The Lina Wertmuller Collection (Summer Night / The Nymph / Swept Away / Seven Beauties / Ferdinando and Carolina)
by Lina Wertmüller
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Fernando Rey, Giancarlo Giannini, Isa Danieli, Mariangela Melato, Riccardo SalvinoDirector: Lina Wertmüller
Brand: Koch International
Writer: Lina Wertmüller
Producer: Arrigo Colombo
Producer: Ciro Ippolito
Producer: Edwige Fenech
Writer: Domenico Rea
Writer: Raffaele La Capria
Writer: Ugo Pirro
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); German (Original Language); Italian (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Content/Copy-Protected CD, Dolby, DVD, Enhanced, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 643 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-09-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Koch Lorber Films
Product features:
- The work of acclaimed Italian filmmaker Lina Wertm ller saw her rise to become the first female director to be nominated for an Oscar. Never afraid to tackle some controversial subject matter, Wertm ller has garnered an impressive reputation in the business. This collection gathers five of her films together, including: SWEPT AWAY: An Italian film which traces the relationship that develops betwee
Movie Reviews of The Lina Wertmuller Collection (Summer Night / The Nymph / Swept Away / Seven Beauties / Ferdinando and Carolina)
Movie Review: A spectacular collection
Summary: 5 Stars
One of my favorite "academic" college memories is watching and discussing Swept Away in Italian Cinema class. It exposed me to the brilliant work of Lina Wertmuller - in my opinion the most talented female director of all time. Over the years I have been fortunate enough to see a number of her other works: Ciao Professore, The Seduction of Mimi and Seven Beauties, but it was the opportunity to add Swept Away to my DVD collection (having previously owned it on laserdisc) and experience three lesser-known works from Wertmuller that convinced me to make this purchase...I am so happy I did. First of all, the package artwork and photography is magnificent. I've had it on my shelf for only two weeks and already had several people comment on it. I only wish I could get posters made of some of the on-set images used inside the booklet, which are fantastic (Giancarlo Giannini must have one of the most expressive faces of all time). As for the films, they all look magnificent. The picture and sound quality of the Swept Away DVD far surpasses my memories of the laserdisc edition, and the rich blues in Summer Night (which thematically turns the tables on Swept Away) lit up my television screen like nothing I have ever seen before. The two more recent films included in this collection - Nymph and Ferdinando and Carolina (a decadent, historical costume drama) - never came to theaters in the U.S., which is a shame because they are on par with some of Wertmuller's best. I must admit that I have yet to watch the sixth disc, an interview with Wertmuller, but am looking forward to the opportunity to hear this talented director speak for the first time.
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Summary of The Lina Wertmuller Collection (Summer Night / The Nymph / Swept Away / Seven Beauties / Ferdinando and Carolina)
LINA WERTMULLER COLLECTION - DVD MovieThe first woman ever nominated for the Oscar® for Best Direction gets her own DVD collection, a grab bag of five titles plus a long interview. The Oscar nod came at the end of a crowded run of provocative movies in the first half of the 1970s, during which time Lina Wertmuller became an obligatory name to drop at cocktail parties. The DVD set is anchored by two of those 1970s must-sees. Swept Away, which became one of the art-house hits of its era (lots of intellectual-political stuff, but lots of skin, too) strands prattling socialite Mariangela Melato and insolent deckhand Giancarlo Giannini on a desert island together after her yachting party goes awry. The power games between the two, and the endless socio-economic justifications for same, are fun to watch, and the beauty of the actors isn't bad, either. (Sweep away thoughts of the Madonna remake.) The DVD set uses the shortened U.S. release title for this film: it's really Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny on the Blue Sea of August.
Seven Beauties is the film that brought Wertmuller the Oscar nomination. Giannini takes the lead role again (he copped a heroically earned Oscar nomination too), as a Neapolitan ne'er-do-well who ends up in a Nazi concentration camp. Wertmuller's wild approach may be all over the place, but the movie certainly is alive. The remainder of the DVD package can't live up to these two films, although Summer Night (full title: Summer Night, with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes, and Scent of Basil) has echoes of Swept Away. Melato returns to the heroine role, but the edginess of the earlier film is replaced by a gaudy fantasia about a wealthy woman who kidnaps a sort of environmental terrorist and sexually dominates him. As hotsy-totsy as that sounds, the movie feels like something Wertmuller's done before, although it's beautifully shot and Melato is scrumptious.
The other two films are The Nymph, a sturdy-enough but minor 1996 film about a beleaguered girl whose harsh village life changes when she meets a soldier (the era is WWII); only problem is, his family expects him to marry a virgin. Stefania Sandrelli is in the cast. Distinctly less watchable is Ferdinando and Carolina, a rambunctious 1999 historical comedy set in 18th-century Naples. The subject matter gives Wertmuller a chance to dig into her favorite subjects, sex and politics, but with lesser returns. The "extras" disc is essentially a 78-minute interview with Wertmuller. It's perfectly enjoyable, if a little "inside" to the Italian cinema. The woman does know how to talk--you can see how she beguiled her way to the top of European cinema for a while. --Robert Horton
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