This was a beautiful film, shot almost entirely outdoors in Venice - it's no wonder that tourism doubled in the years after, or that the Director, David Lean ended up getting a 2nd home there where he stayed part of the year.
A lonely secretary goes to Venice, in the form of Katherine Hepburn -there she ends up falling for an Italian who sweeps her away, but of course there must be tragedy in these things - I had never heard of the film before now, but it definitely inspired me to want to go and see Venice for myself.
According to source, 90% of this was shot outdoors - Venice is front in center the entire film and you are immersed in some wonderful scenic shots in what must be one of the most romantic cities in the world.
Although I didn't know David Lean by name, I certainly know several of the movies he would make after this one - The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, etc...his last five films would be big long epics - this was his last short film, but he captured a time and place in Venice that probably doesn't exist anymore except in the romanticized imagination and for that I am grateful
AND, hey, i was a little surprised to find the morality of this film to not exactly be Ozzie and Harriett - Adultery plays a role here - and while some parts were censored for certain countries, the full effort is here.
I could say a lot about Katherine Hepburn's performance, but the truth is, this is really the first film I've seen her in that I've paid attention to - No doubt though if this film were made today, it'd feature a much younger woman than Kat, who was near 40 by the time she did this film. Today's filmmakers have no respect for middle-aged actresses - Katherine here does give the impression of the spinster who used to believe in love and doesn't anymore - and she does it with very little dialogue, which is something most modern filmmakers and actresses wouldn't pull off well, IMHO
This DVD IS still in print although it really has no extra features to speak of - maybe someday they'll release a restore HD version - the city of Venice alone would make it worth the effort
RB
No comments:
Post a Comment