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Commedia all'italiana: Three Films by Dino Risi



Comedy ruled the box office in Italy from the late 1950s to the 1970s where the commedia all'italiana also found critical success. Great talent behind and in front of the camera delivered a series of brilliant films that gave an incredible spin on familiar genres with comedic overtones that often held a dark and biting critique of social mores that would provoke a challenge to a society in need of change. Feted at local awards ceremonies and European festivals as well as garnering attention from the Academy Awards this prestige would propel the films and filmmakers to international stardom but many would go unreleased in the UK for home viewing. At last, this ongoing series shines a light on this misunderstood filmmaking style with the first collection focusing on three films by master director Dino Risi, presented from new restorations and featuring a suite of contextualising extras.

From a prestigious lineage in the ancient art of satirical theatre in commedia dell'arte, the Italian-style comedy distinguished itself in the late 1950s from the earlier broad comedies popularised by the likes of Toto and Vittorio De Sica with a ruthless approach to social satire focused on cynicism and the grotesque. An early example of the switch in tone can be found in Dino Risi's Il vedovo, in which Italy's preeminent comedy actor Alberto Sordi plays a philandering husband of a wealthy and successful woman who simply tolerates her husband's ineptitude. Until he sees a potential plan for her death, which would result in a great inheritance for him.

One of the greatest Italian actors of all time, Vittorio Gassman (Bitter Rice) known as Il Mattatore 'The Showman' earns his name from this film and his wonderful performance as an actor with the uncanny ability to mimic regional accents, allowing him to pull off a series of scams. Ingeniously plotted by screenwriters Ettore Scola and Ruggero Maccari who were behind some of the greatest films in the commedia all'italiana including Il Sorpasso and Ugly, Dirty and Bad. Alternately known as Love & Larceny, Dino Risi (Anima Persa) directs this classic comedy which was nominated for the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and makes its English-subtitled Blu-ray debut.

A career highlight for director Dino Risi and his star Vittorio Gasman, Il sorpasso isn't just one of the heights of commedia all'italiana but of all Italian cinema. Jean-Louis Trintignant (The Conformist) plays Roberto, a shy law student who meets Bruno (Gassman), a larger-than-life Roman playboy who convinces Roberto to join him on a road trip from Rome to the Tuscan countryside. Their travels teach them about each other and themselves, oscillating between comedy and tragedy with powerful and affecting commentary on the easy life. Long admired in Italy, the film has influenced comedic filmmakers including Alexander Payne (Sideways) and Aziz Ansari (Master of None). Radiance Films is proud to present this seminal film in the UK for the first time from a new 4K restoration.

BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES:

• 2016 4K restoration of Il Sorpasso carried out by L'Immagine Ritrovata at the Cineteca di Bologna, presented in High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) for the first time in the UK
• High-Definition digital transfers of Il Mattatore and Il Vedovo, presented in world premieres on Blu-ray
• Original uncompressed Italian mono PCM audio
• Newly translated optional English subtitles
• Newly designed artwork based on original posters
• Limited Edition 80-page perfect bound booklet featuring new writing by scholars and critics including Robert Gordon on the commedia all'italiana boom, Gino Moliterno on Il vedovo; Pasquale Iannone on Age and Scarpelli and the key screenwriters of the commedia all'italiana movement, Christina Newland on Italian machismo and Il sorpasso; a newly translated interview with Dino Risi by Lorenzo Codelli; and extracts of writing by Risi
• Limited Edition of 3,000 copies, presented in a rigid box with full-height scanavo cases for each film and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

IL SORPASSO [THE EASY LIFE]

• Appreciation of the film by Italian cinema expert Richard Dyer
• Archival interview with Dino Risi by critic Jean Gili (2004)
• Jean-Louis Trintignant on Il Sorpasso - an introduction by the actor for a French TV broadcast of the film (1983, 8 mins)
• L'estate di Bruno Cortona - Castiglioncello nell'anno del Sorpasso (Gloria De Antoni, 2012) - an extract from the documentary made for the 50th anniversary of Il Sorpasso featuring the cast and crew
• On a Trintignant Kick - An audio essay and tribute to Jean-Louis Trintignant by critic and author Tim Lucas, looking at his life and work in the 1960s (2023, 58 mins)
• Trailer

IL MATTATORE [THE SHOWMAN]

• Interview with Andrea Bini, author of Male Anxiety and Psychopathology in Film: Comedy Italian Style
• Speaking with Gassman - documentary on the working relationship between Vittorio Gassman and Dino Risi, by Risi's son Marco (2005)
• Love & Larceny - Michel Hazanavicius on Il Mattatore, an appreciation of the film and Vittorio Gassman by the director of The Artist
• Trailer

IL VEDOVO [THE WIDOWER]

• Neorealismo rosa - a visual essay by Italian cinema professor and author of Comedy Italian Style Remi Fournier Lanzoni on the softening of neo-realism which laid the groundwork for the emergence of commedia all'italiana
• Alberto Sordi - a visual essay by critic Kat Ellinger about the great Italian actor
• Trailer

Was surprised that this set didn't include Risi's I mostri but then I watched it and, wow, surely one of the best examples of cultural differences imaginable. If I can believe the internet, this is a beloved Italian comedy classic, but to me it looked a lot like 20+ comedy skits where the hit to miss ratio is literally 1 to all the rest, and that's the first segment! Some of these "skits" not only don't have a punchline, they don't have a set-up (like the titular skit). Gassman is particularly bad, as his idea of range here is to affect an annoying raspy voice for half his clods, big oof. I actually kinda liked the other Vittorio Gassman playing multiple characters omnibus film from this period, Se permettete parliamo di donne, because I could admire what it did while not finding it funny. No such luck here. Already didn't care for Il sorpasso, so let's hope Il mattatore fares better for Gassman/Risi

Any word on the release date for this box set?

From the members page on their website, this year - but so far no more than that as far as I can remember.

This reminds me, are there any rumors on who’s releasing Una Vita Difficile considering it’s been playing in theaters thanks to Rialto, Criterion perhaps? Thank you for reading.

Dr Amicus wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 30, 2023 9:12 am

From the members page on their website, this year - but so far no more than that as far as I can remember.

Thanks.

There are coarse, stupid, unfunny mainstream comedies from every culture, it would seem.

Coming in August

Interesting that it says on the box that 2K and 4K restorations will be used but the listing for 2 of the films state "High-Definition digital transfers" instead.

I don't know about Il Vedovo but I suspect Il Mattatore will be the same 2K restoration released by Carlotta in France in 2017, which have been actually done in HD rather than 2K (which is 99% the same resolution anyway).
It might also be a typo in the specs.

As this is explicitly the first in a series of collections, I suppose we could be hoping for Mario Monicelli, Ettore Scola, and Pietro Germi boxed sets in the future.

tenia wrote: ↑

Wed May 03, 2023 9:08 am

I suspect Il Mattatore will be the same 2K restoration released by Carlotta in France in 2017

Hi, we've colour-corrected this master as well as fixed a framing error, so will be much improved!

Anyone here seen Il vedovo and Il mattatore and care to share their opinions, especially in comparison to Il sorpasso? They get pretty good ratings (7.2., 7.1) on IMDB. Unlike domino, I love Il sorpasso and I also have a lot of the time for most of the Italian comedies Criterion has put out (the Germis, Lattuada, the Monicellis a little less). Not Criterion, but I didn't care so much for the Comencini/Sordi Everybody Go Home.

Stephen C. Horne wrote: ↑

Wed May 03, 2023 3:47 pm

tenia wrote: ↑

Wed May 03, 2023 9:08 am

I suspect Il Mattatore will be the same 2K restoration released by Carlotta in France in 2017

Hi, we've colour-corrected this master as well as fixed a framing error, so will be much improved!

Thanks for this precision, Stephen.
It's an interesting one, as I don't recall this presentation to look like it need color corrections, so I'm curious to see what has been adjusted and how.

I really wish Risi’s masterful I mostri will also be released as an English friendly blu-ray.