201 - Umberto D.

[captainofbeef]

- New high-definition digital transfer, made from restored elements
- That’s Life: Vittorio De Sica, a 55-minute documentary made for Italian television in 2001
- New video interview with actress Maria Pia Casilio
- New essay by critic Stuart Klawans and a reprinted recollection on the film by De Sica
- Writings on Umberto D. by De Sica, Umberto Eco, Carlo Battisti and Luisa Alessandri
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

[ie]

I was going to watch Solyaris, but then a quick check of what was playing on the Sundance Channel, TCM and IFC led me to find out that Umberto D was playing about a half hour after I was going to start.


For a proper review, see Roger Ebert's review, even if he wasn't as focused as (maybe) he should have been.


As far as emotions, I went in thinking that this would be a very, very, very sad movie. It did have some emotional scenes, which were played straight and not in a way simply to gain your sympathy or to toy with the audience, but I didn't think it was that sad of a movie.

I also liked how it wasn't complicated. I don't mind, in fact I do enjoy, elaborate stories, but sometimes, it's nice to see a movie where there aren't all these peripheral effects that in the end just get in the way.

Oh, and I didn't find the dog to be loathsome. The closest the dog, Flike, came to being annoying was in the beginning, where they dubbed a dog that was screeching rather than barking, but that effect just seemed to be a common thing to do back in the day, as far as I can tell.


I might add that I don't really care for the Criterion Collection cover that much. The cover tells you close to nothing about what the movie is about, what it represents, or what you might get out of it. It's simply an artsy photograph with a close crop of the main actor. I do like how it looks aesthetically, but it just doesn't represent the movie that well.


I'd give Umberto D an 8/10 or 9/10... I'm thinking closer to an 8/10.

[kiddo]

I pretty much agree on your opinions here. Don't you just love the scene where our "hero" decides to beg on the streets, but just when a man stops, looking in his pocket for some money, and then, when he's ready to give some cents (or lire, or whatever it is called) and Umberto just turn his head the other way, looking up in the sky. Such a little, powerful scene. Genious filmmaking.

[ie]

The scene that you brought up really summarizes Umberto D as a character, in my opinion. It showed that even though he was in dire need, and did ask at least one person for help, he wouldn't resort to begging. I take that as meaning that while he'd rather not ask for help, if he needed help he would return it when he would be able to, whereas when he was begging, he wouldn't have been able to repay the anonymous man who was going to help him out.

I do think that scene is one of the more iconic scenes of the movie, though.


I'm leaning more toward a 9/10 at this point. Still not sure...