7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
During WWII in Italy, a wine producing village hide a million bottles from the Germans
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Anna Magnani, Virna Lisi, Hardy Krüger, Giancarlo GianniniWar | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Though he didn’t know it at the time, Stanley Kramer was coming to the end of his long and august directing (and producing) career when he made The Secret of Santa Vittoria in 1969. As a director, Kramer had become known (and some might even say “typecast”) for his “message pictures” like On the Beach, Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, and what was at the time of The Secret of Santa Vittoria’s release Kramer’s most recent mainstream success, 1967’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Kramer had proven his comedy bona fides with the epic 1963 outing It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, a film supposedly made at least partially on a bet from critic Bosley Crowther who told Kramer he didn’t have the temperament to make a funny film (this despite the fact that Kramer had produced a film that was supposed to have been a laugh riot, 1948’s So This Is New York). While The Secret of Santa Vittoria didn’t really traffic in the hyperbolic hysteria that made Kramer’s 1963 all star opus such an iconic film, it had its own perhaps somewhat gentler comedic ambience as well as the benefit of having been based on what was then still a best selling novel by Robert Crichton. With a cast headlined by Oscar winners Anthony Quinn and Anna Magnani, Kramer looked to be helming yet another blockbuster, but in one of those curious, seemingly intangible, changes in the cultural zeitgeist, The Secret of Santa Vittoria had the misfortune of being released in the wake of Easy Rider (contrary to the excellent commentary on It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, the releases were not more or less simultaneous, and Easy Rider had been out for a couple of months before Kramer’s film debuted). Suddenly big budget blockbusters with older casts were yesterday’s news, and The Secret of Santa Vittoria died a quick death at the box office. Kramer managed to eke out a few more films over the course of the next few years, but perhaps ironically the erstwhile provocateur suddenly found himself in the role of an elderly curmudgeon, the filmic equivalent of an old man screaming at kids about what things were like back in the day.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Kramer shot this film on location in Italy (including at the famed Cinecitta Studios), and the scenes of the bustling little village square and the surrounding countryside are one of the film's chief allures. (Kramer's DP was famed Italian cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno, who knew his way around picturesque Italian villages courtesy of such iconic films as Amarcord.) The increased resolution of the Blu-ray is instantly apparent during the opening credits sequence, which plays out under what almost looks like a burlap scrim, so that the imagery appears to be almost "woven". For the first time in this film's home video history, the close knit patterns are clear and stable and finally offer the appropriate amount of depth to the image. Colors here are generally very nicely saturated and accurate looking, though there are some minute fluctuations in color temperature throughout the presentation. Contrast is strong, navigating both the sun dappled outdoor scenes and some of the shrouded interiors with ease. Grain is naturally rendered and there are no signs of aggressive digital sharpening or other tweaking of the image.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria's original mono sound mix is presented here in DTS-HD Master Audio. This sometimes boisterously noisy film sounds great here, if narrow, with dialogue presented very clearly (albeit at times with rather heavy accents) and Ernest Gold's very colorful score is full bodied and clear sounding. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is surprisingly wide for this type of film.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria is, kind of like the town it portrays, ungainly and a little chaotic. But much like the townspeople it portrays, the film also has a surplus of heart, and that aspect carries it through some of the lethargic elements. Buoyed by an absolutely first rate cast at the top of their respective games, this may not be prime Kramer, but it's still hugely enjoyable if taken on its own terms. Technical merits here are excellent, and The Secret of Santa Vittoria comes Recommended.
2019
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