Summertime - Criterion Collection

Starring:Mari Aldon, Gaetano Autiero, Rossano Brazzi, Katharine Hepburn, Darren McGavin, Isa Miranda, AndrÃ© Morell, MacDonald Parke, Jane Rose, Virginia Simeon, Jeremy Spenser
Studio: Criterion
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

There was a time before Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago when David Lean made smaller, more effortlessly picturesque movies, and this splendid Venetian travelogue and love story is one of them--the last, actually, before the epic onslaught started with the Oscar-winning The Bridge on the River Kwai in 1957. "Sometimes I think a schedule in Venice is just, well, all wrong," observes a bewitched tourist to Katharine Hepburn's vacationing spinster near the beginning of Summertime, which is based on Arthur Laurents's play The Time of the Cuckoo. Before the end, however, Jane will have thrown her idealized romantic notions into the canals and embarked on a passionate affair with a married art dealer (Rossano Brazzi). More blissful than Lean's adulterous fable Brief Encounter 10 years prior, but not entirely guilt- or pain-free, this deceptively simple romance is an often-fascinating glimpse at a time when sexual revolution for Americans--and especially middle-aged women--was confined to fanciful European trysts. Plus, with all the architecture, art, Italian conversation, music, and fine cuisine around you (all richly photographed on location by Jack Hildyard), who's to pish-posh a furtive all-nighter between one repressive country and a free-loving one? The two leads are graceful and even musical in their movements and line deliveries. Hepburn's initial outrage at the idea that illicit love is part of her impossibly beautiful surroundings may at first seem outdated, but the Academy Award-winning actress is too good not to suggest as well the poignant, deep fear her character has of opening up emotionally to anybody. Ultimately, Summertime is the movie equivalent of a deep, satisfying sigh. --Robert Abele

Description

An American spinster's dream of romance finally becomes a bittersweet reality when she meets a handsome-but married-Italian man while vacationing in Venice. Katharine Hepburn's sensitive portrayal of the lonely heroine and Jack Hildyard's glorious Technicolor® photography make Summertime an endearing and visually enchanting film.

Customer Reviews:

A Dream Come True.......2007-06-01

Watched this as a child and dreamed of seeing the beautiful Venice in which it is lovingly filmed. Wanted the courage of Kate's character to just go where I had dreamed, on my own. Have now twice. Loved having the chance to relieve the enchantment I felt as a child at the cinematic beauty of this film.

Dated Story in a Timeless City.......2007-05-25

Although the story is somewhat dated (the 1950's) the travel log of Venice is timeless. It is beautifully filmed in three of the five Districts of Venice ( The Dorsoduro, San Marco, and a very little in the Cannaregio Districts of Venice). Like the palazzos of this fascinating city, the love story portrayed by Hepburn's and Brazzi's characters is etched into a specific time period, and by today's standards seems dated, it is the love affair between the filmmaker and Venice that remains eternal. After watching the film you want to call your travel agent and book a trip to Venice as soon as possible.
P. S. And when you get there you can still buy one of those red goblets, made famous by the film, now known as The Summertime Glass.

Practically Perfect in Every Way!.......2007-05-23

This is one of the greatest films ever made! I shall tell you why:

1. The acting is impeccable, superb, and just wonderful! Kate Hepburn really shines the most in this, she's one of my favourites, has been for many years, and this has got to be one of her best performances ever, which is saying something! She's the everyday woman ~ she's easy to identify with on so many different levels. With each little nuance you see bits of her soul illuminated, making one pretty tapestry of raw emotion, the good criss crossing with the bad.
Rossano Brazzi is also very well used here, he draws you in with such charisma and charm, it's easy to see why he became so popular with Americans as well as his fellow countrymen.

2. The location. This was all shot on location in Venice, which was quite a rarity for the time. The scenery is breathtaking, the colours grab you, the feel of the city envelops your senses every minute, from beginning to end.

3. The cinematography is aweinspiring. The shots are enthusiastic fireballs that you greedily devour with hungry eyes. From the gray slightly drab coach on the train to the vivid rainbow houses of Venice, you're taken on a dizzying journey of aesthetic delight.

4. The story. It's timeless, revealing layers of the basic human condition ~ it's fraility, it's triumphs, it's vulnerability, it's ugliness, and it's beauty are all shown here. One of the things that defines this film from others is that it's a film that's not afraid to take chances and stand out from all of the rest. What you expect doesn't happen and what you don't expect does. One of those gems that isn't so well known, but should be.

This is just a wonderful, lovely, gorgeous film and I highly recommend it to everyone!

Just love this movie!.......2007-05-14

Saw this movie many years ago on Movie Classic channel and just love it, but never saw it again. Finally on Amazon, found the movie and ordered it. Thanks a million!

Hepburn and Brazzi have very little chemistry........2007-04-16

I did like this film. Beautiful scenery. Hepburn is a rather independant and prim fourtysomething secretary secretly looking for a romance, that has escaped her all her life. About 30 minutes into the film she catches the eye of Brazzi. Later she enters his shop, and he is interested. She is taken by his attentiveness and looks. Can she let her guard down? Can she trust him when he has already lied to her twice?

I think the film is very well made and is probably not as well known because of the title and the lack of chemistry between Hepburn and Brazzi.
I do recommend it.

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