25 February 2016

Review: Rocco and His Brothers

Blu-ray: Rocco and His Brothers (1960)

After the death of her husband, mother Rosaria takes her four sons Rocco Parondi (Alain Delon), Simone, Ciro, and Luca to join her eldest son Vincenzo in Milan. Presented in five distinct sections, the film weaves the story of the five brothers Vincenzo, Simone, Rocco, Ciro and Luca Parondi as each of them adapt to their new lives in the city.

Directed by (Duke) Luchino Visconti, Rocco and His Brothers is a sprawling family saga. In his early works he followed the path of Neorealism, and although this film is could be called a sort of soap-opera because of family story, at times I was reminded of The Godfather and also West Side Story, and even Rocky.

However, this isn’t ‘light’ viewing. Poverty, prostitution, hopelessness and a graphic rape make this a real classic. The acting is impeccable, stand outs being Annie Girardot as Nadia the prostitute and lover of 2 brothers, Katina Paxinou as Rosaria the mother who is obsessed with her sons, but more obesessed with feeling important in her new neighbourhood and of course Alain Delon as Rocco, who despite being one of the most gorgeous men to ever appear on film also had massive acting chops.

This is the sort of film I could write a 6000 word essay on. It is nothing short of bloody magnificent. Gritty and horrible, filled with hope and despair, Eureka have brought out another great package and this title truly deserves to be in their Masters of Cinema catalogue. A must buy.

SPECIAL FEAURES:

Gorgeous high-definition 1080p presentation from a new 4k restoration
Optional English subtitles
Two audio choices; the original Italian, and the French dub
Les coulisses du tournage, a 2003 French documentary about the film
A 1999 interview with Visconti’s cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno
An interview with actress Claudia Cardinale
A 2002 interview with actress Annie Girardot
Luchino Visconti, an hour-long documentary about the life and work of Visconti
Two vintage newsreels
Original Italian trailer
PLUS: A 40-PAGE BOOKLET featuring writing by Guido Aristarco, an essay written by the director in 1960, a vintage interview with Visconti and rare archival imagery.