Rocco and His Brothers Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'Rocco and His Brothers' or 'Rocco e i suoi fratelli" and "Rocco et ses frères")

directed by Luchino Visconti
Italy 1960

Arriving at the end of the neorealism movement in Italian cinema, Rocco and His Brothers (1960) was Luchino Visconti's most ambitious production to date and a personal favorite among his many films. Recounting the tale of a widow, Rosaria Parondi (Katina Paxinou), and her five sons - Rocco (Alain Delon), Simone (Renato Salvatori), Ciro (Max Cartier), Luca (Rocco Vidolazzi) and Vincenzo (Spiros Focas), Visconti paints a sprawling canvas that tells several stories. At the center is the Parondi family, poor Italians from the south who have moved north to Milan in search of a better life. As they adapt to new jobs and relationships, these simple country people are inevitably corrupted by the city.

The emotional range of Rocco and His Brothers is excessive and theatrical like a Verdi opera and often plays like a modern-day Greek tragedy, particularly in its depiction of the relationship between the good son, the saint-like Rocco, and his brutal sibling, Simone, a promising boxer whose downward spiral ends in total degradation (his arrest for the brutal stabbing death of his prostitute lover, Nadia (Annie Girardot).

Excerpt from TCM located HERE

The last gasp of the neo-realist spirit in Visconti's work, Rocco chronicles at length the misfortunes that befall an Italian peasant family when they move to 'The Big City'. There's a grey conviction about much of the scene-setting and the location shooting, but the film gathers interest as it escalates into melodrama; the tragic climax is pure opera. Delon is unconvincing as the saintly Rocco, but Renato Salvatori makes the thuggish elder brother who falls in with a gay boxing promoter his best part ever.

Excerpt from Time Out Film Guide located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: September 6th, 1960 - Italy

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Recommended Books on Italian Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)


Italian Cinema: From Neorealism to the Present by Peter E. Bondanella	Fellini on Fellini by Federico Fellini, Isabel Quigley	Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism by Millicent Marcus	Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives (Toronto Italian Studies) by Howard Curle, Stephen Snyder	Italian Film (National Film Traditions) by Marcia Landy, David Desser	Italian Cinema by Maggie Gunsberg	I, Fellini by Charlotte Chandler, Billy Wilder

Check out more in "The Library"

Comparison:

Eureka 'Masters of Cinema' (2-disc) - Region 0 - PAL vs. Medusa - Region 2 - PAL vs. Image - Region 0 - NTSC vs. C'est La Vie - Region 2 - PAL vs. Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray vs. Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Thanks Pepsi for the Medusa caps and to Gregory for the Region C'est La Vie DVD grabs!

1) Eureka 'Master of Cinema' - Region 0 - PAL TOP LEFT

2) Medusa - Region 2 - PAL TOP RIGHT

3) Image - Region 0 - NTSC - BOTTOM LEFT

4) C'est la Vie - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM SECOND

5) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM THIRD

6) Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM RIGHT

Box Covers

Distribution

Eureka 'Masters of Cinema'

Spine #48
Region 0 - PAL

Medusa

Region 2 - PAL

Image Entertainment

Region 0 - NTSC

C'est la Vie
Region 2 - PAL

Masters of Cinema - Spine # 133
Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Milestone
Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Distribution	Eureka 'Masters of Cinema' Region 0 - PAL	Medusa Region 2 - PAL	Image Entertainment Region 0 - NTSC	C'est la Vie Region 2 - PAL	Masters of Cinema - Spine # 133 Region 'B' - Blu-ray	Milestone Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:49:55 (4% PAL speedup)	2:49:40 (4% PAL speedup)	2:48:15	2:48:00 (4% PAL speedup)	2:58:02.004	2:58:40.875
Video	1.80:1 Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.94 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1:1.80 Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.69 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.59:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.63 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.62:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.2 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.85:1 Aspect Ratio Disc Size: 49,890,119,930 bytes Feature Size: 45,904,564,800 bytes Total Bitrate: 28.01 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 Video	1.85:1 Aspect Ratio Disc Size: 45,658,934,856 bytes Feature Size: 44,578,295,808 bytes Total Bitrate: 29.98 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes
Bitrate: Masters of Cinema
Bitrate: Medusa
Bitrate: Image
Bitrate: Ces't la Vie
Bitrate: UK Blu-ray
Bitrate: Milestone Blu-ray
Audio	Italian (1.0 Dolby Digital), DUB: French	Italian (1.0 Dolby Digital)	Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0)	Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0)	LPCM Audio Italian 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit DUB: LPCM Audio French 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit	LPCM Audio Italian 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles	English and none	English, Spanish, Italian, None	English and none	English (non-removable)	English and none	English and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Masters of Cinema Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1:1.80 Edition Details: • Cinecronaca newsreel from 1960 - 6:57 • Caleidoscopio newsreel from 1960 - 1:47 • Original Italian trailer from 1960 - 3:15 • Les Coulisses Du Tournage from 2003 - 26:40 • Guiseppe Rotunno interview from 1999 - 20:35 • Annie Girardot interview from 2002 - 30:12 • Claudia Cardinale interview from from 1999 - 23:17 • Luchina Visconti documentary from 1999 - 1:00:32 • The extra material is optionally subtitled to English (except the trailer) 40-page liner notes booklet with essays by Guido Aristarco and Visconti plus an interview with Visconti DVD Release Date: February 25th, 2008 Transparent Keep case Chapters 26	Release Information: Studio: Medusa Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1:1.80 Edition Details: • Pagine D'Epoca (1.48) • Trailer (3.16) • Galleria Fotografica (3:13) • Cast/Crew filmographies • Actors • Booklet (40 pages in Italy) • The extra material is not subtitled to English DVD Release Date: Digi Pack Chapters 40	Release Information: Studio: Image Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen - 1.59:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: October 30, 2001 Keep Case Chapters 20	Release Information: Studio: C'est la Vie Aspect Ratio: Widescreen - 1.62:1 NOTE: Box claims it is anamorphic, but is not. Edition Details: • Visconti documentary (61 min) featuring Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon et al • Photo gallery • Trailer • Biographies and filmographies of Cardinale, Delon, Annie Giradot, Luchino Visconti • Also includes color booklet about the film and the documentary, including background details on the film, stills and reviews DVD Release Date: April 22nd, 2002 Keep Case Chapters 28	Release Information: Studio: Masters of Cinema 1.85:1 Disc Size: 49,890,119,930 bytes Feature Size: 45,904,564,800 bytes Total Bitrate: 28.01 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 Video Edition Details: • Two audio choices; the original Italian, and the French dub • Les coulisses du tournage, a 2003 French documentary about the film (20:37) • A 1999 interview with Visconti's cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno (26:31) • An interview with actress Claudia Cardinale (23:18) • A 2002 interview with actress Annie Girardot (30:18) • Luchino Visconti, an hour-long documentary about the life and work of Visconti (1:00:35) • Two vintage newsreels (7:15 + 1:53) • Original Italian trailer (3:25) • 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 Blu-ray Release Date: March 14th, 2016 Transparent Blu-ray case Chapters 28	Release Information: Studio: Milestone Films 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio Disc Size: 45,658,934,856 bytes Feature Size: 44,578,295,808 bytes Total Bitrate: 29.98 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 Video Edition Details: • Video introduction by Martin Scorsese (2:50) Blu-ray 2 • New video interview with Caterina d’Amico, daughter of legendary screenwriter Suso Cecchi d’Amico (Rocco, The Leopard, Bicycle Thieves). (41:18) • Video interview with cast and crew (34:23) • Before-and-after restoration featurette (2:39) • Original production outtakes (5:57) Blu-ray Release Date: July 10th, 2018 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters 5

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray (June 2019): The Milestone 1080P presentation is also 4K-restored, by the Film Foundation and Cineteca di Bologna, and starts with the same text screen (below) as the Masters of Cinema. It is hard to identify significant differences from the static screen captures - the pixels have shifted a bit and the MoC may export more grain and the US Blu-ray may be smoother. It changes from scene to scene. Both looks fantastic in-motion on dual-layered disc with high bitrates.

The audio superiority leans to the Masters of Cinema - also linear PCM but 24-bit as opposed to 16-bit, and MoC offers the optional French DUB. The Milestone sounds pleasing with the Nino Rota (Il Bidone, 8 1/2, I Clowns, Purple Noon, The Leopard etc.) score but marginally more brittle than the richer, deeper UK transfer. Most will not find this a deal-breaker though. The Milestone also offers optional English subtitles (see sample below) and their Blu-ray disc is Region 'A'-locked.

The first Milestone Blu-ray has a 3-minute video introduction by Martin Scorsese also showing some split-screen restoration sequences. Milestone have a second Blu-ray that houses a new 42-minute, 2016, video interview with Caterina d’Amico, the daughter of legendary screenwriter Suso Cecchi d’Amico (Rocco, The Leopard, Bicycle Thieves) and co-author of The Life and Work of Luchino Visconti. It is in Italian with English subtitles. Also included are similar video interviews with cast and crew, as found on the MoC, running almost 35-minutes in total and a short before-and-after restoration featurette as well as 6-minutes of original production outtakes.

Great Blu-ray release from Milestone - I love the cover and the 4K-restored image, uncompressed audio and second BD of extras. The film is a must own looking and sounding this impressive after suffering through years of weak DVDs. Strongly recommended!

***

ADDITION: Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray (February 2016): This looks so impressive - I was blown away. It starts with this text screen:

I'll let the screen captures speak for themselves but this is one of the highlights of the year, IMO. 15 years ago we used to watch this film on that horrible Image Entertainment SD transfer. What a revelation this 4K restoration is. I am floored. It's like seeing the film for the very first time.

Audio is via a linear PCM Italian mono track at 1152 kbps (24-bit) and a similar French DUB. This is also notable from listening to the older DVDs. The score by Nino Rota (Il Bidone, 8 1/2, I Clowns, Purple Noon, The Leopard etc.) is sublime sounding predictably flat but depth is apparent. Dialogue is crisp and clean - consistent throughout. I sampled the French DUB. There are optional English subtitles and the Blu-ray disc is region 'B' locked.

Extras duplicate the 2008 Masters of Cinema DVD with 9-minutes worth of two newsreels (Cinecronaca and Caleidoscopio) the 2003, 20-minute, French documentary entitled Les coulisses du tournage and the 26-minute 1999 interview with Visconti's cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno. There is also the same 23-minut interview with actress Claudia Cardinale from 1999 and a 1/2 hour 2002 interview with actress Annie Girardot. I appreciated re-watching the educational hour-long documentary about the life and work of Visconti (titled Luchina Visconti) and there is an original Italian trailer, The extra material is optionally subtitled to English (except the trailer.) The package has a 40-page liner notes booklet featuring writing by Guido Aristarco, an essay written by the director in 1960, a vintage interview with Visconti and rare archival imagery.

This is a great Blu-ray. This masterpiece film gets an outstanding a/v presentation, the first of the bunch without PAL speedup, and we give it our absolute very highest recommendation!

***

ADDITION: Masters of Cinema - Feb 08': In comparison we can throw-out the non-anamorphic Image Entertainment and the awful boosted C'est la Vie. IMdb, and other sources, claim this film was shot with an intended ratio of 1.66:1 but both the Medusa and MoC are around 1.8:1 - both are progressive and 16X9 enhanced. They look remarkably similar with possibly the MoC having some boosted black levels to bring up sharpness at times. Both look very good but not pristine. For all we know this is the best this film will look on digital. The Masters of Cinema package vaults ahead with some strong supplements - all optionally subtitled in English.

First we have Cinecronaca newsreel from 1960 - it runs almost 7 minutes. Then there is a short Caleidoscopio newsreel - also from 1960. We may view the original Italian trailer running a lengthy 3minutes 15 seconds. Les Coulisses Du Tournage is a French featurette / documentary from 2003 with extensive clips from the film and input from Cardinale and others - it runs almost a half hour. Guiseppe Rotunno, Visconti's cinematographer on Rocco and His Brothers, is interviewed from Italian TV 1999. It is 20 minutes long. There is another interview - this time with Annie Girardot from 2002 from French TV talking about her experiences working with Visconti - it is a half hour long. Next up is a 23 minute Claudia Cardinale interviewed from from 1999 as part of the Italian RAI series for Memories of Italian Cinema. Finally a wonderfully insightful, hour long, RAI Luchina Visconti documentary from 1999 with input from Burt Lancaster, Cardinale, Jean Marais and others. All extra material is optionally subtitled in English (except the trailer). Finally there is a wonderful 40-page liner notes booklet with essays by Guido Aristarco and Visconti plus an interview with Visconti.

BOTTOM LINE: the image appears as equal to, or a marginal improvement over, the Italian Medusa edition, but the huge bonus is the almost 3 hours of relevant supplement material on the second disc is almost worth the price alone. Add to that the magnificent included booklet and it's easy to identify the Master of Cinema as the definitive package for this classic neorealist film - Visconti's personal favorite. We say - BUY!

- Gary W. Tooze

***

ADDITION: Medusa - Oct 06': On the Medusa DVD cover there's a note: VERSIONE RESTAURATA. Even though these seems to be the best version (with English subs) to date, it's not Criterion standard. The Image is 16X9 enhanced, but has an overall softness. There's aliasing visible, and occasionally the image looks very "digital". But it can be viewed successfully with a projector, where the other versions exhibit too many flaws. Why these edition is 1:40 seconds longer than C'est la Vie I don't know.

- Per-Olof Strandberg

Both are relatively bad prints but the C'est La Vie has had some contrast boosting. Both are hazy. The C'est la Vie has a 2nd disc with a documentary about director Visconti, but that hardly makes up for the poor image quality. If you require English subtitles then the Image has the best picture quality, but if you understand French then there is a dubbed TV1 version with slightly better picture image.

- Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

Eureka 'Master of Cinema' - Region 0 - PAL - LEFT Medusa - Region 2- PAL RIGHT

Eureka 'Master of Cinema' - Region 0 - PAL - Disc 2

(Image - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. C'est la vie - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Milestone Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Subtitle Sample

1) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Eureka 'Master of Cinema' - Region 0 - PAL TOP

2) Medusa - Region 2 - PAL SECOND

3) Image - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) C'est la Vie - Region 2 - PAL - FOURTH

5) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FIFTH

6) Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Eureka 'Master of Cinema' - Region 0 - PAL TOP

2) Medusa - Region 2 - PAL SECOND

3) Image - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) C'est la Vie - Region 2 - PAL - FOURTH

5) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FIFTH

6) Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Eureka 'Master of Cinema' - Region 0 - PAL TOP

2) Medusa - Region 2 - PAL SECOND

3) Image - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) C'est la Vie - Region 2 - PAL - FOURTH

5) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FIFTH

6) Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Eureka 'Master of Cinema' - Region 0 - PAL TOP

2) Medusa - Region 2 - PAL SECOND

3) Image - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) C'est la Vie - Region 2 - PAL - FOURTH

5) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FIFTH

6) Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Eureka 'Master of Cinema' - Region 0 - PAL TOP

2) Medusa - Region 2 - PAL SECOND

3) Image - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) C'est la Vie - Region 2 - PAL - FOURTH

5) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FIFTH

6) Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

More Blu-ray Captures

1) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

More Milestone - Region 'A' - Blu-ray Captures

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Report Card:

Image:	Blu-rays
Sound:	MoC Blu-ray
Extras:	MoC DVD and Blu-ray

Box Covers

Distribution

Eureka 'Masters of Cinema'

Spine #48
Region 0 - PAL

Medusa

Region 2 - PAL

Image Entertainment

Region 0 - NTSC

C'est la Vie
Region 2 - PAL

Masters of Cinema - Spine # 133
Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Milestone
Region 'A' - Blu-ray

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