DIVORCE ITALIAN STYLE on DVD
by Andre Soares
One of the most commercially successful Italian films ever made, Pietro Germi’s Divorzio all’italiana / Divorce Italian Style (1961) garnered numerous accolades around the globe, including Academy Award nominations for its director and for its star, a highly mannered Marcello Mastroianni.
The story of a geeky lecher who wants to bed his nubile niece (a very young and very beautiful Stefania Sandrelli) and kill his annoying wife (a hilarious Daniela Rocca), Divorzio all’italiana is not nearly as funny as its reputation would lead one to believe. Yet, it remains one of the most important examples of Italian comedy-making of the 1960s. And Rocca is definitely worth a look.
As it is usual for Criterion Collection DVD releases, Divorzio has lots of extras.
Divorzio all’italiana / Divorce Italian Style Region 0 two-disc DVD (playable anywhere) release date in the United States: April 26, 2005
- Picture: Full frame, 1.33:1
- Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
- Language: Italian
- Subtitle: New (optional) English subtitle translation
- Black and white
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Pietro Germi: The Man with the Cigar in His Mouth, a 39-minute documentary by critic and filmmaker Mario Sesti featuring interviews with Pietro Germi’s longtime friends and collaborators
- "Delighting in Contrasts," a new 30-minute interview featuring Stefania Sandrelli, Lando Buzzanca, and Mario Sesti discussing Germi on the set of Divorce Italian Style, along with an interview with screenwriter Ennio De Concini
- Rare screen-test footage of actresses Daniela Rocca and Stefania Sandrelli
- A new essay by film critic Stuart Klawans
List price: US$39.95.
A Criterion Collection release.
The Joan Crawford Collection DVD Set
The Bette Davis Collection DVD Set
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (2004) on DVD
Gianni Amelio’s THE KEYS TO THE HOUSE on DVD
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