Umberto D. - Criterion Collection

Starring:Carlo Battisti, Maria-Pia Casilio, Lina Gennari, Ileana Simova, Elena Rea, Memmo Carotenuto, Lamberto Maggiorani, Riccardo Ferri, Pasquale Campagnola, Alberto Albani Barbieri
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Studio: Criterion
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The graceful, biting, deadpan humor of Italian director Pietro Germi has no parallel; it fuses the sly wit of Ernst Lubitsch with the bilious social critique of Luis Bunuel. In Seduced and Abandoned, the blackest of black comedies, a young girl named Agnese (the delectable Stefania Sandrelli, fresh from Germi's Divorce Italian Style) is seduced by her sister's fiance, setting in motion a series of increasingly deranged pretenses by which Agnese's apoplectic father (the volcanic Saro Urzi) attempts to salvage the family honor. Central to everything is a legal code that states if a rapist marries his victim, all wrongdoing is forgiven. Germi, appalled at this distorted justice, attacks it with propulsive satire, clawing at sexual double standards, macho hypocrisy, and small town oppression along the way. Seduced and Abandoned tears along like a race car down a steep mountain road, turning and lurching in all directions. Its exhilarating momentum escalates into an outright horror film, with all of Italian society as the monster. The ferocity of Germi's characters and the savage ending are almost unbearable; the movie, though almost 50 years old, can still inspire outrage. Accompanied by a few sparkling extras, including a brief interview from 2002 with Sandrelli, still one of the loveliest women in cinema. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Shotgun weddings, kidnapping, attempted murder, emergency dental work—the things Don Vincenzo will do to restore his family's honor! Pietro Germi's Seduced and Abandonedwas the follow-up to his international sensation Divorce Italian Style, and in many ways it's even more audacious—a rollicking yet raw series of escalating comic calamities that ensue in a small village when sixteen-year-old Agnese (the beautiful Stefania Sandrelli) loses her virginity at the hands of her sister's lascivious fiancé. Merciless and mirthful, Seduced and Abandonedskewers Sicilian social customs and pompous patriarchies with a devilish grin.

Customer Reviews:

Seduced and Abandoned.......2007-06-28

Black comedy skewers Sicilian mores with a sharp cinematic knife, making "Seduced" by turns funny and tragic. Agnese, the central object of all the fuss, is maltreated throughout, but the beautiful Sandrelli strikes the right balance so that our sympathies for her don't overwhelm the film's broadly humorous tone. Though the ferret-like Puglisi is tailor-made for the unsympathetic role of Peppino, this is truly Urzi's film. His volcanic Don Vincenzo serves as comic center-piece and driving force behind the whole tumultuous affair. An unbridled satiric masterpiece from director Germi.

Battling For Honor--A Classic Italian Comedy Takes No Prisoners.......2007-01-04

Pietro Germi, fresh from the success of his "Divorce Italian Style" (which won a Screenplay Oscar), returns with another slapstick slice of Sicilian life. Those familiar with the genre, and particularly Germi, will recognize the same black humor and macabre sensibilities that fashioned many pictures of the day. There is the requisite machismo, the sexual double standards, the wild gesticulating, and the need to preserve family honor at all cost. Wait a minute--maybe those are the same qualities employed in many films today!

I'll be frank, if you don't know what you're getting into, "Seduced and Abandoned" may seem a bit misogynistic. There is definitely a strong division of the sexes which we're not as accustomed to seeing in modern films. However, much of the sexual warfare plays as satire--so even though the stereotypes can be somewhat dismaying, none of the characters escape unscathed. Basically, Germi sets an environment where everyone is despicable. It's the blackest of humor that can make you identify with the characters even as they are proven to be buffoons and hypocrites, and that's a real achievement of "Seduced." You accept things at face value and go with it, no matter how ludicrous it may seem.

The plot revolves around a man, who while engaged, impregnates his fiance's sister. This sets in motion a riotous chain of events as the families battle to maintain respect. It would be difficult to describe much of what happens concisely, so let's just say things continue to escalate as everyone (at one point or another) joins in the moral debate with a strong-headed opinion.

"Seduced and Abandoned" is a very funny picture that still maintains its appeal today. The cast is filled with colorful characters giving robust performances. Definitely recommended for lovers of Italian cinema or screwball comedies--this is a dark and amusing picture that doesn't play it nice and safe. That's always refreshing. KGHarris, 01/07.

Hilarious!.......2006-10-17

This movie is hilarious and entertaining as can be! I loved "Divorce Italian Style" by Pietro Germi so I took the risk of buying "Seduced and Abandoned" from Criterion without ever seeing it. In my opinion I actually enjoyed it more than Divorce Italian Style! I won't repeat the plot again but the movie definitly brings you into their family. Once your sucked in it turns into a hilarious nail biter taking unexpected turns and twists. Very memorable movie I highly recommend purchasing for repeated viewings!

a nice Italian comedy.......2006-09-11

This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

"Seduced and Abandoned" known in Italy as "Sedotta e abbandonata" is about a family and the teenage daughter becomes pregnant. Her father is outraged and tries to exact revenge on the man who impregnated her.

The DVD contains a theatrical trailer, interviews with Stefania Sandrelli and Lando Buzzanca, Stefania Sandrelli's screen test and Commedia all'italiana, Germi Style, a special with interviews with cast and crew.

This is a really humorous film and I recommend it.

Hilarious, at times painful -- don't miss this Italian Cinema classic.......2006-06-20

Criterion has released yet another classic Italian film. Director Pietro Germi's DIVORCE ITALIAN STYLE was previously released by Criterion, so I was hopeful that SEDOTTA E ABBANDONATA might also be in the works. The ensemble of actors work together brilliantly to satire Sicilian mores. SEDUCED is much darker than DIVORCE, and the beautiful Stefania Sandrelli gives a very sympathetic, at times painful performance as the victim of her societies prejudices. Sandrelli, 60 this year (still beautiful), has given us many excellent cinematic performances over the last 40-some years. Check her out in Bertolucci's masterpiece, THE CONFORMIST, and another fine film, Gabriele Muccino's THE LAST KISS/L'ULTIMO BACIO (2001; the American remake is being released this year, starring Zach Braff). And the late Leopoldo Trieste (d. Jan. '03) gives another fine comic performance, here as an impoverished nobleman. Trieste's most recognized screen role is likely that of the censorius priest in CINEMA PARADISO. Italian Cinema fans should not miss the amusing interview with Trieste, a special feature on Criterion's release of Fellini's THE WHITE SHEIK, in which he speaks of his insulting (and hilarious) first encounter with Federico Fellini. And how 'bout the cool cover art by graphic novelist Mike Allred?! Keep those Italian Cinema classics coming, Criterion. We love you!

N.B. Criterion Collection's most recent Italian Cinema release is a restored, loaded 2-disc edition of THE most beloved Italian film of all-time, BICYCLE THIEVES (LADRI DI BICICLETTE). Don't settle for the previous Image Entertainment release under the film's better known (inaccurate) title translation, The Bicycle Thief. The White Sheik - Criterion Collection Bicycle Thieves (Criterion Collection) The Conformist (Extended Edition) The Last Kiss

Average customer rating:

Umberto D.
A masterpiece of neorealism
A Masterpiece
"Give up the man from Florence."
Umberto and Flike

Umberto D. - Criterion Collection
Starring: Carlo Battisti , Maria-Pia Casilio , Lina Gennari , Ileana Simova , and Elena Rea
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00009ME9Z
Release Date: 2003-07-22

Amazon.com

Umberto D. is one of the enduring masterpieces of Italian neorealism, considered by many to be one of the greatest films ever made. Everything that neorealism represents can be found in this simple, heartbreaking story of an aged Roman named Umberto (played by Carlo Battisti, non-professional actor and retired college professor) who struggles to survive in a city plagued by passive disregard for the post-World War II plight of the elderly. With his little dog, Flike, as his only companion, Umberto faces imminent eviction, and his insufficient pension and failed attempts to raise money lead him to contemplate suicide... if he can find a home for Flike. His dilemma--and director Vittorio De Sica's compassionate, unsentimental handling of it--results in a film of uncompromising grace and authenticity. Like De Sica's earlier masterpieces Shoeshine and The Bicycle Thief, Umberto D. earns its teardrops honestly; if this timeless classic doesn't make you smile and cry, you'd better check for a pulse. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Shot on location with a cast of nonprofessional actors, Vittorio De Sica's neorealist masterpiece follows Umberto D., an elderly pensioner, as he struggles to make ends meet during Italy's postwar economic boom. Alone except for his dog, Flike, Umberto strives to maintain his dignity while trying to survive in a city where traditional human kindness seems to have lost out to the forces of modernization. Umberto's simple quest to fulfill the most fundamental human needs—food, shelter, companionship—is one of the most heartbreaking stories ever filmed and an essential classic of world cinema.

Customer Reviews:

Umberto D........2007-06-27

Portraying the plight of the elderly dispossessed in an acknowledged masterpiece of the neorealist style, De Sica's "Umberto D." may surpass his own "Bicycle Thief" for heartbreaking poignancy. What in less skillful hands could have been treacly melodrama becomes instead a wrenchingly honest tale about a forgotten human being searching in vain for some shred of human kindness. Half a century later, "Umberto D." remains a monumental achievement of simple, eloquent storytelling.

A masterpiece of neorealism.......2007-06-20

Having seen the film I read a bit about it. The Criterion Collection provides a booklet with an excellent review by Stuart Klawans and a bit of an interview with director Vittorio De Sica. What I learned was that Umberto D. was a big flop at the box office in Italy primarily because the Italian government didn't like the film because they thought it was insulting since it made Italy seem so unfeeling, poverty-stricken, and mercantile. I was struck by this because, yes, poor Umberto and his dog are pretty much set out to pasture without so much as some grass and a bone. But to say that such a film reflects upon an entire people is perhaps to protest too much.

Italy was devastated by the failure of fascism and was just beginning to recover from the war when this film was made, and nobody wanted any downers. Vittorio De Sica's film is perhaps not so much of a downer as the early critics thought. The ending is ambiguous and while not hopeful for Umberto, is somewhat inspiring in the youthfulness of his dog and in the sweet humanity of the maid Maria who shoulders her situation with alacrity while showing affection and kindness toward a bitter old man.

I was not moved to tears as some have been in watching this. Umberto's troubles seem to me (from my privileged vantage point in time and place) somewhat of his own doing. I imagined that he supported the fascists, and I saw his poverty in his old age as a direct result of that support. Barring that, I imagined that he had planned poorly for his old age, and at any rate his values, represented by his always wearing a suit and tie and hat, and his inability to beg or to take some kind of job, disqualified him for tears. Of course I was unfair.

Even so my sympathy was with him, and I respected the decision he finally makes--although whether he will be able to carry it out is unclear. I respect his dignity, and identify with him in his struggle with the Teutonic and utterly bourgeois landlord who holds sway over him, played with a deliberately heavy presence by Lina Gennari, whom De Sica photographs up close and low to her large body to emphasize her strength and to make it clear to us that Umberto has no chance in his struggle with her.

Both Carlo Battisti who played Umberto and Maria Pia Casilio who played Maria, were considered amateur actors, very much in keeping with the neorealistic school of film; yet for me they were both excellent and natural, whereas Gennari, who was a professional, seemed artificial. But that impression is an artifact of the neorealist school (which they say died with this film). The very fact of no flourishes and no modeling and certainly no flights of creativity by the actors, it was believed, helped to make the film realistic, about real people in real situations.

Today of course this is a celebrated film, considered one of De Sica's best. He himself believed from the very beginning that it was one of his best even though he knew it would be hard-pressed to make any money for its producers.

A word about the dog (the other professional actor in the film). Flike is extraordinarily well-trained, so much so he becomes part of the psychology of the film and is at the very heart of the denouement. The scene near the end where Umberto dips under the rail guard as the train approaches, Flike held close to his chest--and the scene after--is of one of the great sequences in cinema, and, ironically, as in a commercial film, stars a dog! Umberto D. is in fact one of the greatest dog films ever made. All dog lovers will appreciate the love that Umberto feels for his dog and the love that is returned AND the gutty realism that the dog displays.

The DVD includes a documentary about De Sica that I didn't have a chance to view, excellent subtitles, and a video interview with Maria Pia Casilio.

I would almost say, see this for the dog, but do see this for Vittorio De Sica, one of cinema's greats, here at his best, and for Cesare Zavattini who wrote the compelling script.

A Masterpiece.......2007-02-12

Umberto D is a masterpiece of neo-realism with many interwoven stories, not just that of poor Umberto. It's also a story of urban life, ageing, poverty, young people and pretension in Italy in the 1950s. A tear jerker for both women and men.

"Give up the man from Florence.".......2006-11-25

"Umberto D." is Vittorio De Sica's neorealistic examination of one elderly man's struggle to survive. Watching it will make you realize just how indifferent society can be to individual suffering.

Umberto Domenico Ferrari (Carlo Battisti) is a desperate man who barely gets by on his small government pension. He lives in an apartment with his pet dog, Flike, but is facing eviction due to his inability to keep up with the rent. Umberto finds a sympathetic ear in Maria (Maria-Pia Casilio), the maid in his apartment complex, but he knows there is not much she can do to help him. With his money running out and only his loyal dog at his side, Umberto desperately tries to find a way to hold onto what little dignity he has left.

De Sica is determined to show just how depressing real life can be in "Umberto D." There is no joy and very little hope present in this stark and unforgiving film. Battisti is absolutely riveting as the retiree who is one step away from the abyss. Yet despite its uncanny ability to recreate the ebb and flow of real life, "Umberto D." is not very interesting to watch. Viewing this film is the equivalent of sitting on a street corner and watching the people around you do things. This might be interesting initially but eventually boredom will start to set in. "Umberto D." produces the exact same reaction. Initially, Umberto's plight holds you attention but one can watch only so many scenes emphasizing how desperate he is before you tune out. In the final tally, "Umberto D." is a prime example of how good filmmaking technique does not always result in the production of a good film.

Umberto and Flike.......2006-11-11

I had no real idea what sort of movie "Umberto D." was until I saw it the other night. It struck me as a movie that focussed on the eternal challenge of Hope vs. Despair. We get the idea right from the opening scene that this is about an elderly pensioner whose fixed income is way behind the inflated Lire. His is a shared dilemna but there doesn't seem to be too much sympathy out there. He is determined that he will not be evicted from his apartment and spends his hours plotting, pawning, and pleading. Along the way, we come to know Umberto, his landlady, the housemaid, and a number of other characters including his dog Flike. Eventually, the problems come to a head. Umberto has made his decision and is prepared to implement it but one minor problem arises. In the end, Umberto's battle between Hope and Despair finds its' winner.

I found myself thinking of the movie "Harry and Tonto" as I was watching "Umberto D." I'm not sure why I share that here because "Umberto D." is clearly the superior movie. I remember my cousin trying to describe "Harry and Tonto". All she could say was it was about an old man and a cat that go on a trip. Some may come away from "Umberto D." with a similar conclusion.

The greatness of "Umberto D." is in its'direction. The acting is good but it is the director who puts everything together in a way that leaves us feeling that we have been invited to share, for a few days, the private life of a private man. It is that intimacy that makes us glad we were able watch this movie. In Umberto's challenges, we come across people who don't care, people who do care and people who'd like to care but they have more pressing things to. In our appreciation of Umberto's plight, we are given our our challenge to figure out which category of caring describes us. The reality, we come to understand, is that, at varying points in time, all three fit.

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