(aka 'The Wedding Director')

Directed by Marco Bellocchio

Italy / France 2006

 

Sergio Castellitto, the star of “The Wedding Director,” is not what you would call a comedian. His glowering ferocity is currently on display in “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” in which he plays the principal villain with Shakespearean relish. Over the last decade his anxious, melancholy countenance — the difference between mild concern and existential agony can be measured in the angle of his frown — has lent intelligence and gravity to films directed by Jacques Rivette, Marco Bellocchio and Mr. Castellitto himself.

But if Mr. Castellitto is rarely funny in the usual sense, he is almost always witty. One of his eyebrows tilts a little higher than the other, animating his stoical features with a hint of skepticism, or perhaps surprise. Mr. Bellocchio, the writer and director of “The Wedding Director,” allows him a single smile in the course of the film, but like a Buster Keaton hero, the actor refuses mirth in part to provoke the audience’s laughter.

Excerpt from A.O. Scott's review at the NY Times located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: May - 2006 - Cannes Film Festival

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DVD Review: New Yorker - Region 1 - NTSC

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Distribution New Yorker - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime 1:42:56 
Video 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 8.34 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Audio Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0) 
Subtitles English, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: New Yorker

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1

Edition Details:

• Making of...
• Sketches Gallery
• Trailer

DVD Release Date: December 16th, 2008

Keep Case
Chapters: 20

 

Comments:

Typical New Yorker DVD - a strong, worthwhile film, but an interlaced transfer from an unconverted PAL source. On the positive the image is certainly watchable (although far from ideal.) It looks a bit thick showing some haze - but for this particular film it didn't deter my enjoyment.

New Yorker offers original Italian 5.1 or 2.0 channel and has optional English subtitles in a smallish white font.

Extras are kind of slight with a featurette consisting of a few minutes of behind the scenes footage (optionally subtitled), a sketches gallery and a trailer.

I enjoyed the film - it had a nice flair to it and I believe this is the only English-friendly DVD option available. Bellocchio's created a small gem here with homage (Fellini?) and some amusement as well. There is something very cool about this and Castellitto really made 'Franco Elica' his own. 

Gary W. Tooze

 



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Distribution New Yorker - Region 1 - NTSC




 

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