Bellissima. GB. 2007. Eureka. DVD (Region 2 PAL). 110 minutes + extras. £19.99
About the reviewer: Dr Alex Marlow-Mann is Lecturer in European Film at the University of Birmingham and Acting Director of B-Film: The Birmingham Centre for Film Studies. He is the author of The New Neapolitan Cinema (EUP, 2011) and editor of Archival Film Festivals (St Andrews Film Studies, 2013). He is also one of the founding members of the British Association for Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS).
E-mail a.p.marlowmann@bham.ac.uk
Since its inception Eureka’s Masters of Cinema label has been busy building a catalogue to rival that of the DVD industry benchmark, Criterion. Its business model is simple: impeccable transfers of classic and neglected films, presented with informative and well thought-out extras. Criterion already has a number of Visconti masterpieces on its roster but Eureka has gone for one of his lesser-known films, one that has never before been available on home video in the UK.
Made in 1951 Bellissima comes at the very tail end of the Neorealist period and is usually considered as the third and last of Visconti’s Neorealist films. However from the very outset it becomes clear that it is actually something of a transitional work: indeed the credit sequence consists of an orchestral performance of music from Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore that prefigures the operatic opening of Visconti’s next film, Senso (1954). Like several other transitional films of the period (Fellini’s The White Sheik, 1952, and Antonioni’s L’Amorosa Menzogna, 1949), Visconti is here concerned with the world of show business and the way in which the cinema’s fantasy of a better life affects the lives of everyday working people. Set amongst the working class of Rome, the story tells of a young mother, played by Anna Magnani (Rome Open City, 1945), who transfers her deluded hopes onto her daughter, entering her into a competition to choose the child actress to star in an upcoming film at the Cinecittà studios. The lengths to which she is prepared to go to secure her daughter fame and success provides a rich comic vein typical of scriptwriter Cesare Zavattini (Bicycle Thieves, 1948) but quite unusual for Visconti. However, the film’s roots ultimately lie in melodrama and as the harsh realities of the film industry are revealed, Magnani is given full reign and delivers an impeccable, dramatic performance.
Once again Eureka has mounted a handsome package. The transfer is flawless and the newly commissioned English subtitles are mostly fluent and accurate. There’s also an informative half hour documentary which contains interviews with the surviving crew members, including assistant directors Franco Zeffirelli and Francesco Rosi and co-screenwriter Suso Cecchi d’Amico, while the original theatrical trailer provides an insightful glimpse into the way in which this film was originally marketed. The accompanying 32-page booklet reproduces Geoffrey Nowell Smith’s chapter on the film from his book Luchino Visconti and features a re-printed interview with Visconti and a curious tribute to Magnani by Bette Davis.
With its brutally honest depiction of the film industry, Visconti’s meticulous direction and the stunning central performance by Magnani, Bellissima is undoubtedly a film that deserves wider recognition. Eureka’s DVD provides a perfect way to get acquainted.
Dr Alex Marlow-Mann