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Editorial Reviews
The second haunting film from director Luchino Visconti presents a wrenching study of a family struggling to find happiness against the backdrop of Sicily's fishing community. Real Sicilian locals played all of the villagers, whose lives undergo dramatic changes when they plot to overthrow the wholesalers depriving them of a decent living. Against the odds, they still enjoy love, laughter, and friendship within their community. Experience the drama and visual poetry of this international classic, now presented in its complete European cut.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I have had something like a thirty year desire to see this, director Luchino Visconti's second film. To my knowledge, it has never enjoyed wide theatrical distribution, which given its content and tone, is hardly surprising. A relentlessly downbeat view of the lives of Sicilian fishermen, it's also a tad on the long side. Still, to have it available on video is a wonderful treat. I can't imagine myself watchiing it frequently, but it has a compositional integrity that more than compensates for the depressing subject matter.
Never having seen the film projected, I cannot gauge the effectiveness of the video transfer. My guess is that it is so-so: good enough to give a sense of what the film looks like but not produced with enough care to bring out all the richness of detail and contrast. The opening credits, for example, superimposed over images of dawn in the fishing village, are barely intelligible. With a little more effort, the disc producers could probably have found a way to make the sequence work on video. As it is, we more or less have to imagine what it would look like.
"La Terra Trema" is Italian Neorealism at its most epic. Unlike De Sica's "Bicycle Thief," for example, which reveals the tragedy of one man's decline, "Terra" self-consciously uses the Valastro family as an example of a larger phenomenon. Visconti makes no effort to conceal his political prejudices, at one point clearly identifying the corrupt, exploitive wholesalers with the recently deposed Mussolini regime while relentlessly identifying the central characters' problems with social and economic forces.
The hopelessness of the situation is relieved only by the internal cohesion of the family which, nonetheless, undergoes severe tests. While we can well imagine the Valastros sinking even lower after the film's ambiguous ending, what is most striking about the film more than fifty years after its release, is its essential *optimism.* The call for a united front to withstand exploitation is good, old-fashioned Marxism at its most bald and unapologetic. The film's unabashed faith in human nature and the possibility of positive change feels not so much naive as nostalgic, the product of a time when it was still possible to believe in broad, systemic change. Wrapped in Visconti's well-known eye for sensuous spectacle, "La Terra Trema" is a good two-and-a-half hour tract just shy of convincing.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Luchino Visconti, was a true poet of the image. An admirable creator of atmospheres a fundamental filmmaker who hardly accepts a special category. His magnificent employment of the camera, the mesmerizing scripts signed a successful and prominent trajectory.
La Terra Trema is a powerful portrait of a small village of fishermen, where the hopeless and the oppressive reality surrounds every single frame. At the moment you elaborate a list about primordial films of the Italian Neo Realism, this movie must necessarily included.
You will be a silent witness of a crowd of people who will face all sort of adversities; a bitter metaphor of that isolated micro cosmos of the Post War Italia, with its sorrows, afflictions and little rejoicings.
Expressive, incisive and unforgettable movie. A giant among the classics
La Terra Trema is a powerful portrait of a small village of fishermen, where the hopeless and the oppressive reality surrounds every single frame. At the moment you elaborate a list about primordial films of the Italian Neo Realism, this movie must necessarily included.
You will be a silent witness of a crowd of people who will face all sort of adversities; a bitter metaphor of that isolated micro cosmos of the Post War Italia, with its sorrows, afflictions and little rejoicings.
Expressive, incisive and unforgettable movie. A giant among the classics
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Neorealism Epic About A Family In Turmoil: Two Visconti Classics Arrive On DVD
March 7, 2012
Format:DVD
The post-World War II films that emerged from Italy from the mid-forties to the early fifties represent, to me, one of the strongest and most vital periods of filmmaking ever. Some truly great directors worked within the Italian neorealism film movement, and the gritty and truthful movies they made really captured a country in moral and economic transition. These films were grounded in real characters (often portrayed by non-actors) struggling with relatable problems of every day existence with recurrent themes of poverty and desperation. And yet, they were also filled with such life, passion, and simplicity. Relying on concise storytelling and genuine human emotion, these films just feel inherently real even so many decades later. One of the masters of the period, Luchino Visconti, has two classics being dropped onto the DVD market on the same day: a re-release of 1948's "La Terra Trema" (long out of print) and 1951's "Bellissima" (incredibly getting its North American DVD debut). Of course, anyone with an interest in international cinema should have a particular interest in these titles.
La Terra Trema (4 stars): Of the two films, this might be the purest example of neorealism. The entire film takes place on location in an Italian coastal village. The cast is made up of non-professional actors who really seem to be at one with the material. The lengthy film (2 hours and 40 minutes) charts the disintegration of a typical Sicilian fishing clan. When the family gets tired of being taken advantage of by local wholesalers, they embark on a brave plan to work for themselves and take their product direct to market with no middleman. But their effort to better their existence is met with contempt by the town and when they fall into hardship, their troubles are met with indifference and pettiness. This is no fairy tale, but a bitterly unpleasant look at a family ostracized by their ambition (which is nothing more than to make a reasonable living). How unforgivable! The film doesn't shy away from despair and has both a quiet power and a surprising dignity that gets under your skin.
Bellissima: (4 1/2 stars): It's unfathomable to me that a Visconti film starring the incredible Anna Magnani (Oscar winner for The Rose Tattoo) hasn't been available on DVD in the U.S. market by now! Bellissima also tells the story of a family, but this one resides in the city. Magnani plays a put-upon housewife, nurse, and starstruck dreamer who sees an open audition for child actresses as the big break she needs to achieve wealth and status. She secretly takes her daughter to a huge casting call, meets some questionable representation, and proceeds to risk everything their family has for a potential shot at movie making glory. It's almost painful to see the choices that Magnani makes, but she is so driven. At any moment, it seems that disaster and disillusionment will be looming--and the entire experience is quite unsettling. Magnani, as an actress, is (as always) a force to be reckoned with. Without a pause, this performance is almost like a non-stop monologue as she is front and center (and vocal) for just about every scene. It's powerful stuff, and there's no one else like Magnani. If you like her, this is a can't miss proposition.
The two Visconti films certainly stand the test of time. One is driven by unknowns, one is driven by star wattage. But together, they showcase two different types of people who share similar dreams of economic independence. Let's hope these releases by a pretty high profile company (Entertainment One) represent a willingness to bring more previously unavailable international classics to a modern audience. KGHarris, 3/12.
La Terra Trema (4 stars): Of the two films, this might be the purest example of neorealism. The entire film takes place on location in an Italian coastal village. The cast is made up of non-professional actors who really seem to be at one with the material. The lengthy film (2 hours and 40 minutes) charts the disintegration of a typical Sicilian fishing clan. When the family gets tired of being taken advantage of by local wholesalers, they embark on a brave plan to work for themselves and take their product direct to market with no middleman. But their effort to better their existence is met with contempt by the town and when they fall into hardship, their troubles are met with indifference and pettiness. This is no fairy tale, but a bitterly unpleasant look at a family ostracized by their ambition (which is nothing more than to make a reasonable living). How unforgivable! The film doesn't shy away from despair and has both a quiet power and a surprising dignity that gets under your skin.
Bellissima: (4 1/2 stars): It's unfathomable to me that a Visconti film starring the incredible Anna Magnani (Oscar winner for The Rose Tattoo) hasn't been available on DVD in the U.S. market by now! Bellissima also tells the story of a family, but this one resides in the city. Magnani plays a put-upon housewife, nurse, and starstruck dreamer who sees an open audition for child actresses as the big break she needs to achieve wealth and status. She secretly takes her daughter to a huge casting call, meets some questionable representation, and proceeds to risk everything their family has for a potential shot at movie making glory. It's almost painful to see the choices that Magnani makes, but she is so driven. At any moment, it seems that disaster and disillusionment will be looming--and the entire experience is quite unsettling. Magnani, as an actress, is (as always) a force to be reckoned with. Without a pause, this performance is almost like a non-stop monologue as she is front and center (and vocal) for just about every scene. It's powerful stuff, and there's no one else like Magnani. If you like her, this is a can't miss proposition.
The two Visconti films certainly stand the test of time. One is driven by unknowns, one is driven by star wattage. But together, they showcase two different types of people who share similar dreams of economic independence. Let's hope these releases by a pretty high profile company (Entertainment One) represent a willingness to bring more previously unavailable international classics to a modern audience. KGHarris, 3/12.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not your typical Hollywood Movie
We watched the entire movie, not understanding a word. There were no subtitles and it was in Italian. Surprise! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Georgianna M. Bergeron
5.0 out of 5 stars
La Terra Trema
Through Visconti's unsparing lens, we witness the daily repetition of back-breaking labor and ongoing pain of injustice the fishermen face. Read more
Published on September 6, 2005 by John Farr
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite Criterion quality but the film is a masterpiece
Visconti's 'La Terra Trema' is about as detailed account of a fishing village you may ever watch (about 3 hours long) - but the rewards of this film are endless. Read more
Published on November 17, 2004 by Stalwart Kreinblaster
5.0 out of 5 stars
What We Need are Tax Cuts for the Fishermen
I had read about this movie because it comes up on an occassional "All Time Greatest Movie" lists. Read more
Published on June 27, 2004 by Randy Keehn
3.0 out of 5 stars
Visconti Goes Fishing
I've searched a very long time to see this movie. I've noticed that all of Luchino Visconti's films are extremely hard to obtain. Read more
Published on September 15, 2003 by Alex Udvary
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