Product Details

• Actors: Gino Bechi, Vittorio Caprioli, Antonio Cassinelli, Luciano della Maria, Enrico Formichi
• Directors: Clemente Fracassi
• Format: Classical, Dolby, Subtitled, Import, NTSC
• Language: Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Immortal
• DVD Release Date: May 12, 2009
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001WAVUME
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,639 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Germany released, PAL/NTSC/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: Italian ( Mono ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Sophia Loren, complete with blackface and an Afro, came to international acclaim in this fairly literal version of the Giuseppe Verdi opera. Loren (with singing dubbed by Renata Tebaldi) portrays the title character, an Ethiopian slave owned by Amneris (Lois Maxwell), the daughter of the Egyptian king. Aida's romantic heart is her weakness, as she must choose between loyalty to her conquered race and romance with Radames (Luciano della Marra), an officer of the Egyptian army. Director Clemente Fracassi gets a bit carried away with epic splendor and the opulent color format, but fans of Loren and opera novices should find the film rewarding. Despite Loren's lauded performance, the role of Aida was originally intended for Gina Lollobrigida. ...Aida ( Aida )

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 18 year Sophia Loren, July 24, 2009

By 

The good-tempered redhead "My considered opin... (MN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Aida (DVD)

The quality of this DVD is amazing. An 18 year old Sophia was precise and convincing in her "lip sync" of the great Renata Tebaldi. Her acting phenomenal. This is a treasure.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Acting and Singing, April 14, 2010

By 

Raymond M. Bercse - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Aida (DVD)

This film version of Aida features Sophia Loren at the outset of her career. Besides her stunning beauty, she is totally involved in the character, and her lypsyncing to Renata Tebaldi's voice is very accurate. Luciano della Marra as Radames has the right look, and the singing is dubbed by Giuseppe Campora. Lois Maxwell as Amneris delivers a fine portrayal, and is properly villainous, and convincingly vulnarable towards the end of the judgement scene. Ebe Stignani does the singing. Afro Poli, a reknowned baritone is a striking and powerful Amonasro. His singing is dubbed by the famous Gino Bechi. I'm surprised that Afro Poli does not do his own singing, even though I'm a big admirer of Bechi.

The video quality is very good, although the colors appear to be on the bright side. I recommend this DVD highly.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A youthful Sophia and a mature Massine, February 25, 2010

By 

Robert Levonian (Porto Alegre, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aida (DVD)

In spite of the heavy make-up to make her look Ethyopian, Sofia - that's how her first name was spelled before Hollywood renamed her Sophia - manages to project a truly moving image of passion (for her Egyptian lover Radames) and duty (for her imprisoned Ethyopian father). In later years the soprano Renata Tebaldi remembered the actress as being ¨... a very shy and simple girl, quite different from the sophisticated woman she later became".

The score has been somewhat shortened, so what you get is not the complete opera, but about 90% of it. Sets and costumes are quite rich and the second act "divertissement" was choreographed by Léonide Massine.