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This one's been sitting on my kevyip way too long so I'm watching it right now... the picture is really stunning upscaled, I can't imagine it looking better without being HD.

However there's a huge problem, which may just affect my disk, in that several times (i'm around an hour in and there must have been at least 20 instances by this point), the subtitles flash up for less than a second, and usually when there's a couple of lines of subtitles! It's quite frustrating having to keep rewinding then trying to pause while the subs are on screen to catch what is said; although on the plus side it makes me want to improve my Italian!

Could this be a fault specific to my disk? Something tells me it isn't in that it only affects certain subtitles..

Nick?

I do remember this film is incredibly verbose. Subtitles should be appearing for longer than a second though. Have you tried it on other players to see if the subtitles behave the same way in those instances.

Weird, I did as you suggest and tried it on something else (DVD Player on my Mac), and went to some of the parts I remember several examples of what I mentioned, and they all played fine, with the subtitles at a suitable duration. My player is a Blu-ray Momitsu clone (the UK 'Limit'); I wonder if it'll work ok on my PS3..

I've found that sometimes older DVDs can get a bit queeny with subtitles and just a manual switch off and on or playing a different disc helps if you want to retest your player.

I watched it broken up over two evenings so that didn't seem to help, but i'll try putting another disk in then trying again. Thanks knives

Supposedly a rarely screened film, Lincoln Center showed an excellent 35mm print these past few days, and it is indeed quite wonderful. It's a great showcase for Anna Magnani, all the more striking for being a full-out comedy. (It was mentioned that Visconti didn't do any other straight comedies, and this was the first time I've seen Anna Magnani in a comic role though she's always had wonderfully amusing scenes in her dramatic work.)

peerpee wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2010 7:43 am I do remember this film is incredibly verbose. Subtitles should be appearing for longer than a second though.

It was indeed incredibly verbose - Magnani's character talks to herself non-stop, but it's hilarious.

david hare wrote: Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:17 amThis is so MUCH better a movie than La Terra Trema! (which I now view as a hiccup in his career.)

Having seen these virtually back-to-back, I don't think David's wrong. At the very least, Bellissima has a much, much better script, and it does so much more with its subject than La Terra Trema.

Some of the domestic fights seem like inspirations for those in Scorsese's own films. (There were many laughs from the sold out audience, but the biggest one came when one of their neighbors struggled to make it down the stairs to break up a fight, yelling "momento! momento!") Most of it seems primarily a showcase for Magnani, but the last 15-20 minutes are perfect, from the second they step into the projection room all the way to the end.

This is coming from French label Les Films du Camélia tomorrow, in a new 4k restoration.

I received the French release for review.

Had a very quick look at it on my PC before starting the BD Info scan : I can't say it looked instantly convincing. I seem to recall it's from the OCN, but it didn't seem to look like it. Contrast seemed a bit bonkers (like a B&W video grading from 25 years ago, very grey and bright), but it also looked either at least partly filtered or with the worst 30 Mbps encode ever (my guess is : it's filtered, but the encode also isn't good enough - surprising, as Camélia's encodes are usually perfectly fine).

I'll wait for a full watch to confirm, but good stuff are also good at first glance, and this didn't.

This restoration was released in Italy at the end of 2023 on a Mustang Entertainment Blu Ray which includes optional English subtitles and pretty much the same extras as the MoC DVD previously...

I have now watched the disc in full and yup, it's not good. Grain is mostly obliterated and contrast at times look like what you'd get on a 30yo master, very greyish and unsubtle. A few shots manage to stay afloat, but grain-wise, the little grain that remains can look like frozen in place.
There also are a few shots that seem sourced from a dupe, and it makes the filtering and the bonkers grading even more glaring.
What a shame.