TAVIANI BROTHERS CL DVD

Sheer pleasure reviewing timeless masterpieces.

“The Taviani Brothers Collection” contains three feature films directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Italian brothers who have been honored with numerous critical and industry prizes as well as top awards at Cannes, Berlin, and other film festivals. These films were all released theatrically in the United States.“The Night of the Shooting Stars” (1982) takes place on August 10, the Night of San Lorenzo, the night of the shooting stars, when dreams come true. A woman tells her child about a similar night in 1944, when she was six years old and the residents of her small Tuscan town defied their Nazi occupiers. This film was one of the highest-grossing Italian-language films in U.S. history and a multiple award winner at Cannes.In the film’s flashback, the film’s main characters are not soldiers, but average citizens. The Taviani brothers focus on the effect of war on the daily life of a few individuals determined to leave the town to reach nearby American soldiers despite the presence of mines set by the Germans. The film is strong on atmosphere, less successful with characterization. It’s difficult to empathize with this group because of sub-par acting and a sequence concerning pet dogs that alienates us rather than draws us in.“Kaos” (1984) tells five tales adapted from short stories by the Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello. In “The Other Son,” set in 19th-century Sicily, a woman waits for word from two sons who have emigrated to America but ignores the son still at home. “Moon Sickness” tells of a young newlywed who feels the strange effects of the full moon. In “The Jar,” a craftsman hired by a feudal landowner to repair a giant olive jar gets stuck inside it, and in “Requiem,” villagers struggle to bury their dead. An epilogue has Pirandello himself (Omero Antonutti) chatting with his mother about a story he’d like to write.Because the actors in “Kaos” are non-professionals, they convey a sense of realism to their characters. The stories range from dark comedy to tragedy, and the title is the name of Pirandello’s birthplace, where all the stories are set. The three-hour running time is pretty hard to take. Eliminating one or two of the tales would have made the viewing time more bearable.“Padre Padrone” (1977) is based on actual experiences of writer Gavin Ledda. Impoverished Sardinian boy Gavino (Fabrizio Forte) is forced to quite school by his overbearing and abusive father (Omero Antonutti). Committed to the traditions of his homeland, Gavin’s father feels his son is of more use to the family as a shepherd than a student. As he matures, the adult Gavino (Saverio Marconi) finds his way in the world, first by discovering music and then by learning a trade while serving in the military.The first hour of “Padre Padrone” is pretty coarse, with characters engaged in graphic, vulgar conduct. Though we aren’t used to seeing such behavior dealt with so openly in movies, it does ring true and is more enlightening than exploitative. Much of this behavior is chalked up to tradition. The picture’s most affecting scene is one in which a young Gavin is taken out of school and sent to tend a flock of sheep on a desolate mountain. When his father cruelly beats the boy, he is introduced to a new way of life, though the father’s treatment is borderline sadistic. Opening and closing off-screen narration introduces and concludes the story, explaining Ledda’s reasons for why the book was written and offers thoughts on why life is so rough for lower-class Sardinian children.Picture quality is unfortunately not uniform for the three films. The sharpest is “The Night of the Shooting Stars.” You can actually make out pores on the actors faces in close-ups. Color is not the bright MGM-musical type, but a less vibrant palette. The least impressive in terms of quality is “Padre Padrone,” which is kind of dull and often looks as if it were shot in soft focus. “Kaos" lies somewhere between the two in picture quality. Sound on all three movies is fine, but doesn’t have the layered sound we’ve come to expect of more recent films.All three films are in Italian, with English subtitles, and are presented in widescreen with Dolby Digital sound. There are no bonus features on the Blu-ray release.

Great to get these movies in one set. Be warned. Picture quality is not the best.

In einem Meer von Schrott sind Perlen der Filmkunst offensichtlich kein Markt. Die frühen Filme der Brüder Taviani waren großartige Werke der Filmkunst. Solche Filme kommen in Kinos kleinerer Städte überhaupt nicht, in die Programmkinos größerer Städte oftmals auch nur für sehr kurze Zeit. Man ist also darauf angewiesen, sich von solchen Filmen eine DVD zu besorgen. In diesem, wie auch in zahlreichen anderen Fällen findet man keine Ausgabe in deutscher Sprache oder auch nur mit deutschen Untertiteln.Insbesondere den Film "Kaos" habe ich in einer sozusagen optischen Erinnerung. Die BLU-Ray habe ich mir in der Hoffnung bestellt, die herrlichen Farben dieses Films wieder zu erleben. Nachdem ich diese BLU-Ray gesehen habe, bin ich doch etwas enttäuscht. Auch in dieser Version konnten die herrlichen Farben nur sehr begrenzt restauriert werden.Diese beiden Einschränkungen, farbliche Qualität und fehlende deutsche Untertitelung, machen den Erwerb dieser BLU-Ray – Version weniger attraktiv.Dennoch: ausgezeichnete Filme!

Very happy I found the collection. Good quality transfer and rare

Die Brüder Taviani waren in den Endsiebzigern und Achtziger Jahren wohl das beste, was die Regiewelt zu bieten hatte. Wunderbare Bilder, archaische Gestalten, absolut sehenswert. Für die, die solche Filme mögen sowieso, für Fans der derzeitigen Serien, damit sie sehen können, was Kino sonst noch zu leisten im Stande war.

I found it flat and uninteresting.