31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Fox Lorber DVD...experience the worst DVD transfer, October 28, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Padre Padrone (DVD)
a true story, about living under unbelievable paternal cruelty. the landscape must be beutiful, but this dvd transfer manages to obscure all that. this is the type of product you get when vulgar and dishonest people are involved in its making; this becomes more apparent when it involve the production of art-related materials, where ultimate crftmanship is required. I hope that a remastered version well be published sometimes in the future. avoid this dvd and all Fox Lorber dvd.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MY FATHER , MY MASTER..., April 16, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Padre Padrone (DVD)
Here is a landmark film of the seventies , a film with a great dramatic intensity , it has its roots in neo-realism yet so beautiful and lyrical. The 5 stars are for Paolo and Vittorio Taviani , Omero Antonuti and the rest of the crew. For Fox Lorber a zero on a transfer job so poorly done , the VHS tape plays better; they did the same with "Ran" , by Kurosawa . Let us hope someone will hear our voices screaming bloody murder , and hoping for a decent digital transfer on these and similar "butchered" masterpieces.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well-done, some strange moments if you don't object, January 18, 2006
No matter how preserving, redemptive, or moving, this 1977 Cannes Festival winner comes across, it has it's weird moments. Padre Padrone is translated to Father, the Boss. The story encompasses abuse, brutality, bestiality, religion, oppression, etc. The directors, the Taviani brothers, are intent at depicting this barbaric existence.
Based on the autobiographical story of Gavino Ledda, an illiterate sheepherder who escaped his father's rule, joined the military, was self-taught and became professor of linguistics.
Gavino is hauled away from school at the age of 7 by his father who needs his son to watch the sheep, and that his education will come at 18 years of age. He orders the boy to live in the fields day and night. We see the abusive treatment his father imposes and we are privy to some sickening bestiality moments (by the younger children who are also sheepherders).
But the childhood scenes are quickly relayed to Gavino years later, as a young man. And there are more strange interactions within his family. Too many scenes are left to your imagination as to what is happening or we are left with little clue as to why.
When he escapes life as a sheepherder, Gavino joins the military. It is here that his speech doesn't compare to the others he becomes self-educated in phonetics and he becomes a radio operator, I believe it is. Then, he goes back home to the village and confronts his father. Here, we get a better understanding of the conflict to come. This review is from the videotape.
Rizzo
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