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The Movie:
A classic of Italian neorealism, "Umberto D" is a haunting, touching and simple tale. Its conflicts manifest themselves in a realistic and effective way, rising out of the story of a simple, formerly respected civil servant trying to keep himself out of poverty. The period is postwar Italy, and Umberto (Carlo Battisti) tries to spend his day gathering enough money to pay the rent to a mean-spirited landlady, who seeks to evict him in order to have a room to rent at twice what he's paying.
In a small diner, he pulls a trick to get enough food to feed his small dog. When he tries to sell his watch, everyone's got one of their own up for sale. Umberto even fakes illness to extend his stay in the hospital, which is less costly than his room. His only friend - aside from his small dog - is a maid where he stays, who happens to be pregnant, but isn't sure which of her boyfriends is the father.
In the end, Umberto has nearly given up, but there just may be someone (or something) that can convince him to keep going, if just for a little bit longer. The film itself is a moving portrayal of dignity and hope that exists in everyone, as well a moving look at the harsh realities of poverty, loneliness and old age.
The film's performances are excellent, even more remarkable considering the fact that actors Carlo Battisti, Maria Pia Casilio were not actors. Casilio, who played the maid, was a discovery by director Vittorio De Sica. Her quiet portrayal of the maid is a heartbreaking and emotional one. Battisti, who was working at a university, portrays Umberto's dignity superbly. They're both occasionally upstaged by the dog, who is possibly one of the cutest creatures in cinema history and impressively well-trained, especially in one scene where he stands with Umberto's hat and begs for change when Umberto can't bring himself to do it. Overall, "Umberto D" still stands up as a remarkable picture in the way that it takes an intimate look at problems that are present in any society, and does so in a way that feels entirely realistic and moving.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Umberto D" is presented by Criterion in the film's original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio. This new high-definition digital transfer was created from the 35mm fine-grain master positive on a Spirit Datacine at 2k resolution. Film restoration was also done via the MTI Digital Restoration System, which removed thousands of instances of dirt and other debris. Although the image quality still suffers from a few minor, understandable flaws, the thought that continued through my mind while watching this film is simply that I didn't know a 52-year-old film could look this good.
The black & white feature appeared in surprisingly good shape, with very good sharpness and detail. A couple of scenes here and there could look a tad softer than the rest, but I found the image to be consistently more well-defined than I'd expected. Fine grain is present throughout the majority of the feature, but it's a soft, light grain that gives the picture a more "film-like" and pleasing appearance, rather than get in the way of viewing enjoyment. No pixelation appeared, and I noticed edge enhancement in only one scene with Umberto in a park. The black and white film looked superb throughout, with deep blacks. Criterion has done marvelous work here, and fans should certainly be pleased.
SOUND: The film is presented in mono (Italian w/English subtitles). This seems to be a perfectly fine recording for the era. Dialogue remains crisp and generally clean-sounding. Sounds effects can be a little bit sharp at times. An occasional bit or two of yelling sounds shrill, too, but not too bad.
EXTRAS: A 55-minute documentary retrospective looking at the work of Di Sica and a 12-minute interview with Maria Pia Casilio are included.
Final Thoughts: Criterion's new edition of "Umberto D" provides a surprisingly clean and fresh-looking presentation of the film, along with a few supplements. I would have liked to learn more about the film's history via a commentary, but the extras here are still quite informative. Highly recommended.
Film Grade
The Film ****
DVD Grades
Video 91/A
Audio: 83/B
Extras: 83/B
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