The Life of Verdi
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Movie Reviews of The Life of Verdi
Movie Review: Apparently quite shortened. There is a better transfer.
Summary: 1 Stars
People should be aware that the original Italian run for 14 hours. Considering that any buyers of this item are surely an opera and Verdi entusiast seaking real information, will be shortchanged with this set. The version once presented by PBS few years back, was 10 hours.
First, the movie is from 1984 for those inquiring. And YES it is posible to have a superb transfer to DVD. With 11 hours (still shortened), no Burt Lancaster and excellent video and sound (Dolby Digital 2.0). Just secure the transfer from Euromedia Vision (c/ Diputacion 288 bajos, 08009 Barcelona. www.euromediavision.com). English (BBC/male) and spanish. Seven DVD. One problem for most of you which do not have an all-regions/all-systems DVD player, is that the set is Region 2 and PAL. There is only one thing wrong with this set. At the completion of episodes 2 to 6, they actually use only the credits of the 7th episode only, thus depriving us of the information of who sings what. Not nice.
There are three episode in Verdi's life that I regret were not presented. 1] The pre-premier delivery of all the music parts (including the tenor) of La donna e mobile, to prevent the leaking of such contagious tune by musicians and workers. I can only imagine the stress. 2] The missed early oportunity of even a glance betwen Verdi and Toscanini, in the second chair of the cellos at La Scala orchestra during rehersals and premier of Otello. He eventually saw him conducting, recommending him to the baritone Maurel, who recomended to Leoncavallo, eventually resulting in Toscanini conducting the premier of Pagliacci. 3] His role in 1899 as arbitrer betwen tenor Tamagno (original Otello), in favor of Toscanini, about tempis. Well, I suppose you can't include everything, but we can hope for a "director's cut"......of the italian original.
Movie Review: Where's the Music?
Summary: 1 Stars
I just finished another 5 hours of the DVD "The Life of Verdi". Interesting what music is left out and the performances
seem to be from the just okay performances from Cetra recordings from the 50s. The hostess Roberta Peters announced Birgit Nilsson was singing in Macbeth- she did for about [10] seconds. I have no idea except for Verdi and Strepponi who is portraying the characters as just the actors names are mentioned and the singers not mentioned by Peters are mysteries and not given credit. The cover says Renata Tebaldi is one of the artists. Did not hear her and I have heard her voice for over fifty years. IMO poor Verdi's music is given second billing in both quantity and quality - how ironic.
Who thought up the nonsense of having so much of the music sung by the Verdi character while playing the piano like Horowitz?
The announcers voice is boring and this like an Opera Without Words production.
Just finished the last 2 hours of "The Life of Verdi". Otello is represented by the beginning through "Esultate" and the death of Otello. "Falstaff" has less than 30 seconds of music. This documentary is better if one is not especially interested in Verdi's music. YUCK !!!!!!
Hopefully someone who knows and loves Verdi's Music will do him honor in a documentary.
Movie Review: Health warning - a travesty!
Summary: 1 Stars
How I wish I'd looked at some of these honest reviews before making my purchase! Yet NONE of them mention what to me was the main problem with this dreadful DVD set - the unforgivable removable of the beautiful original Italian soundtrack, replacing it with a dreadful American dubbing! I remember finding this TV series enthralling when I saw it in the early 1980s, and have ever since hoped to see it again. My disappointment was colossal on receiving the product. I couldn't bear to see more than half a minute of it. WHY oh why couldn't the original soundtack have been kept, so the watcher could at least choose? And WHY oh why was there no relevant product description even mentioning the fact that the soundtrack was in English (American English at that)? I would NEVER have unwittingly thrown my money into the sewer had this simple fact been visible in the product description!
Sadly I tried to follow up another reviewer's suggestion that a good version of the series could be found on [...], only to find the website no longer operational.
DON'T buy this - you'll just feel grossly exploited! Add to my reaction the fact that it by all accounts is a 3rd-rate pirate-copy mangled video uptake, and you'll see to what degree the sellers should be ashamed of themselves.