Abstrakt

Sorry, I shouldn't have said new -- my mistake! I finally received my copy after waiting for ages, since it had apparently gone out of print (or perhaps my distributor is just dishonest.) But it's actually a pretty old release...

Yes, it's the same 2-disc special edition from Medusa. The Italian dubbed track has not been fixed so it is still distorted, but who would want to listen to a dub anyway? The film's original soundtrack is the English one and, fortunately, it is flawless. The dialogues are crystal clear and Ennio Morricone's lovely score is faithfully reproduced. (Music plays an important part in this film, given the subject matter...)

I still lurk occasionally, but I've retired from the newsgroups. Things are much more civilized in forums such as this one...

Tanti saluti!

fedea

It depends. My husband, for example, doesn't understand english and doesn't like watching a movie with subtitles. As he likes this movie, I think I'll wait a better edition (as for the Carpenter's The thing, which italian track is terrible).

Buona serata.

Abstrakt

Ah yes! In Italy it's particularly difficult to convince people that Dubs Are Evil because they are so used to watching everything dubbed (all the Hollywood films, TV series and even commercials...sigh...)

cmq è proprio un capolavoro quel film... Ciao!

westvillage31

Hi Fedea!

Can you recommend any Italian dramatic television series? I really like slice-of-life-type shows... any ideas you can offer?

Kerry

Ashirg

Speaking of TV series, any word on La Piovra hitting DVD?

Abstrakt

As far as I know, there are no Italian TV series available on DVD -- at least not in Italy. Unfortunately that includes La Piovra, which is one of the only decent series to come out of this country (IMHO, of course.)

In case it isn't obvious, the Italian DVD scene is in a pretty sorry state. Hopefully things will improve with time, but for now you might want to focus on DVD releases from other countries (such as France, Great Britain and Australia) to satisfy your region-free needs.

Cheers.

westvillage31

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Abstrakt
[B]As far as I know, there are no Italian TV series available on DVD -- at least not in Italy.


What a bummer.... every now and then I crave Rome, and it would be SO cool to watch a TV series that was set there. Thanks for that info tho.

Kerry

Abstrakt

Funny you should mention that... Some of those Italian "slice-of-life" series (such as the terrible "Incantesimo") are actually shot in a small villa next to my house, in a residential neighborhood north of Rome. (Also home to the exiled king of Afghanistan, but that's another story...)

But seriously, if you miss the sights and sounds of the Eternal City, I would suggest Federico Fellini's aptly named Roma. It is a feature film, so it's not exactly what you asked for... However it is still the most accurate portrait of this city, from one of our greatest directors. The Region 1 DVD from MGM is pretty good, albeit non-anamorphic.

Cheers.

westvillage31

You know, I've seen "ROMA" and was really disappointed with it -- I was hoping for lots of street shots and stuff like that, but it wasn't what I wa expecting. I've seen a couple Fellini flicks, and I really WANT to like his work, but I just can't sit through it -- it doesn't make any sense to me. That's why I was hoping for a TV series to be released -- they're always good for showing the local sights, culture, etc.

Nocturnaloner

Cool! After researching the various Italian sites, I settled on dvdland.it as the cheapest for the new release of the Argento cut of Dawn of the Dead (Zombi), and the Dellamorte Dellamore SE. The total with shipping ended up being 46.20 Euros, or about $40. I'm glad to see it was a good choice.

fedea

I don't really remember if the director was italian, but there is a german version of Sandokan on dvd... with italian audio-track. If someone is interested...


Federica

fedea

The italian version, for this time, is better: anamorphic, with removable english or italian for not hearing persons subtitles. I own this dvd, which is really good. It is edited by Istituto Luce, which realised even another great title, "Il deserto dei tartari", really recommended, and "La caduta degli dei" of Visconti. For the last two titles I can't assure the presence of english subs, unfortunately, but I can ask if someone is interested.


Federica

Summerwine

Federica, please help me:

I am looking for the best version of MALENA with Monica Belluci.

The Italian DVD seems to be the ONLY one that has a running time of 10x minutes, i.e. the uncut version - Miramax obviously cut it by several minutes and it seems like everywhere in Europe (except Italy) it is cut as well.

Do you have this DVD? How is it? Is it correct that there is an ENGLISH sound track?

Thank you very much,

Sebastian.

fedea

Hi Seb.

Sorry to say that, but Malena dvd has only two audio tracks, italian dts and italian 5.1 - only italian subs for not hearing persons.

I suggest to go to this site: http://www.afdigitale.it
It has the reviews of all the dvd titles realised in Italy. It is in italian, but I think you can understand at least the technical spechs.

Fede

Abstrakt

Scusa Fede, but I cannot agree with you about that... The Italian version of Roma was butchered by its publisher, l'Istituto Luce. It is missing at least two scenes (albeit brief ones) from the theatrical release. The scenes in question take place in Trastevere, where Marcello Mastroianni and Alberto Sordi are interviewed. This is unacceptable, considering the importance of this film.

An anamorphic transfer does not make up for those missing scenes, IMHO.

Cheers.

fedea

It depends on the master they have, of course. And the scenes you are talking about are really brief.
In no case I can prefer a ntsc non anamorphic realise, sorry.

Ted Kontos

Hi Fedea,

I have a question concerning dvdland.it. Is their website secure? When asked to enter my registration information, it is not showing as secure. Is only the checkout secure?

Thank you,

Vanian

Does anybody know if MIRACLE IN MILAN has been released on DVD? I love this movie and can't find it anywhere. I think Criterion released a laser disc of it several years ago.
I've been dying to see this movie again.
Thanks,
Vanian

fedea

I have not direct experience with them (there are cheaper on line store in Italy - but sorry only ship within Europe), but have heard only good things about them.
Think you can go on without concerning.


Fede

fedea

It'll be realised here in Italy on next month. But I don't know if there will be english subs.

Fede

Gman

Hi Ted,

The customer service section @ dvdland.it suggests that the Credit Card payment of your transaction is handled by an external third party who completes the processing securely. I've had a similar experience with dvd.it however I haven't used dvdland.it

So your credit card info should be protected however it appears that you are disclosing some other personal info (name and address etc) prior to the CC processing.

You might therefore want to contact the dvdland.it directly as it appears that they are capable of understanding/doing english translations. It might then be possible to fax your details to them directly, if you are still concerned about their security.

regards


Gman

Ted Kontos

Thanks, Gman!

Gman

Hi Fedea & Others,

Can anyone offer any advice regarding any of Massimo's earlier work which seems to have been put on to DVD in view of his recent success with Il Postino;

Non ci resta che piangere
Che ora e
Il Viaggio di Capitan Fracassa
Pensavo fosse amore invece era un calasse

I know that they're only in Italian audio, that is not a problem but I was more concerned about the quality of the performances and the movies themselves. I understand Masssimo won an award for Che ora e, does anyone know anything about these movies.

Thanks,

Gman

Still waiting, hoping someone can help with a response

Gman

Vanian

Thanks! I love this movie so much may even get it without english subs!

Vanian