RSS
Home
Italy Year Zero: Criterion to release the first major works of Italian Neorealism to DVD
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy comes to DVD in January
By the end of World War 2, much of Europe lay in ruins. The pre-war creative spirit that had flowered into German Expressionism and France's Poetic Realism was dead. A grim, unavoidable reality had taken its place. It's in this context that Italian Neorealism was born, and Roberto Rossellini wasted no time after the war's end to set the movement into motion.
In 1945, before the clouds of dust over Europe had even settled, Rossellini released "Roma, città aperta" (Rome Open City). Co-written by Federico Fellini, Roma tells the story of resistance and survival in Nazi-occupied Italy and set the movement standard with an unflinching, realistic portrayal of a common man trying to do the right thing in a world that doesn't care whether he lives or dies.
Rossellini followed Roma with Paisà (Paisan) in 1946 and Germania Anno Zero (Germany Year Zero) in 1948, completing what is known as his Neorealist Trilogy. Taken together, these films serve as a record of the mindset in post-war Europe - unblinking reflections of a people trying to rebuild their lives among the ashes. At the beginning of next year, The Criterion Collection will release all three films on DVD in a box set entitled "Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy." Included among the flurry of extras are three documentaries, a visual essay, talks by Rossellini and Italian director Carlo Lizzani, and video introductions to each film by Rossellini himself from 1963.
For collectors and cinephiles, this box set is a no-brainer. And for those who may have only heard of Italian Neorealism in passing and wondered what all the fuss was about, there is no better introduction than three of the films that set the movement off.
"Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy" is set to be released on DVD on January 26, 2010.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
