La Commare Secca - Criterion Collection
by Bernardo Bertolucci
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alvaro D'Ercole, Carlotta Barilli, Clorinda Celani, Lorenza Benedetti, Vincenzo CiccoraDirector: Bernardo Bertolucci
Brand: Image Entertainment
Cinematographer: Giovanni Narzisi
Writer: Bernardo Bertolucci
Editor: Nino Baragli
Producer: Tonino Cervi
Writer: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Writer: Sergio Citti
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Italian (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-02-01
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of La Commare Secca - Criterion Collection
Movie Review: The Grim Reaper
Summary: 4 Stars
I've only seen two Bernardo Bertolucci films (Last Tango in Paris and The Dreamers), but I consider myself a semi-big fan of his. This film, La Commare Secca (which translates to The Grim Reaper), is his debut film with an original story by legendary Italian writer/director Pier Paolo Pasolini. I've only seen one film by Pasolini ("Teorema") but I know that he wrote a few films about prostitutes (Mamma Roma & The Canterbury Tale)...Ironic, since he would be killed by a male prostitute. This movie, which has been frequently compared to a 1950 Japanese movie called Rashomon, tells the story of a prostitute who is murdered near the Tiber River and the interrogations of several people who may (or may not) have been involved in the murder. I don't remember the characters names; but, in the end, this movie is not about characters or even who killed the prostitute. The movie is about the events leading up the murder. It shows the events from several different perspectives and it's fascinating, even though this form of storytelling has been used so many times in the past years it's almost cliche. The movie is still fantastic and enticing; despite the fact that when you find out who the murderer is, it's far from surprising. The black & white photography of the movie works perfectly. If this movie had been filmed in color, it's unlikely it would still look as good. The acting is sometimes over-the-top (or maybe it just looks better in Italian), but the transfer of the film is wonderful. Sound quality and picture quality is superb. I don't think this film is better than the other two Bertolucci efforts I've seen, but it's definitely good without question.
GRADE: B+
Summary of La Commare Secca - Criterion Collection
The brutalized corpse of a Roman prostitute is found along the banks of the Tiber. The police round up and interrogate a handful of possible suspects. In this, his stunning debut feature-based on a story by Pier Paolo Pasolini-Bernardo Bertolucci utilizes a series of interconnected flashbacks to explore the nature of truth and the reliability of narrative. The Criterion Collection is proud to present La commare secca, the first full realization of a legendary talent.Signaling the arrival of a gifted young filmmaker, La commare secca (or The Grim Reaper) marked the promising debut of Bernardo Bertolucci, who would attain world-class prominence in less than a decade. Having served as director's assistant on his friend Pier Paolo Pasolini's successful debut Accattone the previous year, Bertolucci was only 21 when he co-wrote and directed this impressively structured drama (based on a story by Pasolini) about a murdered prostitute and the police interrogation of several potential suspects. Bertolucci has denied the influence of Kurosawa's Rashomon (which he hadn't yet seen), but that film's prismatic structure is echoed here in the chapter-like retelling of circumstances surrounding the murder, as described through the suspects' unclear memories, conflicting testimonies and subtly hidden agendas. Punctuating the mystery with scenes of the prostitute's final hours, Bertolucci defies his directorial assignment (Pasolini had declined the job, and Bertolucci was hired to approximate Pasolini's visual style) with an ever-moving camera that tracks each suspect through a variety of ominous Roman locations. As he explains in an exclusive interview on this Criterion DVD, Bertolucci was the youngest person on the set, and extremely anxious as a first-time director, but his talent speaks for itself. La commare secca was not a hit with critics, but it's a remarkable debut by any standard, fully vindicated by Bertolucci's subsequent greatness. --Jeff Shannon
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