Customer Reviews:
Bertolucci's flawed epic... certainly worth experiencing........2008-02-29
1900 was director Bernardo Bertolucci follow up to the Italian masterpiece, The Conformist, and his legendary work, The Last Tango in Paris. Like Michael Cimmino's similarly flawed-epic, Heaven's Gate, it shows what happens when an acclaimed director gets control of the ultimate cast and an unlimited budget, and is allowed to go over-schedule on a sprawling personal project, without the interference of the studios. As a result of this, 1900 is a deeply flawed film, really falling apart somewhere towards the end and to some extent, slipping away from Bertolucci's grasp as a result of the sheer epic scale of the project. The story begins in the year 1901, on the day of Verdi's death. As the people mourn, the backdrop to the story finds two boys born on the same day - the first boy, Alfredo, is the son of a wealthy landowner... the second boy, Olmo, is the bastard son of a farm labourer - as the story progresses, the two boys become central to the ultimate story, developing a strong friendship that will play-out against a backdrop of war, socialism and the rise of the Fascist party in early twentieth-century Italy. Bertolucci confuses matters further by having the film begin during the 1945 Liberation Day; using this pivotal moment as a framing device to launch into his epic back-story, only to emerge at the end of the story some many years in the future.
The story isn't quite as confusing as it sounds, with the director anchoring the story throughout to the characters of Olmo and Alfredo. In the early scenes, we see the two boys living an idyllic "Huckleberry Finn" style existence, catching frogs, play-fighting, testing each other's bravery with a series of dares... whilst, all the while, succumbing to the lifestyle of their respective families. This will eventually, to some extent, tear the two friends apart, as the hard working Olmo sides with the communists whilst Alfredo, torn by loyalty and greed, allows the fascists to operate on his land. As you would expect from an epic, the film introduced lots of background characters, with the film taking in three generations of Italian history over the course of its vast, five-hour running time. Some of the history of the film is glossed over... with Bertolucci falling into an uneasy habit of switching between oblique, allegorical metaphors (the use of different animals to act as a symbol for each type of character, for example; the socialists as cats, head butted to death by the fascists who are portrayed as pigs, bloated, self-righteous beasts there to be gutted by the labourers) and almost bludgeoning political ideologies (the penultimate speech from Olmo is delivered literally to camera). Also, we're never really sure of whom we're supposed to be rooting for; clearly, Bertolucci wants us to side with the socialists, but they come across as spineless cowards who can only afflict revenge on the fascists and the landowners once they have been stripped of all their power. For the most part, the socialists wander around singing songs to each other, never once trying to convince us of their suffering, whilst Bertolucci seemingly thinks that if he makes them dirty enough, or ugly enough, we'll feel sympathy for them regardless. It doesn't quite work.
However, despite these flaws, the film is still (as many other critics have also noted) a monumental achievement. This is an epic in the classic sense, recalling films like The Godfather and Visconti's The Leopard (Burt Lancaster plays a role here that is very similar to the role of Don Fabrizio Salina, which he played in that particular film). It's also very similar to that other flawed Italian filmmaker's epic, Once Upon A Time in America, with both films employing the use of a flash-back/framing devise, as well as a thematic scope that covers a similar period in history (albeit, this is about Italy rather than America). Like Leone's film, 1900 is vast and sprawling, though anchored to two characters (who are best friends since childhood) and their personal relationships (...whilst, superficially, they both feature Robert DeNiro). Like Once Upon A Time... 1900 is a very brutal and confrontational film, with many violent sequences and scenes of outrageous sexuality. The version that I have (the one shown on Film Four) is as close to uncut as can be shown in this county (only one shot, the one in which the young Alfredo plays with himself in order to achieve an erection, was digitally darkened around the genital areas so that nothing could be seen); with Bertolucci taking almost every scene and characterisation completely over the top. This method is most apparent with the character of Attila, the lead-fascist in the film, who, in one of his earliest appearances, ties a kitten to the wall and then head buts it. This prefigures a later scene, in which Bertolucci implies that Attila has raped a small boy, only for Attila to then pick the child up by the ankles and swing him around the room until his skull shatters against a post.
Some of the performances in the film are very strong, particularly DeNiro as Alfredo, Gérard Depardieu as Olmo, Dominique Sanda as Ada, Sterling Hayden as Olmo's grandpa Leo, Burt Lancaster as the patriarch Berlinghieri and Donald Sutherland as the snarling "villain" Attila, whilst that gorgeous cinematography from Vittorio Storaro is just exquisite (...the camera always moving, blocking, tracking, revealing, swooping around the characters with the most gorgeous colours imaginable). It's easily one of the most beautiful films ever made, adding to the epic nature of the story and the feelings evoked through Ennio Morricone's great score. 1900 might not be the greatest film ever made, but I feel that it is an important film, both in terms of style and ambition. It's a definite flawed masterpiece, with a great cast and a talented director at the height of their creative prowess. As both an outrageous, overblown melodrama and as a political allegory/treatise on loyalty and friendship, it's worth looking out for and is an interesting relic to one of the most-important eras of cinema history.
Classic but overlong.......2007-05-24
This film in its uncut version is 315 minutes long. That means the equivalent of watching both Godfather 1 and 2. For the first and perhaps only time, two giants of modern cinema were reunited namely De Niro and Depardieu. Coupled with the direction of Bertolucci, this is indeed a visual masterpiece which would have been better portrayed aa a mini series rather than a twp part film. Thee are times when the action just meanders and if you understand Italian, then you have an advantage whereas the dubbed version is at best tacky.
A too much long but beautiful movie, showing the political changes in Italy in the Twentieth Century. These changes are presented and reflected through the friendship of Alfredo (Robert De Niro) and Olmo (Gerard Depardieau), from the end of World War I to the end of World War II, from the ascent of the Fascism to its decline and the ascent of the Socialism. Alfred and Olmo were born in the same day and in the same place, landowner and peasant respectively. As far as they grow up, Bertolucci presents the changes in the political scenario in Italy, affecting the relationship between these two friends. The film is a little exhaustive, but it deserves to be watched more than one time. Recommended to viewers who like European movies and particularly Italian history and Bertolucci.
Bertolucci's flesh for fascism.......2007-03-24
Bernardo Bertolucci's exhaustive look at two boys (Robert DeNiro & Gerard Depardieu) born on the same day in the year 1900 (hence; 1900 or Novecento if you prefer). One to a wealthy landower (Burt Lancaster) and the other to a family of peasants (Sterling Haydon). This sprawling epic 5 hour marathon will certainly test your patience if not your resolve to finish watching it. A redundant story that pits the black shirt fascists against the communistic peasants with an appalling amount of graphic violence for the sheer sake of violence. Like Donald Sutherland's head on collision with a dangling feline. I'm still not sure exactly what point Bertulucci was trying to make with that statement (crushing communism could have been demonstrated in a more realistic fashion). The impact was there (no pun intended)...but for what? Pure sensationalism? I'm positively certain thats why Paramount cut it from the 255 minute R version. Although it survives the cutting room floor in this NC-17 version.
The all-star cast will certainly maintain your interest, if not make you angry that all the talent here was miscast and wasted in so many ways. For example; the lovely Stefania Sandrelli (Desideria & Partner) would have been more believable in Dominique Sanda's role when you consider how great she was in The Conformist (another Bertolucci film where she played the role of a shallow materialistic tart). Not that Sanda wasn't acceptable or believable, I just enjoyed Sandrelli's screen presence more and found it hard to accept her role as a peasant. Also, Sutherland's talents appear to be under appreciated here when you consider he literally steals every scene he's in. Only...he's not nearly in it enough. Convincing as the black shirt fascist who bully's the peasants at the request of the wealthy landowners. Sutherland appears to be the only realistic character in this film. Making you wonder why Paramount would cut his animal abuse act but leave the beheading of the child who was caught spying on him while having sex with the padroni's niece. Whats Paramount's logic here? American's will tolerate child abuse but not animal abuse? Huh?
What you have here is alot of over-the-top performances mixed in with 18th century Italian folk songs that gives the film an unreal amount of fairy tale quality. One example of what I mean is; A hail storm damages the crops, so the landowner tells the peasants that he employs that there will be a cut in pay to make up for the lost harvest. A peasant emerges from the crowd, cuts off his own ear and proceeds to walk off playing some corny folk song with his flute. Another example is when liberation day comes in 1945 (the end of the Nazi regime). The peasants perform a mock trial against their boss (DeNiro). The padroni (landowner) is subjected to alot of ridicule and scoffing which didn't seem believable on any level. As if I would feel sorry for some communistic peasant who's content with being a peasant for as long as he or she lives. Making Sutherlands pitch-fork departure a little difficult to accept. Especially when you consider the fact that he was the only one holding this film together.
This film is worth a look for Donald Sutherland's performance and Vittoro Storaro's (Last Tango In Paris & Apocalypse Now) camera work alone. However, most Bertolucci fanatics are still wondering why The Last Emporer won nine Oscars and 1900 didn't even recieve not one nomination. Especially when you consider the parallels involved here, and 1900's all-star cast. The Conformist was perhaps Bertolucci's best film...and won nothing. No matter though...the Academy Awards are nothing more than a popularity contest anyways. It's just strange that the Academy seems to thrive on over-the-top performances (which again, explains why Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" won so many awards). You would think a film like 1900 would fit right into the grand scheme of things. My guess is the Academy preferred baby poop as opposed to horse dung.
olofpalme63
Flawed but fantastic.......2007-02-11
A very, very long film that doesn't exactly bounce along. There is some rather odd acting styles reminiscent of Dick Dastardly and a little too much "adult" content than might be considered necessary. That aside, this film is totally mesmerising, beautiful to watch and completely absorbing. When you've finished watching this; at about three in the morning, you feel as though the two protagonists are people you have grown up with and really care about.
Like Spartacus, some of the best scenes are when nothing much is really happening except for crowds of the dispossessed and downtrodden wandering soberly across the landscape. The political lecturing is far from subtle but honestly, if the local communist party recruiting agent had knocked on my door just after watching this I'm sure that because the emotion of this film is so strong I would have joined up there and then!
This is how story telling should be.
A magnificent Marxist soap opera with moments of greatness.......2006-12-05
1900 is a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly of Italian cinema. Bertolucci's defiantly left wing political epic at times plays like a Sidney Sheldon doorstop novel as written by a disciple of Karl Marx, has a laughable first hour and some performances that are so far over the top they've circumnavigate the globe and come back again. Yet it also has moments of genuine power, a sweeping ambition to it and is one of the most beautifully photographed films ever made due to Vittorio Storaro's wondrous combination of natural light, backlighting and the `magic hour' as the situation demands. Ennio Morricone's score is consistently one of his best as well, ensuring that the film sounds as good as it looks.
Chief debit is Burt Lancaster's senile padrone, hanging himself because he can't even get the erection he needs to rape the child of one of his employees: no gattapardo he. Donald Sutherland's socially mobile foreman-turned-fascist thug veers between plus and minus - it's a broad performance, as you'd expect from a character whose idea of political debate is to head butt a kitten to death (it's an extremely tough film on animals: the kitten's death may be faked but none of the other animal killings are), although there are moments that ring true in the latter section.
It's an interesting experiment to try to gauge the actors original intent by flitting between the various soundtracks on the extras-free but uncut European DVD - the preferred English soundtrack gives you De Niro, Sutherland, Lancaster, Stirling Hayden and Dominique Sanda talking for themselves, the French offers Depardieu's voice while the Italian gives you more natural vocalisation for the majority of the smaller parts, as does the German.
Ultimately it doesn't amount to much - the basic thesis can be reduced to "Fascism, socialism - huh. Both as bad as each other," with paradise postponed once again at the very moment of liberation and the status quo more or less restored for the rest of the century. But there's a side of me that can't help thinking that for the most part it's a movie about peasants' rights made by a group of people who are now multi-millionaires who'll make almost anything if you write them a big enough cheque...
Customer Reviews:
Bertolucci's flawed epic... certainly worth experiencing........2008-02-29
1900 was director Bernardo Bertolucci follow up to the Italian masterpiece, The Conformist, and his legendary work, The Last Tango in Paris. Like Michael Cimmino's similarly flawed-epic, Heaven's Gate, it shows what happens when an acclaimed director gets control of the ultimate cast and an unlimited budget, and is allowed to go over-schedule on a sprawling personal project, without the interference of the studios. As a result of this, 1900 is a deeply flawed film, really falling apart somewhere towards the end and to some extent, slipping away from Bertolucci's grasp as a result of the sheer epic scale of the project. The story begins in the year 1901, on the day of Verdi's death. As the people mourn, the backdrop to the story finds two boys born on the same day - the first boy, Alfredo, is the son of a wealthy landowner... the second boy, Olmo, is the bastard son of a farm labourer - as the story progresses, the two boys become central to the ultimate story, developing a strong friendship that will play-out against a backdrop of war, socialism and the rise of the Fascist party in early twentieth-century Italy. Bertolucci confuses matters further by having the film begin during the 1945 Liberation Day; using this pivotal moment as a framing device to launch into his epic back-story, only to emerge at the end of the story some many years in the future.
The story isn't quite as confusing as it sounds, with the director anchoring the story throughout to the characters of Olmo and Alfredo. In the early scenes, we see the two boys living an idyllic "Huckleberry Finn" style existence, catching frogs, play-fighting, testing each other's bravery with a series of dares... whilst, all the while, succumbing to the lifestyle of their respective families. This will eventually, to some extent, tear the two friends apart, as the hard working Olmo sides with the communists whilst Alfredo, torn by loyalty and greed, allows the fascists to operate on his land. As you would expect from an epic, the film introduced lots of background characters, with the film taking in three generations of Italian history over the course of its vast, five-hour running time. Some of the history of the film is glossed over... with Bertolucci falling into an uneasy habit of switching between oblique, allegorical metaphors (the use of different animals to act as a symbol for each type of character, for example; the socialists as cats, head butted to death by the fascists who are portrayed as pigs, bloated, self-righteous beasts there to be gutted by the labourers) and almost bludgeoning political ideologies (the penultimate speech from Olmo is delivered literally to camera). Also, we're never really sure of whom we're supposed to be rooting for; clearly, Bertolucci wants us to side with the socialists, but they come across as spineless cowards who can only afflict revenge on the fascists and the landowners once they have been stripped of all their power. For the most part, the socialists wander around singing songs to each other, never once trying to convince us of their suffering, whilst Bertolucci seemingly thinks that if he makes them dirty enough, or ugly enough, we'll feel sympathy for them regardless. It doesn't quite work.
However, despite these flaws, the film is still (as many other critics have also noted) a monumental achievement. This is an epic in the classic sense, recalling films like The Godfather and Visconti's The Leopard (Burt Lancaster plays a role here that is very similar to the role of Don Fabrizio Salina, which he played in that particular film). It's also very similar to that other flawed Italian filmmaker's epic, Once Upon A Time in America, with both films employing the use of a flash-back/framing devise, as well as a thematic scope that covers a similar period in history (albeit, this is about Italy rather than America). Like Leone's film, 1900 is vast and sprawling, though anchored to two characters (who are best friends since childhood) and their personal relationships (...whilst, superficially, they both feature Robert DeNiro). Like Once Upon A Time... 1900 is a very brutal and confrontational film, with many violent sequences and scenes of outrageous sexuality. The version that I have (the one shown on Film Four) is as close to uncut as can be shown in this county (only one shot, the one in which the young Alfredo plays with himself in order to achieve an erection, was digitally darkened around the genital areas so that nothing could be seen); with Bertolucci taking almost every scene and characterisation completely over the top. This method is most apparent with the character of Attila, the lead-fascist in the film, who, in one of his earliest appearances, ties a kitten to the wall and then head buts it. This prefigures a later scene, in which Bertolucci implies that Attila has raped a small boy, only for Attila to then pick the child up by the ankles and swing him around the room until his skull shatters against a post.
Some of the performances in the film are very strong, particularly DeNiro as Alfredo, Gérard Depardieu as Olmo, Dominique Sanda as Ada, Sterling Hayden as Olmo's grandpa Leo, Burt Lancaster as the patriarch Berlinghieri and Donald Sutherland as the snarling "villain" Attila, whilst that gorgeous cinematography from Vittorio Storaro is just exquisite (...the camera always moving, blocking, tracking, revealing, swooping around the characters with the most gorgeous colours imaginable). It's easily one of the most beautiful films ever made, adding to the epic nature of the story and the feelings evoked through Ennio Morricone's great score. 1900 might not be the greatest film ever made, but I feel that it is an important film, both in terms of style and ambition. It's a definite flawed masterpiece, with a great cast and a talented director at the height of their creative prowess. As both an outrageous, overblown melodrama and as a political allegory/treatise on loyalty and friendship, it's worth looking out for and is an interesting relic to one of the most-important eras of cinema history.
Classic but overlong.......2007-05-24
This film in its uncut version is 315 minutes long. That means the equivalent of watching both Godfather 1 and 2. For the first and perhaps only time, two giants of modern cinema were reunited namely De Niro and Depardieu. Coupled with the direction of Bertolucci, this is indeed a visual masterpiece which would have been better portrayed aa a mini series rather than a twp part film. Thee are times when the action just meanders and if you understand Italian, then you have an advantage whereas the dubbed version is at best tacky.
A too much long but beautiful movie, showing the political changes in Italy in the Twentieth Century. These changes are presented and reflected through the friendship of Alfredo (Robert De Niro) and Olmo (Gerard Depardieau), from the end of World War I to the end of World War II, from the ascent of the Fascism to its decline and the ascent of the Socialism. Alfred and Olmo were born in the same day and in the same place, landowner and peasant respectively. As far as they grow up, Bertolucci presents the changes in the political scenario in Italy, affecting the relationship between these two friends. The film is a little exhaustive, but it deserves to be watched more than one time. Recommended to viewers who like European movies and particularly Italian history and Bertolucci.
Bertolucci's flesh for fascism.......2007-03-24
Bernardo Bertolucci's exhaustive look at two boys (Robert DeNiro & Gerard Depardieu) born on the same day in the year 1900 (hence; 1900 or Novecento if you prefer). One to a wealthy landower (Burt Lancaster) and the other to a family of peasants (Sterling Haydon). This sprawling epic 5 hour marathon will certainly test your patience if not your resolve to finish watching it. A redundant story that pits the black shirt fascists against the communistic peasants with an appalling amount of graphic violence for the sheer sake of violence. Like Donald Sutherland's head on collision with a dangling feline. I'm still not sure exactly what point Bertulucci was trying to make with that statement (crushing communism could have been demonstrated in a more realistic fashion). The impact was there (no pun intended)...but for what? Pure sensationalism? I'm positively certain thats why Paramount cut it from the 255 minute R version. Although it survives the cutting room floor in this NC-17 version.
The all-star cast will certainly maintain your interest, if not make you angry that all the talent here was miscast and wasted in so many ways. For example; the lovely Stefania Sandrelli (Desideria & Partner) would have been more believable in Dominique Sanda's role when you consider how great she was in The Conformist (another Bertolucci film where she played the role of a shallow materialistic tart). Not that Sanda wasn't acceptable or believable, I just enjoyed Sandrelli's screen presence more and found it hard to accept her role as a peasant. Also, Sutherland's talents appear to be under appreciated here when you consider he literally steals every scene he's in. Only...he's not nearly in it enough. Convincing as the black shirt fascist who bully's the peasants at the request of the wealthy landowners. Sutherland appears to be the only realistic character in this film. Making you wonder why Paramount would cut his animal abuse act but leave the beheading of the child who was caught spying on him while having sex with the padroni's niece. Whats Paramount's logic here? American's will tolerate child abuse but not animal abuse? Huh?
What you have here is alot of over-the-top performances mixed in with 18th century Italian folk songs that gives the film an unreal amount of fairy tale quality. One example of what I mean is; A hail storm damages the crops, so the landowner tells the peasants that he employs that there will be a cut in pay to make up for the lost harvest. A peasant emerges from the crowd, cuts off his own ear and proceeds to walk off playing some corny folk song with his flute. Another example is when liberation day comes in 1945 (the end of the Nazi regime). The peasants perform a mock trial against their boss (DeNiro). The padroni (landowner) is subjected to alot of ridicule and scoffing which didn't seem believable on any level. As if I would feel sorry for some communistic peasant who's content with being a peasant for as long as he or she lives. Making Sutherlands pitch-fork departure a little difficult to accept. Especially when you consider the fact that he was the only one holding this film together.
This film is worth a look for Donald Sutherland's performance and Vittoro Storaro's (Last Tango In Paris & Apocalypse Now) camera work alone. However, most Bertolucci fanatics are still wondering why The Last Emporer won nine Oscars and 1900 didn't even recieve not one nomination. Especially when you consider the parallels involved here, and 1900's all-star cast. The Conformist was perhaps Bertolucci's best film...and won nothing. No matter though...the Academy Awards are nothing more than a popularity contest anyways. It's just strange that the Academy seems to thrive on over-the-top performances (which again, explains why Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" won so many awards). You would think a film like 1900 would fit right into the grand scheme of things. My guess is the Academy preferred baby poop as opposed to horse dung.
olofpalme63
Flawed but fantastic.......2007-02-11
A very, very long film that doesn't exactly bounce along. There is some rather odd acting styles reminiscent of Dick Dastardly and a little too much "adult" content than might be considered necessary. That aside, this film is totally mesmerising, beautiful to watch and completely absorbing. When you've finished watching this; at about three in the morning, you feel as though the two protagonists are people you have grown up with and really care about.
Like Spartacus, some of the best scenes are when nothing much is really happening except for crowds of the dispossessed and downtrodden wandering soberly across the landscape. The political lecturing is far from subtle but honestly, if the local communist party recruiting agent had knocked on my door just after watching this I'm sure that because the emotion of this film is so strong I would have joined up there and then!
This is how story telling should be.
A magnificent Marxist soap opera with moments of greatness.......2006-12-05
1900 is a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly of Italian cinema. Bertolucci's defiantly left wing political epic at times plays like a Sidney Sheldon doorstop novel as written by a disciple of Karl Marx, has a laughable first hour and some performances that are so far over the top they've circumnavigate the globe and come back again. Yet it also has moments of genuine power, a sweeping ambition to it and is one of the most beautifully photographed films ever made due to Vittorio Storaro's wondrous combination of natural light, backlighting and the `magic hour' as the situation demands. Ennio Morricone's score is consistently one of his best as well, ensuring that the film sounds as good as it looks.
Chief debit is Burt Lancaster's senile padrone, hanging himself because he can't even get the erection he needs to rape the child of one of his employees: no gattapardo he. Donald Sutherland's socially mobile foreman-turned-fascist thug veers between plus and minus - it's a broad performance, as you'd expect from a character whose idea of political debate is to head butt a kitten to death (it's an extremely tough film on animals: the kitten's death may be faked but none of the other animal killings are), although there are moments that ring true in the latter section.
It's an interesting experiment to try to gauge the actors original intent by flitting between the various soundtracks on the extras-free but uncut European DVD - the preferred English soundtrack gives you De Niro, Sutherland, Lancaster, Stirling Hayden and Dominique Sanda talking for themselves, the French offers Depardieu's voice while the Italian gives you more natural vocalisation for the majority of the smaller parts, as does the German.
Ultimately it doesn't amount to much - the basic thesis can be reduced to "Fascism, socialism - huh. Both as bad as each other," with paradise postponed once again at the very moment of liberation and the status quo more or less restored for the rest of the century. But there's a side of me that can't help thinking that for the most part it's a movie about peasants' rights made by a group of people who are now multi-millionaires who'll make almost anything if you write them a big enough cheque...
Customer Reviews:
Bertolucci's flawed epic... certainly worth experiencing........2008-02-29
1900 was director Bernardo Bertolucci follow up to the Italian masterpiece, The Conformist, and his legendary work, The Last Tango in Paris. Like Michael Cimmino's similarly flawed-epic, Heaven's Gate, it shows what happens when an acclaimed director gets control of the ultimate cast and an unlimited budget, and is allowed to go over-schedule on a sprawling personal project, without the interference of the studios. As a result of this, 1900 is a deeply flawed film, really falling apart somewhere towards the end and to some extent, slipping away from Bertolucci's grasp as a result of the sheer epic scale of the project. The story begins in the year 1901, on the day of Verdi's death. As the people mourn, the backdrop to the story finds two boys born on the same day - the first boy, Alfredo, is the son of a wealthy landowner... the second boy, Olmo, is the bastard son of a farm labourer - as the story progresses, the two boys become central to the ultimate story, developing a strong friendship that will play-out against a backdrop of war, socialism and the rise of the Fascist party in early twentieth-century Italy. Bertolucci confuses matters further by having the film begin during the 1945 Liberation Day; using this pivotal moment as a framing device to launch into his epic back-story, only to emerge at the end of the story some many years in the future.
The story isn't quite as confusing as it sounds, with the director anchoring the story throughout to the characters of Olmo and Alfredo. In the early scenes, we see the two boys living an idyllic "Huckleberry Finn" style existence, catching frogs, play-fighting, testing each other's bravery with a series of dares... whilst, all the while, succumbing to the lifestyle of their respective families. This will eventually, to some extent, tear the two friends apart, as the hard working Olmo sides with the communists whilst Alfredo, torn by loyalty and greed, allows the fascists to operate on his land. As you would expect from an epic, the film introduced lots of background characters, with the film taking in three generations of Italian history over the course of its vast, five-hour running time. Some of the history of the film is glossed over... with Bertolucci falling into an uneasy habit of switching between oblique, allegorical metaphors (the use of different animals to act as a symbol for each type of character, for example; the socialists as cats, head butted to death by the fascists who are portrayed as pigs, bloated, self-righteous beasts there to be gutted by the labourers) and almost bludgeoning political ideologies (the penultimate speech from Olmo is delivered literally to camera). Also, we're never really sure of whom we're supposed to be rooting for; clearly, Bertolucci wants us to side with the socialists, but they come across as spineless cowards who can only afflict revenge on the fascists and the landowners once they have been stripped of all their power. For the most part, the socialists wander around singing songs to each other, never once trying to convince us of their suffering, whilst Bertolucci seemingly thinks that if he makes them dirty enough, or ugly enough, we'll feel sympathy for them regardless. It doesn't quite work.
However, despite these flaws, the film is still (as many other critics have also noted) a monumental achievement. This is an epic in the classic sense, recalling films like The Godfather and Visconti's The Leopard (Burt Lancaster plays a role here that is very similar to the role of Don Fabrizio Salina, which he played in that particular film). It's also very similar to that other flawed Italian filmmaker's epic, Once Upon A Time in America, with both films employing the use of a flash-back/framing devise, as well as a thematic scope that covers a similar period in history (albeit, this is about Italy rather than America). Like Leone's film, 1900 is vast and sprawling, though anchored to two characters (who are best friends since childhood) and their personal relationships (...whilst, superficially, they both feature Robert DeNiro). Like Once Upon A Time... 1900 is a very brutal and confrontational film, with many violent sequences and scenes of outrageous sexuality. The version that I have (the one shown on Film Four) is as close to uncut as can be shown in this county (only one shot, the one in which the young Alfredo plays with himself in order to achieve an erection, was digitally darkened around the genital areas so that nothing could be seen); with Bertolucci taking almost every scene and characterisation completely over the top. This method is most apparent with the character of Attila, the lead-fascist in the film, who, in one of his earliest appearances, ties a kitten to the wall and then head buts it. This prefigures a later scene, in which Bertolucci implies that Attila has raped a small boy, only for Attila to then pick the child up by the ankles and swing him around the room until his skull shatters against a post.
Some of the performances in the film are very strong, particularly DeNiro as Alfredo, Gérard Depardieu as Olmo, Dominique Sanda as Ada, Sterling Hayden as Olmo's grandpa Leo, Burt Lancaster as the patriarch Berlinghieri and Donald Sutherland as the snarling "villain" Attila, whilst that gorgeous cinematography from Vittorio Storaro is just exquisite (...the camera always moving, blocking, tracking, revealing, swooping around the characters with the most gorgeous colours imaginable). It's easily one of the most beautiful films ever made, adding to the epic nature of the story and the feelings evoked through Ennio Morricone's great score. 1900 might not be the greatest film ever made, but I feel that it is an important film, both in terms of style and ambition. It's a definite flawed masterpiece, with a great cast and a talented director at the height of their creative prowess. As both an outrageous, overblown melodrama and as a political allegory/treatise on loyalty and friendship, it's worth looking out for and is an interesting relic to one of the most-important eras of cinema history.
Classic but overlong.......2007-05-24
This film in its uncut version is 315 minutes long. That means the equivalent of watching both Godfather 1 and 2. For the first and perhaps only time, two giants of modern cinema were reunited namely De Niro and Depardieu. Coupled with the direction of Bertolucci, this is indeed a visual masterpiece which would have been better portrayed aa a mini series rather than a twp part film. Thee are times when the action just meanders and if you understand Italian, then you have an advantage whereas the dubbed version is at best tacky.
A too much long but beautiful movie, showing the political changes in Italy in the Twentieth Century. These changes are presented and reflected through the friendship of Alfredo (Robert De Niro) and Olmo (Gerard Depardieau), from the end of World War I to the end of World War II, from the ascent of the Fascism to its decline and the ascent of the Socialism. Alfred and Olmo were born in the same day and in the same place, landowner and peasant respectively. As far as they grow up, Bertolucci presents the changes in the political scenario in Italy, affecting the relationship between these two friends. The film is a little exhaustive, but it deserves to be watched more than one time. Recommended to viewers who like European movies and particularly Italian history and Bertolucci.
Bertolucci's flesh for fascism.......2007-03-24
Bernardo Bertolucci's exhaustive look at two boys (Robert DeNiro & Gerard Depardieu) born on the same day in the year 1900 (hence; 1900 or Novecento if you prefer). One to a wealthy landower (Burt Lancaster) and the other to a family of peasants (Sterling Haydon). This sprawling epic 5 hour marathon will certainly test your patience if not your resolve to finish watching it. A redundant story that pits the black shirt fascists against the communistic peasants with an appalling amount of graphic violence for the sheer sake of violence. Like Donald Sutherland's head on collision with a dangling feline. I'm still not sure exactly what point Bertulucci was trying to make with that statement (crushing communism could have been demonstrated in a more realistic fashion). The impact was there (no pun intended)...but for what? Pure sensationalism? I'm positively certain thats why Paramount cut it from the 255 minute R version. Although it survives the cutting room floor in this NC-17 version.
The all-star cast will certainly maintain your interest, if not make you angry that all the talent here was miscast and wasted in so many ways. For example; the lovely Stefania Sandrelli (Desideria & Partner) would have been more believable in Dominique Sanda's role when you consider how great she was in The Conformist (another Bertolucci film where she played the role of a shallow materialistic tart). Not that Sanda wasn't acceptable or believable, I just enjoyed Sandrelli's screen presence more and found it hard to accept her role as a peasant. Also, Sutherland's talents appear to be under appreciated here when you consider he literally steals every scene he's in. Only...he's not nearly in it enough. Convincing as the black shirt fascist who bully's the peasants at the request of the wealthy landowners. Sutherland appears to be the only realistic character in this film. Making you wonder why Paramount would cut his animal abuse act but leave the beheading of the child who was caught spying on him while having sex with the padroni's niece. Whats Paramount's logic here? American's will tolerate child abuse but not animal abuse? Huh?
What you have here is alot of over-the-top performances mixed in with 18th century Italian folk songs that gives the film an unreal amount of fairy tale quality. One example of what I mean is; A hail storm damages the crops, so the landowner tells the peasants that he employs that there will be a cut in pay to make up for the lost harvest. A peasant emerges from the crowd, cuts off his own ear and proceeds to walk off playing some corny folk song with his flute. Another example is when liberation day comes in 1945 (the end of the Nazi regime). The peasants perform a mock trial against their boss (DeNiro). The padroni (landowner) is subjected to alot of ridicule and scoffing which didn't seem believable on any level. As if I would feel sorry for some communistic peasant who's content with being a peasant for as long as he or she lives. Making Sutherlands pitch-fork departure a little difficult to accept. Especially when you consider the fact that he was the only one holding this film together.
This film is worth a look for Donald Sutherland's performance and Vittoro Storaro's (Last Tango In Paris & Apocalypse Now) camera work alone. However, most Bertolucci fanatics are still wondering why The Last Emporer won nine Oscars and 1900 didn't even recieve not one nomination. Especially when you consider the parallels involved here, and 1900's all-star cast. The Conformist was perhaps Bertolucci's best film...and won nothing. No matter though...the Academy Awards are nothing more than a popularity contest anyways. It's just strange that the Academy seems to thrive on over-the-top performances (which again, explains why Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" won so many awards). You would think a film like 1900 would fit right into the grand scheme of things. My guess is the Academy preferred baby poop as opposed to horse dung.
olofpalme63
Flawed but fantastic.......2007-02-11
A very, very long film that doesn't exactly bounce along. There is some rather odd acting styles reminiscent of Dick Dastardly and a little too much "adult" content than might be considered necessary. That aside, this film is totally mesmerising, beautiful to watch and completely absorbing. When you've finished watching this; at about three in the morning, you feel as though the two protagonists are people you have grown up with and really care about.
Like Spartacus, some of the best scenes are when nothing much is really happening except for crowds of the dispossessed and downtrodden wandering soberly across the landscape. The political lecturing is far from subtle but honestly, if the local communist party recruiting agent had knocked on my door just after watching this I'm sure that because the emotion of this film is so strong I would have joined up there and then!
This is how story telling should be.
A magnificent Marxist soap opera with moments of greatness.......2006-12-05
1900 is a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly of Italian cinema. Bertolucci's defiantly left wing political epic at times plays like a Sidney Sheldon doorstop novel as written by a disciple of Karl Marx, has a laughable first hour and some performances that are so far over the top they've circumnavigate the globe and come back again. Yet it also has moments of genuine power, a sweeping ambition to it and is one of the most beautifully photographed films ever made due to Vittorio Storaro's wondrous combination of natural light, backlighting and the `magic hour' as the situation demands. Ennio Morricone's score is consistently one of his best as well, ensuring that the film sounds as good as it looks.
Chief debit is Burt Lancaster's senile padrone, hanging himself because he can't even get the erection he needs to rape the child of one of his employees: no gattapardo he. Donald Sutherland's socially mobile foreman-turned-fascist thug veers between plus and minus - it's a broad performance, as you'd expect from a character whose idea of political debate is to head butt a kitten to death (it's an extremely tough film on animals: the kitten's death may be faked but none of the other animal killings are), although there are moments that ring true in the latter section.
It's an interesting experiment to try to gauge the actors original intent by flitting between the various soundtracks on the extras-free but uncut European DVD - the preferred English soundtrack gives you De Niro, Sutherland, Lancaster, Stirling Hayden and Dominique Sanda talking for themselves, the French offers Depardieu's voice while the Italian gives you more natural vocalisation for the majority of the smaller parts, as does the German.
Ultimately it doesn't amount to much - the basic thesis can be reduced to "Fascism, socialism - huh. Both as bad as each other," with paradise postponed once again at the very moment of liberation and the status quo more or less restored for the rest of the century. But there's a side of me that can't help thinking that for the most part it's a movie about peasants' rights made by a group of people who are now multi-millionaires who'll make almost anything if you write them a big enough cheque...
UK DVD:
- 2046 / In The Mood For Love (2 Disc Special Edition) [2005]
- 3 Iron [2004]
- Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud
- Austin Powers - International Man Of Mystery [1997]
- A Year In Provence [1993]
- Bird Of Prey - Complete Series
- Birdy [1984]
- Bopha! [1993]
- Born On The Fourth Of July [1989]
- By The Sword Divided - Series 2
UK DVD List
UK DVD
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