I fidanzati
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Synopsis
Ermanno Olmi’s masterful feature is the tender story of two Milanese fiancés whose strained relationship is tested when the man accepts a new job in Sicily. With the separation come loneliness, nostalgia, and, perhaps, some new perspectives that might rejuvenate their love. Olmi’s deep humanism charges this moving depiction of ordinary men and women, and the pitfalls of the human heart.
Picture 6/10
The Criterion Collection presents I Fidanzati in the aspect ratio of about 1.78:1 on this single-layered DVD. The image has also been enhanced for widescreen televisions. I was quite impressed with Criterion's wonderful transfer for their DVD release of Olmi's Il Posto, but this one falls just slightly short.
The print has been cleaned up quite a bit and damage is quite minimal. Sharpness is surprisingly strong, and detail is decent. Blacks and whites look great, presenting great gray levels in between. Unfortunately artifacts and noise are a little more noticeable in this release, maybe a dual-layer disc helping a bit (it’s a short film, running only 77-minutes, but there are other supplements on the disc.)
Restoration looks to have been quite good, unfortunately the digital transfer itself hampers it a bit. Still, for such a small, little known film, Criterion did put quite a bit of effort into it.
Audio 6/10
This film is actually quieter than Il Posto but suffers some of the same problems. As far as sound quality goes the track is good, but voices still sound looped on occasion and they can also sound a bit edgy. It is a decent mono track, but nothing really special.
Extras 3/10
The big disappointment is the collection of supplements. Il Posto came with quite a few, but this one only comes with on significant one and that's an interview with director Ermanno Olmi and historian/critic Tullio Kezich. Lasting just shy of 19-minutes, Kezich gets may 2-minutes of screen time, but spends it praising Olmi. But Olmi proves more interesting as he talks a bit about this film, his intentions, the time it was shot, as well as its reception and he also gets into some of his critics. It's a good interview and worth looking at.
And then all you get is an okay theatrical trailer and then an insert with a decent essay by Kent Jones. A nice little touch has a copy of one of the letters that appears in the film is on the back of the insert.
Nice interview but compared to Criterion’s Il Posto is a very slim release.
Closing
The film is another gem but I think it deserves a little better. The transfer has a few issues and looks compressed, presenting some artifacts, and it contains only one true supplement, but a decent one at least. If you can find it at a good price I’d say pick it up, otherwise I’d hold off.