Divorce Italian Style (DVD)

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Still, there is one wonderful and hilarious sequence in the film. The locals all pile into the theater to watch the controversial new film that everyone is talking about, a little film called "La Dolce Vita." The posters plastered all over town feature Anita Ekberg, but no doubt the men merely want to go for a good story ("I only buy it to read the articles, honey.") Mastroianni, of course, also starred in "La Dolce Vita," so it´s quite amusing to watch him in the audience, looking at the screen (a scene featuring the pneumatic Ms. Ekberg, of course) with total indifference as he plans Rosalia´s impending murder. The other men really love the film, though… for the story, of course.

I don´t find "Divorce" particularly funny, but its critique of Italian machismo is clever. At first, the film appears to start on the side of the patriarchy, cruelly mocking poor faithful Rosalia and the other women in the story. However, Mastroianni´s bumbling, selfish, smarmy Fefe undercuts any sense of male superiority, and I am hard-pressed to think of a single male character that comes across as anything but a blowhard or a sexist pig. Of course, life is little better for the women whose only apparent form of resistance is through infidelity which didn´t exactly turn out so well for Rosalia.

Video

The DVD is presented in its original widescreen 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Leonida Barboni´s black and white photography is beautiful, and the film creates a very authentic-feeling Sicilian location (though I have no idea how many scenes were actually shot in Sicily.) As usual, Criterion offers a new high-definition digital transfer from the 35-mm original negative, and it looks wonderful with crisp image quality and sharp contrasts. By Criterion´s high standards, I would call this an average effort (it´s not drop-dead gorgeous like some of their best efforts) but that´s on a pretty strict scale. You won´t have any complaints.

Audio

The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. Sorry, no stereo here – what did you expect, it´s from 1962. The remastered soundtrack is clean as a whistle, and the dialogue is all clearly recorded and mixed, as is Carlo Rustichelli´s musical track. The film is in Italian with optional English subtitles to support the audio.

Extras

Though "Divorce Italian Style" is a two-disc set, it doesn´t include as many extra features as most multi-disc Criterion sets. The lack of a commentary track is particularly disappointing.

All the extras are on Disc Two. First up is "The Man With a Cigar in His Mouth," a 39-minute documentary directed by critic Mario Sesti in 1997. The short documentary is a series of talking heads, all friends and co-workers of Germi´s, who recount their experiences with the director. It´s all standard fare, just one interview after another, but worthwhile for its informational content.

Much more interesting is the first of two interviews, "Delighting in Contrasts." This 30-minute short (recorded for Criterion in 2003 and 2004) interweaves interviews with critic Mario Sesti, and actors Lando Buzzanca and Stefania Sandrelli. All three have a lot of interest to say about Germi in general, and "Divorce" in particular. The film actually began its life as a drama, and only slowly evolved into a farce. Sandrelli, now in her late fifties, is still absolutely gorgeous.

Rounding out the features are a short interview (7 min.) with Oscar-winning screenwriter Ennio de Concini, and screen tests for both Sandrelli and Daniela Rocca (8 min. total.)

An attractive 28-page booklet includes essays by Martin Scorsese and critics Stuart Klawans and Andrew Sarris.

Closing Thoughts

I suspect many viewers will like "Divorce Italian Style" more than I did, though I´m still moderately fond of it. The film certainly has a legion of ardent supporters. I am often told I have a prejudice against comedies. Maybe I do. But let´s face it. There are really only two types of comedians: the Three Stooges and everybody else. Why waste your time with the rest when you can just watch the best? Nyuk nyuk.

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