the manner in which the film is viewed and ultimately understood. (They are in harsh contrast with its neorealistic qualities). The second mirrors Karen’s behavior. At first calm and seemingly willing to coexist with the fishermen, the volcano suddenly comes alive and then nearly destroys the tiny village.

The message of the film is that life is unpredictable and frequently demanding painful sacrifices. It feels terribly relevant today, when so many women like Bergman’s Karen are willing to risk a lot, or everything, when promised a better future.

Three official versions of Stromboli exist, but according to film scholar Elena Dagrada, an expert on Rossellini's films with Bergman, none can be considered official or complete. They are: RKO’s American version which was released in 1950, a longer international version which was shown at the Venice Film Festival in 1950, and the slightly shorter Italian-language version, Stromboli terra di Dio, which was released in Italian cinemas.

The BFI’s Blu-ray release contains the Italian-language version, Stromboli terra di Dio, which runs at approximately 100 minutes.

Stromboli Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roberto Rossellini's Stromboli Land of God arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the BFI.

The following text precedes the film's opening credits:

"This digital restoration of the Italian version of Stromboli derives from a combined duplicate negative preserved by Cibecitta Digital Factory. The image was scanned at 2K resolution, and digitally cleaned to eliminate signs of wear such as spots, lines, scratches, and visible splice marks. Image grading recovered the brightness and the richness of the original cinematography. The soundtrack was digitally cleaned and repaired to removed defects without losing the dynamics and character of the original version. The restoration was carried out by L'Immagine Ritrovata of Bologna in 2012."

A direct comparison with Criterion's presentaiton of Stromboli Land of God reveals that brightness levels are slightly elevated and as a result in some sequences shadow definition perhaps isn't as convincing as it should be (compare screencapture #7 and screencapture #16 from our review of the Criterion release). However, even during the daylight sequences it is easy to tell that brightness levels should have been better balanced (see the flatness that is introduced at the bottom of the frame in screencapture #15). Still, clarity remains very pleasing. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections, but there are some minor density fluctuations where grain is inconsistent (these areas appear slightly softer). Overall image stability is good, though before or after select transitions some unevenness remains. Large debris, cuts, stains, and warps have also been removed as best as possible, but some minor age-related imperfections remain. All in all, this is a pleasing presentation of the Italian-language version of Stromboli, but it is somewhat disappointing to see that the restored English-language version of the film isn't included on this release. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free Blu-ray player in order to access its content).

Stromboli Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

It is quite easy to tell that the audio has been cleaned up, stabilized and rebalanced as well as possible. However, some minor clarity fluctuations remain. Most are typically easy to hear where the music becomes prominent. There are no audio dropouts to report in our review.

Stromboli Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bergman & Magnani: The War of the Volcanoes - this documentary film takes a closer look at Roberto Rossellini's relationships with Anna Magnani and Ingrid Bergman as well as the scandal the three were involved in. (Rossellini ended his affair with Magnani in 1949 and began a new one with Bergman). The documentary was produced by Italian director Francesco Patierno in 2012. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (54 min).

• Ingrid Bergman at the National Film Theatre - in this archival video interview conducted by critic John Taylor Russell, Ingrid Bergman discusses her acting career, and specifically her work with Ingmar Bergman, Jean Renoir, Roberto Rossellini, and Humphrey Bogart. The interview was filmed at the National Film Theatre in London in 1981. It also appears on Criterion's Blu-ray release of Autumn Sonata. In English, not subtitled. (38 min).

• Living & Departed - a visual essay written, produced, and narrated by critic Tad Gallagher, author of The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini: His Life and Films. The essay also appears on Criterion's Blu-ray release of Journey to Italy. In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

Stromboli Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stromboli Land of God is included in the BFI's The Roberto Rossellini Ingrid Bergman Collection three-disc Blu-ray box set. The technical presentation is very good, but this release has only the Italian-language version of film. In the United States, Criterion's 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman four-disc box set also has the English-language version of the film, which has also been restored in 2K. If you can play Region-A discs, my advice to you is to consider adding Criterion's box set to your collections.