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 BOCCACCIO
'70 (No
Shame Films) 1962. Unrated, 208 Minutes.
An uproarious blend of comedy and satire by four masters of Italian
Cinema. And now, a brief recap of each segment.
Renzo and Luciana (shown
in it's entirety for the first time ever), directed by Mario Monicello and
starring the gorgeous Marisa Salinas, give us the story of a couple in
love. Unfortunately, where
they work it is against the rules to be married to one another and keep
their jobs. The lengths they
go to to keep this a secret are funny and a little bittersweet.
In the end they discover what is more important.
The Temptation of Dr. Antonio by Federico Fellini and starring Anita
Ekberg is probably the most famous of the foursome and the oddest as well.
Seems a billboard advertising milk using the vivacious Ms. Ekberg
is considered to be obscene, by one guy.
He knows that it is immoral, but it's hard to convince the rest of
the city. When the giant image
of Anita Ekberg comes to life, well it just keeps getting weirder the way
only Fellini knows how to pull off without a hitch.
The Job, directed by Luchino Visconti, stars the delectable Romy
Schneider as a rich girl who's husband has a problem with hookers; he
can't stop paying them! Her
father controls the cash so he cuts off the wandering hubbie and Romy
decides it is time to get a job. Unfortunately,
she isn't qualified for anything. Or
so she thinks. The sarcasm
flows freely in one of the harshest episodes of the group.
Finally,
we get The Raffle.
Director Vittorio gives us the fanciful story of a woman who is the
prize in a local lottery. Normally
this might not be such a big deal, but the woman is Sophia Loren at her
curviest, her sexiest, her steamiest.
It's amazing that the DVD doesn't have a fogging problem when you
get to this segment. This is
the beautiful woman that everyone remembers when you say her name.
I think I got a little light headed just typing her name.
Phew!
This
masterpiece of cinema is finally released in a magnificent format;
letterboxed, easy to read subtitles, and the extras!
Okay, there aren't a lot of extras, but just the condition of the
film is an extra onto itself. The
print is freakin' gorgeous and is so crisp it hurts to stare at it too
long. This is filmmaking.
The scenery of
Italy
in the sixties is breathtaking. The
women are immaculate and exude enough sex appeal that it almost comes
shooting off the screen. This
is when leading ladies were exotic, erotic and made you sigh with a
wholesome lust that is no where to be found in today's society.
Add to that the fact that the stories are genuinely funny and
romantic. The photo gallery is
huge and No Shame Films gives a gargantuan press book reproduction that
makes you think you're in the sixties again.
This is how films need to be presented to the audiences of today.
Boccaccio '70 too
damned good to ignore and you'll hate yourself if you don't buy the damned
thing. Enjoy! - Douglas A.
Waltz
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