{"id":28116,"date":"2024-03-01T00:38:56","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T08:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=28116"},"modified":"2024-03-01T00:38:56","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T08:38:56","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-allonsanfan-1974","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=28116","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: ALLONSANFAN (1974)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films is\ncurrently available for purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Revolutions are a tricky proposition. After the fact, many\nare written up in almost mythic terms, but the truth is always a bit more\ncomplicated. Most are complete and abject failures. Italian filmmakers Paolo\nand Vittorio Taviani tried to deal with this concept in Allonsanfan<\/em>.\nUnfortunately, critics and audiences weren\u2019t sure what to make of it all during\nits initial release. While respected by some in Italy, just as many were\nirritated by their presentation of the lead. And while the picture earned\nplenty of admirers in France, it could barely get a release in the United\nStates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, it’s easy to see why. The movie doesn\u2019t feature a\nnoble protagonist, but more of a self-preserving central character willing to\ndo anything (including sacrifice those around him) in order to save his own\nskin. This generally goes against the heroic code present in most titles from\nthe US. However, the novel approach does make the movie very interesting to\nwatch. Not every element works, but it is unpredictable and leads viewers down\na strange and ultimately tragic path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story is set in the 1810s and follows Fulvio Imbriani\n(Marcello Mastroianni) a noted aristocrat and revolutionary leader who helped\nthe Jacobins secure victory in the French Revolutionary Wars (before they were\nremoved from power). But his plans to bring change and unification to Italian\ndistricts run by monarchies aren\u2019t as successful. As the film begins, he has\nbeen locked up in a prison for several years and has aged behind bars. Fulvio\nis unexpectedly released by authorities, who are using his release for their\nown ulterior motives. They announce that Fulvio has given them details on his\nrevolutionary group, known as the Sublime Brothers, in the hopes that it will\ndraw the hidden figures out for revenge. The plan works perfectly. The group\nimmediately kidnap Fulvio and brand him a traitor. After convincing them of his\ninnocence, his life is spared, but the lead can see the writing on the wall,\nespecially with armed forces closing in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He decides to run away and hide with family members. The\nstory continues with the figure trying to evade his fellow revolutionaries, as\nwell as authorities. It doesn\u2019t go well, with a past love (Lea Massari)\nsuddenly appearing with Fulvio\u2019s son Massimiliano (Ermanno Taviani) whom he has\nnever met. She promises funds to help his group with weapons in order to start\nan uprising in Sicily. However, Fulvio instead plots against his revolutionary\nfriends, hoping to escape the continent and make a new start in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The character is constantly trying to manipulate every\nsituation to his advantage. This includes using the aforementioned funds on his\npersonal plan (and using some of it for upper-class entertainment with his\npeasant son) and ultimately having to cover his tracks with murder. However,\nover the course of the story he finds that many others, including his later\nrevolutionary lover named Francesca (Mimsy Farmer), are equally if not better\nskilled at this kind of maneuvering. Many within the group are at odds and its\nfascinating to see them occasionally turn on each other. As he is unwillingly\npushed towards an actual battlefield, Fulvio also meets one of the few earnest\nrevolutionaries, a young man named Allonsanfan (Stanko Molnar).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Given the cunning and deeply flawed nature of the\nprotagonist, it could easily have been difficult for audiences to relate to the\nmain character. Thankfully, Mastroianni is such a charismatic lead that he\nmanages to keep viewers curious. Fulvio gets himself in a great deal of trouble\nand it\u2019s fascinating to watch him wrangle himself out of it (although his own\nflaws often end up getting him into even deeper turmoil). The movie delivers an\nintriguing character study of an aging revolutionary who doesn\u2019t see any hope\nfor this latest campaign and wants to remove himself from it, but having to\ncontend with committed compatriots who won\u2019t let him walk away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While there isn\u2019t a cast of thousands or elaborate battle\nscenes in this historical epic, there is still plenty of impressive imagery.\nThere are some interpretive shots during a fracas that leave an impression and\nthe exterior locations are quite striking. The climax, featuring a group of\nunworldly peasants racing across a field with pitchforks to tear apart depleted\nrevolutionaries who are only there to help them, leaves a lasting impression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are slow spells and some exaggerated melodrama between\nFulvio and his female love interests, but first-time viewers will find a lot of\ntwists and turns and a thought-provoking film on their hands. It\u2019s certainly a\nbetter feature than it was given credit for during its original run. At least\nwhile this picture struggled to impress at the time, Paulo and Vittorio would\nend up critical darlings with their next feature Padre Padrone<\/em> (1977),\nwhich is considered one of the best Italian movies ever made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 2K image restoration from the original negative for this\nBlu-ray looks solid. There is some grain in darker sections that take place at\nnight, but the overall picture is sharp and appealing (certainly better than\nany previous edition that would already be scarce). The daylight exteriors,\nincluding a lakeside scene and the finale, are beautiful to witness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disc contains an excellent film historian commentary\nfrom critic Michael Brooke. He offers a lot of insight and deeper meaning\nbehind what is occurring onscreen and how many of the revolutionaries in the\nmovie are at odds. It\u2019s also a good history lesson. You\u2019ll learn that Italy\nwasn\u2019t a fully formed nation at this point in history (Austria was running many\nareas until 1815). There is a fascinating analysis on the use of color with\ncharacters and how their garb adds meaning (Fulvio is often dressed in yellow\nhues while conning others). He also notes the lives of some of the real\nindividuals and revolutionary groups that the story is partially based\non.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There\u2019s also a lot of great discussion about the controversy\nthe film caused. He mentions that the left-wing filmmakers found themselves\nbeing verbally attacked by many attendees at the premiere who were unimpressed\nby the portrayal of the Fulvio character. The directors simply wanted to\npresent a complex and gray character, also showing how coups often don\u2019t go as\nplanned. Apparently, many of the angry individuals ended up being a part of the\npolitical violence that occurred in the country during this period. There is a\nlot of great detail here and it\u2019s one of the most informative commentaries I\nhave heard in some time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, there is a heated hour-long archived audio\ninterview in which a film critic interviews Paolo Taviani along with\ncontemporaries Florestano Vancini (Seasons of Our Love, The Assassination of\nMatteotti<\/em>), Nelo Risi (Diary of a Schizophrenic Girl<\/em>) and Anna Gobbi\n(Lo Scandalo<\/em>). The interviewer persists that there must be a common\nethos between the filmmakers. He also asks them about the future and imminent\ndeath of cinema (seems like this discussion has been happening for some time).\nThe conversation gets heated as the directors ultimately team up to dismiss\nmany of the arguments made by the movie expert. They appear to rightly insist\nthat while they may all be influenced by the current state of the country,\ntheir personal inspirations and intentions are their own and that they aren\u2019t\ntrying to present a unified front together. It\u2019s entertaining to listen to the\npassionate back and forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Blu-ray also includes a trailer and comes with a booklet\ncontaining new writing on the movie and a newly translated interview with the\nTaviani Brothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, Allonsanfan<\/em> is a very interesting and\nunique feature that will certainly impress international film enthusiasts and\nanyone who appreciates Italian cinema should check it out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films is currently available for purchase. Revolutions are a tricky proposition. After the fact, many are written up in almost mythic terms, but the truth is always a bit more complicated. Most are complete and abject failures. Italian filmmakers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani tried to deal with this concept […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":28118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[105,1124,10042,13101,15693,16584,23861],"class_list":["post-28116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-105","tag-allonsanfan","tag-italy","tag-marcello-mastroianni","tag-paolo-taviani","tag-radiance-films","tag-vittorio-taviani"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28116\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}