x

not every town has an independent video houses Alice Twain. Glad to get the suggestions but wanted to know if you knew how they could be found outside of the mainstream distributors.

x

beth a room with a view was mentioned and what about the English Patient moved you in the thought of Italy?

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

I have seen these Italy movie lists many times but no one includes one of my favs--Where Angels fear to Tread--with Helen Mirren and Helena Bonham Carter. Set in San Gim. with some great scenes. Check it out.

x

Bob sounds like another English movie about Italy perhaps that is why you are not hearing about it.

elizabeth

Great options...thanks for the help. Saw Stealing Beauty and have to say I rather enjoyed it. Life is Beautiful was wonderful.

Sorry Alice Twain, Blockbuster is pretty much my only option.

KT

Unfortunately, most Italian films never get subtitled and distributed in the US, so even going to an independent video rental won't always help. For the ones that are available, try www.reel.com. You can do an advanced search by country and decade to find Italian films. The titles are usually given in English and not Italian! I looked and they do have some of Alice's recommendations, for example Il Ladro di Bambini ("The Stolen Children") and Così Ridevano ("The Way We Laughed"). Also some other enjoyable films like Everybody's Fine and Mille Bolle Blu.

I'm really lucky to live in an area where there's an Istituto Italiano di Cultura, film festivals, and a university film archives (currently hosting an Elio Petri series). Those are the kind of places where you're most likely to find the non-Blockbuster films.

But you know, I still like to watch Roman Holiday before I go to Rome!

meg

No-one's mentioned Nanni Moretti's films. I liked 'Dear Diary' so funny and fantastic views of Rome from the back of Nanni's scooter. Goes to Stromboli, Lipari too

Sarah

Thanks KT for info on Istituto Italiano di Cultura, in NYC yes? I think I am on their email list but I mainly receive stuff on speakers not film.

KT

Sarah, actually I was referring to the Istituto in San Francisco. The Istituti are administratively attached to the Italian consulates, so I'd imagine that they exist in other cities with consulates (Chicago? Dallas??). The one in SF definitely does show films and co-sponsor films with other organizations like the Pacific Film Institute at UC Berkeley, as well as having speakers and other events.

KT

Make that the "Pacific Film Archives," not Institute. In a former life I was in Washington, DC, and it took me years to stop referring to PFA as AFI (the American Film Institute, which is, of course, another great resource).

brian s

If you are thinking of Naples, you might as well see "The 7 Beauties," although it is really focused elsewhere.

I have heard of a movie called, "See Naples and Die," but even Netflix doesn't have it. Anybody?

Sarah

yes we do have a NYC location Thanks so much for making sit up and notice this email.

Sue

Queen of Hearts, filmed in San Gimignano.

What was the name of the rather eerie one set in Venice about the young couple who went there after their daughter died, and they kept thinking that they saw her?-- "Don't look Now", or something like that?

Also, another set in Venice, I believe, about a young woman who was kidnapped as a child and was set up to entrap her father when he visited Venice some 20 yrs. later, etc. ( Yeah, I know, good thing I don't try to write movie reviews for a living!!)

mary kay

How about "Italian For Beginners?" It is a Scandinavian film w/ English subtitles. It is mostly set in the Scandinavian city where the characters live (sorry I can't recall just now whether they were Norwegian, Swedish or Danish). However, they travel to Venice toward the end of the movie and there is great scenery!

KT

Sue, you're right, it's "Don't Look Now" with Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland, based on a Daphne DuMaurier story and guaranteed to give you the creeps.

ceci

Death in Venice

og719

There was a Jack Lemmon movie back in the late '60s or early '70s called "Avanti". Not very deep stuff, but cute, funny and I think filmed on the Amalfi Coast.

Nancy

I loved Stealing Beauty, you have to think between the lines, about her beauty being stolen by each character.
The scenes of the villa and the villa where the party is held are what made us want to rent a villa in Tuscany, and we did.

Movie

A Room With a View, E. M. Forster's beautifully adapted novel is wonderful with Daniel Day Lewis in an unforgettable role as Cecil Vise and Denholm Elliot as the father of young muddled George saying, "Here is where the bird sings, here is where the sky is blue." Then of course you have Maggie Smith as "poor, poor Charlotte', not to mention Judi Dench. No wonder this movie won the National Board of Review Best Picture award in 1986.

Cinema Paradiso is the second movie I would recommend to you. I haven't seen the newly released director's cut but the original is a masterpiece.

Third would be the wonderful Bread and Tulips. A lovely hidden gem of a movie.

Buon appetito....

Elizabeth

An Italian movie called "The Last Kiss" is playing in New York right now. I liked it a lot. It's not a scenery movie, but I felt it was really "Italian."

My idea for you for getting ready for your trip is, generate a good list of real Italian movies; make a pre-trip trip to New York; find a hotel room with a VCR; go to Kim's Video on 8th Street just east of 3rd Avenue and rent ten videos.

Or you can probably find a few to see here in theatres.

You can have pizza delievered to your room 3 times a day to keep the mood going & not waste viewing time going out of the building.