Product Details

• Actors: MONICA BELLUCCI
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0007W6GUO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,405 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sin of Being Too Beautiful, July 6, 2005

By 

Brian E. Erland "BEE" (Brea, CA - USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Malena Uncut Special Edition 2 DVD Set [All regions] (DVD)

Note: Italian with English subtitles.

This is an incredibly sad and poignant film about the despicable treatment levied by an insensitive community on a World War II wife (Monica Bellucci) left alone to fend for herself while her husband is away serving in the Italian Army. It's rumored that he has died in battle but no one knows for sure, not even Malena. It soon becomes assumed by all that she is now a widow and available.

By far the most beautiful and sexually desirable woman in town, the entire community virtually comes to a standstill whenever Malena walks by. The men make little to no attempt to hide their lust as they undress her with their eyes, while the women of the community stare at her just as fiercely for being what they could never be.

Men of influence and wealth are ready and willing to take advantage of the situation. Under the pretense of kindness and generosity they offer their services all the while seeking only to satisfy their carnal desires with her feminine charms. Refusing their sexual advances only makes matters worse for no matter what the truth may be she is unfairly branded a whore and a husband stealer.

While she continues on with her daily routines she silently suffers through all the slander and abuse heaped on by the town. Only one young teenage boy seems to see the sad truth of the situation but he can only watch and quietly deal with his own lustful desires for Malena.

Just as Malena is about to reach her breaking point the German Army occupies the town. Having been rejected for so long by her community she turns to the enemy for acceptance and comfort. This of course only serves to fan the flames of hatred towards her. When the soldiers are finally forced to retreat a final confrontation between Malena and the townspeople is inevitable.

Monica Bellucci is stunning in the role of Malena. Her silent, long-suffering portrayal is heartbreaking. This is pure speculation on my part, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to discover she was picked for the part of Mary Magdalene in Mel Gibson's "The Passion" based on this performance.

Don't buy the - Region 1 - release which has been horribly truncated into 92 minutes. This 2 disc - All Region - "Director's Cut" - release from Korea is the one you want to purchase. It's 108 minutes in length, giving you an additional 16 minutes to enjoy the beautiful Monica Bellucci! "Viva Le Difference!"

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST BUY, October 4, 2005

By 

Ken Adams (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Malena Uncut Special Edition 2 DVD Set [All regions] (DVD)

For anyone interested in watching Monica Bellucci's "Malena", you should by this "Uncut Special Edition". As other reviewers have said, the version that is available in North America is one that has been censored by Miramax. I saw that version first and then bought this one. This version, imported from Korea, is the full film---the way it was meant to be seen. And it is ofcourse much much better.

They censored such truly beautiful scenes that once you see them, you wonder why in the world would Miramax cut them out of the film. I'll just give one example. In one scene, Malena is lying on a chair outside her house on the porch, relaxing in the sun and drying her wet hair. She is wearing a light summer dress and has her hair hanging behind the chair. Drops of water are falling on the ground. The young boy Renato hids behind a tree and looks at her. It is such a beautiful image of Malena that you just want to keep watching it. And apparently the Miramax censor board found this scene too erotic and removed it from the film. I won't tell you the other scenes, I don't want to ruin the movie. So watch the Uncut Edition, and you'll see what you're missing and what a great film this is.

The most striking thing about this movie is that the two central characters of the film, Malena and Renato, do not talk to each other in the whole film. They don't even have a brief conversation. There is only one line---the last line of the film that Renato directly says to Malena, but Malena's reply is a nod. She doesn't say anything in words. But still the whole story revolves around the two. It is truly remarkable that Tornatore, the director, was able to convey such a unique story, mostly through images and not words, showing the true magic of cinema.

61 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars MISLEADING 'UNCUT' VERSION - IT'S CENSORED!, October 9, 2005

By 

Naked Truth "KC" (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Malena Uncut Special Edition 2 DVD Set [All regions] (DVD)

With deleted scenes put back in, this is a 5-star movie. However, this 'Import, Uncut' version is CENSORED in a way that ruins the overall movie. Large, black blotches are used to block out pelvic anatomy without clothing, which now seems typical censorship for all these (Korean?) imports. If you don't think intimate scenes should be covered over with 'black spot' editing, and you're an adult that can handle seeing a naked body - send a message. Don't waste your money.