May 8, 2006

Rossellini @ 100.

Tag Gallagher: The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini Caryn James on My Dad is 100 Years Old in the New York Times: "In her own voice Isabella Rossellini looks at the camera and says she thinks her father was a genius, but not everyone agrees. 'Indeed, they are very slow,' she says of his films. 'Yet their simplicity and starkness move me profoundly.'"

If it weren't for Isabella and Guy Maddin, Roberto Rossellini's 100th might have gone unremarked in the US papers; in the German press, Georg Seesslen writes an appreciation in Die Zeit, Daniel Kothenschulte, writing in the Frankfurter Rundschau, credits recent restorations, a retrospective at the Viennale and Tag Gallagher's The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini with a revival of interest in the filmmaker (well, in Europe anyway) and Peter Zander has a piece in Die Welt on a collection of Rossellini's films on DVD.

To celebrate in English, though, you might turn to Hugo Salas's profile in Senses of Cinema, Acquarello's reviews at Strictly Film School and Megan Ratner's primer on Italian Neo-Realism.

Listen to Rossellini talk (in English) about directing a crucial scene in Open City.



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Posted by dwhudson at May 8, 2006 1:58 AM

Comments

I keep hoping to find a place to download 'My Dad is 100 Years Old', but have come up empty-handed thus far.
Any suggestions?

Posted by: Ju-osh at May 8, 2006 8:15 AM

Hm, well, this does sound awfully nice: "A DVD of the short film will also be included with a slight but charming companion book by Isabella, In the Name of the Father, the Daughter and the Holy Spirits: Remembering Roberto Rossellini (Schirmer/Mosel, $35, to be published on May 24)."

Other than that, I don't know what to suggest, I'm afraid.

Posted by: David Hudson at May 8, 2006 11:33 AM

Thanks for the lead!

Posted by: Ju-osh at May 9, 2006 7:23 AM

Speaking of Rossellini and shorts, have you ever seen "Amore"? (About 30 min.) It stars Anna Magnani only! pleading on the phone with her husband who's leaving her for another woman. A must see, and obviously pretty painful to watch. I ran across it by accident several years ago at an LA video store called A Video Store Named Desire, across from CineFile. It's never mentioned anywhere it seems, (it shares the tape with a Fellini short also starring Magnani). Check this film out, and keep up the good work.

Posted by: Gabriella at May 12, 2006 12:03 PM

I have not seen that, Gabriella, so many, many thanks for the tip.

Posted by: David Hudson at May 13, 2006 5:38 AM