stefano1488
Joined Dec 2001
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stefano1488's rating
Oliver Stone has always had a taste for flattering the public with easy, one-sided versions of whatever story he wanted to tell. Since Stone is not ageing well, now that he is getting older this tendency takes a sinister turn.
Two words suffice to define this pretence of a documentary: unashamedly biased. It is so unilateral in presenting nuclear energy as something wonderful, without risks, intrinsically peaceful that it decays into ridicule.
It could have been made in the 1950's.
Another way of describing it? A modern, but more disquieting, version of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice".
Mr Stone, it is time to retire. Too late to do it gracefully; which makes it even more pressing.
Two words suffice to define this pretence of a documentary: unashamedly biased. It is so unilateral in presenting nuclear energy as something wonderful, without risks, intrinsically peaceful that it decays into ridicule.
It could have been made in the 1950's.
Another way of describing it? A modern, but more disquieting, version of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice".
Mr Stone, it is time to retire. Too late to do it gracefully; which makes it even more pressing.
This film tells the story of the kidnapping and murder of Giacomo Matteotti, a Reformist Socialist member of the Italian parliament who was a thorn in the side of the nascent Fascist regime's side as he relentlessly exposed and denounced its crimes and the violence it used to stifle the opposition.
The film has only a minor fault: it is slightly pedantic; or rather, it can appear so. In this respect it probably shows that it was made in the 1970's, a period much of the westworld leaned to the left. In Italy the left has probably never been as strong as in those years, either before or after.
The fact that it was made in the 1970's, a period in which most of the westworld leaned to the left a lot, is probably onme for the reasons.
However, this can not erase its many merits. First of all, a stellar cast, composed of a great many of the best Italian actors of that time, beginning with Franco Nero as Giacomo Matteotti, especially in the long scene of his last speech in Parliament (one of the many high points in the film), and with Mario Adorf as Mussolini.
Its rendering of the events narrated is poignant. It rates high on historical accuracy (once again, in this respect the initial scene is excellent, in that it not only faithful to what happened, but it also recreates the venomous political atmosphere of the time).
The film ends up with being kind of a mixture between a crime story and a political thriller. Viewers feel involved because they realise that the things that were at stake at the time were liberty and civilisation, things that have an impact on all of us.
The film has only a minor fault: it is slightly pedantic; or rather, it can appear so. In this respect it probably shows that it was made in the 1970's, a period much of the westworld leaned to the left. In Italy the left has probably never been as strong as in those years, either before or after.
The fact that it was made in the 1970's, a period in which most of the westworld leaned to the left a lot, is probably onme for the reasons.
However, this can not erase its many merits. First of all, a stellar cast, composed of a great many of the best Italian actors of that time, beginning with Franco Nero as Giacomo Matteotti, especially in the long scene of his last speech in Parliament (one of the many high points in the film), and with Mario Adorf as Mussolini.
Its rendering of the events narrated is poignant. It rates high on historical accuracy (once again, in this respect the initial scene is excellent, in that it not only faithful to what happened, but it also recreates the venomous political atmosphere of the time).
The film ends up with being kind of a mixture between a crime story and a political thriller. Viewers feel involved because they realise that the things that were at stake at the time were liberty and civilisation, things that have an impact on all of us.
Excellent series of documentaries shot, if I am not mistaken, between the late 1980's and the mid 1990's. In Italy it is sometimes broadcast by RAI Storia, the Italian public television channel specialising in history, and it is there that I saw it for the first time on one of my many sleepless nights. In fifteen episodes it deals with various aspects of the ancient Roman civilisation.
It combines three extraordinary features.
First of all, it provides an accessible introduction to the world of ancient Rome without yielding in intellectual, even academic, rigour - small wonder, given that its list of consultants features some of the best Italian experts of the classical worldI (archaelogists, art historians and the like). T is not only visually stunning - photography is by Vittorio Storaro, no need to add anything; the text is also noteworthy, as it is also a crash course on various aspects of ancient Roman culture, accessible yet academically rigorous.
Secondly, visually it is simply stunning, which is not surprising, given that the director of photography is Vittorio Storaro.
Third, the mix of images, music (the score is by Ennio Morricone) and the narrative style makes for a fascinating, even mysterious, narrative. We are plunged into the world of the ancient Rome, a world very different from ours, and yet we perceive the distance in time and in views from a magnificent civilisation.
All this renders this documentary strongly recommended not only for history buffs, but also for people interested in watching something remarkable from a purely visual aspect.
PS If you understand Italian well enough, I strongly advise to watch it in Italian. In the original Italian version the narrative is told by Pino Colizzi, one of Italy's most renowned voice-over artists, whose voice adds is definitely the icing on the cake of this captivating series of documentaries.
It combines three extraordinary features.
First of all, it provides an accessible introduction to the world of ancient Rome without yielding in intellectual, even academic, rigour - small wonder, given that its list of consultants features some of the best Italian experts of the classical worldI (archaelogists, art historians and the like). T is not only visually stunning - photography is by Vittorio Storaro, no need to add anything; the text is also noteworthy, as it is also a crash course on various aspects of ancient Roman culture, accessible yet academically rigorous.
Secondly, visually it is simply stunning, which is not surprising, given that the director of photography is Vittorio Storaro.
Third, the mix of images, music (the score is by Ennio Morricone) and the narrative style makes for a fascinating, even mysterious, narrative. We are plunged into the world of the ancient Rome, a world very different from ours, and yet we perceive the distance in time and in views from a magnificent civilisation.
All this renders this documentary strongly recommended not only for history buffs, but also for people interested in watching something remarkable from a purely visual aspect.
PS If you understand Italian well enough, I strongly advise to watch it in Italian. In the original Italian version the narrative is told by Pino Colizzi, one of Italy's most renowned voice-over artists, whose voice adds is definitely the icing on the cake of this captivating series of documentaries.