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Bernardo Bertolucci's epic saga "1900" receives a deluxe
reissue courtesy of Paramount. A powerful saga the film
follows two Italian children and the twists and turns that
they face on the road to adulthood. Alfredo (Robert De Niro)
grows up the son of a wealthy family while his friend Olmo
(Gerard Depardieu) a peasant ends up facing a much harsher
reality. ***
A social critique told through the eyes of these two
very different characters, "1900" touches on a time in Italian
history when turmoil ruled. The country was in transition
and there was the threat of Communism, Facism and poverty
truly dictated which side of the spectrum you fell on. Although
occasionally a bit politically naive and lacking in historical
accuracy, the film manages to still be powerful and touching
even if the director chose to over simplify a much more
complex political climate in his film. Bertolucci's film
uses a marvelous cast that includes Donald Sutherland, Dominique
Sanda, Sterling Hayden and Burt Lancaster to capture the
epic flavor that American cinema has managed to lose its
taste for over the last thirty years. ---
Image & Sound:
Bertolucci's masterpiece and, perhaps, his last great
film looks marvelous with accurate skin tones, rich colors
capturing the look of the film. While the film isn't pristine
Paramount has cleaned up this uncut copy of the film as
much as possible. The audio arrives with only a 2.0 Dolby
Digital Surround option which indicates that the film has
not been remixed for DVD so purists will be quite happy.
Presented in English, French and Italian the film sounds
remarkably good in all three with the English soundtrack
sounding the best of the three. For those that want to watch
it in either Italian of French, English subtitles are an
option here.
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