Puccini

It's nearly impossible to judge the true merits of "Puccini", which appears to be an attractive, old-fashioned, Hollywood-style bio pic, due to the disastrous DVD mastering done by its U.S. distributor Image Entertainment. This usually reliable company has really dropped the ball this time by releasing a disc that has to be seen (and heard) to be believed. Only the Three Stooges or the Marx Brothers, in their prime, could have put together a mess of a disc like this, with scenes wildly out of order, characters appearing, disappearing, then meeting again, as if for the first time, scenes stopping in mid-sentence practically, only to resume some 10, 20, or 40 minutes later, characters aging, then growing young again, well, you get the idea. As for the film's memorable music, well, as lovely as it may be, the presentation of the famous operas now makes absolutely no sense at all. In the end, if you care anything about Puccini, the man and his music, you'll most likely be pulling the hair out of your head by the time the last curtain finally falls.

Now, whether the multitude of errors on this disc were human or technical or a combination of both, Image Entertainment needs to do something about them, and right away! This disc has been on the market for a couple of years already, and I'm rather surprised it hasn't been recalled before now. Then again, maybe I shouldn't be, because any company that would let this mess out the door likely doesn't care much about the product itself in the first place. After all, time is money, and Heaven forbid someone might actually have to waste it by watching the DVD before it's sent off to market. Too bad they didn't though because it's likely a pretty good flick, at that. Sweet-natured, old-fashioned, filled with some of the most beautiful music ever written. Maybe someday, somebody somewhere will care enough to sort this thing out, and the real "Puccini" will be available once again, but until then, all I can do is offer that old adage, "Buyer Beware!"

This romantic biography of the great Italian operatic composer Giacomo Puccini was directed by the same gentleman who gave us the 1955 MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Carmine Gallone, who made a virtual career in the Italian cinema directing operatic and music-related dramas. Puccini, composer of many of the most beloved Italian operas including TOSCA, LA BOHEME, MADAMA BUTTERFLY, and TURANDOT, is played here as a handsome womanizer by Gabriele Ferzetti. Ferzetti's most famous role would be that of the male lead in Antonioni's L'AVVENTURA. Marta Toren plays the long-suffering wife of the philandering composer. The movie features plenty of music in addition to the romance, and we are treated, through operatic excerpts, to the voices of Beniamino Gigli, Nelly Corradi, Antonietta Stella, and Gino Sinimberghi. It was shot in lovely Technicolor and while it does not expand our basic knowledge of the composer or boast great depth, it is a pleasant, entertaining feature. It is also known as TWO LOVES HAD I and THE LIFE OF PUCCINI.

Of course, you can only make a beautiful and heart-rending film on a romantic character like this. His operas are perhaps the most romantic ever written, at least musically, and his life was not very different from them. Like in "La Bohème", he had a hard time breaking out of the vicious circles of poverty and adversity but somehow stuck to his first love throughout his life. She is played by Märta Torén, one of the most promising Swedish film stars ever, whose career was abruptly ended at 30 after 10 years of only memorable films against Humphrey Bogart, Dana Andrews, Claude Rains, James Mason and here Gabriele Ferzetti, who makes a very credible portrait of the composer with all his lacks of character, he was not as bad as Wagner but almost, but some reviewers are right in pointing out that this is Märta Torén's film. She plays Elvira with great empathy, she waits at home for the incorrigible Puccini who never turns up, he betrays her with another love on stage, a primadonna who sings his tragediennes, and another girl out in the country is driven to despair by the presence of Puccini's personality and his ways. It is all very well done, there are some very memorable scenes, especially the long one in the middle of the film concerning the opening night of "La Bohème" when Puccini is torn between the lady on stage and the mother of his child in the audience - it couldn't be easy for a man to be capable of so much charm and beautiful music. Of course he must get problems and give others problems. But his music remains eternally all right and will be sung as long as there will be opera performances - his love would not have created havoc if it was not overwhelming in heartfelt sincerity.

If anybody was a fan of Puccini's music and operas, they'd jump at the chance at seeing Gallone's film of Puccini. It is an interesting biopic and is a pretty good film overall as well. Not without flaws though, there could have been more Puccini and a little less of Elvira, the story does jump around a lot which can confuse things and give the sense that the film was written in haste, there definitely could have been more scope and depth to the characters other than Elvira(Puccini himself included), and the film is badly and irritatingly dubbed too. Puccini(1953) is beautifully filmed on the other hand, both opulent and noir-ish. And that's the same with the costumes and sets too. The music of course is just heavenly, and we have some great voices singing it, including one of the most beautiful tenor voices of all time in Beniamino Gigli and Antoinetta Stella, a soprano who deserved to make it bigger. The story might have benefited from a longer length, but is still fascinating and reasonably accurate to the story of the composer, without being distasteful. Gallone directs assuredly, and he draws out some good performances. In the case of Marta Toren, superb and Gabriele Ferzetti is a likable Puccini. Riccordi, Illica and Giacosa are well performed too, though their parts are written a little sketchily. Overall, decent and interesting. 6/10 Bethany Cox