Great Job Kino!

Hi guys,

I just watched the DVD release of Assunta Spina,and I just wanted to thank you
guys at Kino and everyone involved with this release for making this real gem
available to us.I thought this was an excellent film and Francesca Bertini was
a stunning actress as well as extremely beautiful with gorgeous olive skin,a
head of lovely dark hair and large and intense eyes.She dominates the screen
everytime she's in front of the camera,and she's able to convey deep and
unflinching intensity.Being an avid opera lover,what's interesting about this
film is the rather operatic quality about it,with strong emotions of
passion,suffering,love,jealousy running high.Great score as well.

I also enjoyed The Last Diva documentary that accompanied the film.Even in her
early 90's Bertini was still very much the diva.She's in total control of the
documentary,and she dosen't balk at boasting of her importance on the screen,or
her phenomenal stardom in the Italian cinema and there was something rather
poignant about the 90 year old Bertini watching the 20-something Bertini.You
really get the sense of all the time that has passed.

Does anyone know how many of Bertini's films are still around?I suspect there
aren't many,but I'd love to see more of her.Are Fedora or La Tosca still
around?Probably not.Any chance Kino,Milestone,Image,that there'll be more
releases of Bertini in the future?Or perhaps some of the other Italian
actresses such as Lyda Borelli or Pina Menichelli?

Anyway,thanks again.I highly recommend this release to anyone who hasn't gotten
it yet.

Best Wishes,
James

JMozart17561791 wrote:

> Hi guys,
>
> I just watched the DVD release of Assunta Spina,and I just wanted to thank you
> guys at Kino and everyone involved with this release for making this real gem
> available to us.I thought this was an excellent film and Francesca Bertini was
> a stunning actress as well as extremely beautiful with gorgeous olive skin,a
> head of lovely dark hair and large and intense eyes.She dominates the screen
> everytime she's in front of the camera,and she's able to convey deep and
> unflinching intensity.Being an avid opera lover,what's interesting about this
> film is the rather operatic quality about it,with strong emotions of
> passion,suffering,love,jealousy running high.Great score as well.
>
> I also enjoyed The Last Diva documentary that accompanied the film.Even in her
> early 90's Bertini was still very much the diva.She's in total control of the
> documentary,and she dosen't balk at boasting of her importance on the screen,or
> her phenomenal stardom in the Italian cinema and there was something rather
> poignant about the 90 year old Bertini watching the 20-something Bertini.You
> really get the sense of all the time that has passed.
>
> Does anyone know how many of Bertini's films are still around?I suspect there
> aren't many,but I'd love to see more of her.Are Fedora or La Tosca still
> around?Probably not.Any chance Kino,Milestone,Image,that there'll be more
> releases of Bertini in the future?Or perhaps some of the other Italian
> actresses such as Lyda Borelli or Pina Menichelli?
>
> Anyway,thanks again.I highly recommend this release to anyone who hasn't gotten
> it yet.
>
> Best Wishes,
> James

Alas, there are only two sequences from Tosca--the Pacific Film Archive has one,
which is Mario in prison up until almost the end. Don't remember who has the
other. Sad, but at least better than Pauline Frederick's Tosca, which i haven't
found any trace of. Sangue Blue (1914) was in the traveling Diva's show a couple
years ago, and was also very interesting--perhaps not of as much academic interst
as Assunta Spina, but more entertaining.

The FIAF catalog lists:
TU M'APPARTIENS (FR, Maurice Gleize, 1928)
TRISTANO E ISOTTA (IT, Ugo Falena, 1911)
TERRA PROMESSA (IT, Baldassarre Negroni, 1913)
SUOCERA, LA (IT, 1913)
SPIRITISMO (IT, Camillo De Riso, 1918)
SIGNORA DALLE CAMELIE, LA (IT, Gustavo Serena, 1915)
SFINGE, LA (IT, Leone Roberto Roberti, 1920)
SERPE, LA (IT, Leone Roberto Roberti, 1920)
SANGUE BLEU (IT, Nino Oxilia, 1914)
SALOMÉ (IT, Ugo Falena, 1910)
RE LEAR (IT, Gerolamo Lo Savio, 1910)
RAGAZZA DI AMALFI, LA (IT, Leone Roberto Roberti, 1921)
PROCESSO CLÉMENCEAU, IL (IT, Alfredo De Antoni, 1917)
PIOVRA, LA (IT, Edoardo Bencivenga, 1919)
ORO MALEDETTO, L' (IT, 1914)
ORGOGLIO, L' (IT, Edoardo Bencivenga, 1919)
ODETTE (IT, Giuseppe de Liguoro, 1916)
NODO, IL (IT, 1921)
NELLY LA DOMINATRICE (IT, Mario Caserini, 1912)
MERCANTE DI VENEZIA, IL (IT, Gerolamo Lo Savio, 1910)
MARIUTE (IT, Edoardo Bencivenga, 1918)
MARION, ARTISTA DI CAFFE-CONCERTO (IT, Leone Roberto Roberti, 1920)
MADDALENA FERAT (IT, Leone Roberto Roberti & Febo Mari, 1920)
INVIDIA, L' (IT, Alfredo De Antoni, 1919)
IDOLO INFRANTO (IT, Emilio Ghione, 1913)
HISTOIRE D'UN PIERROT (IT, Baldassarre Negroni, 1913)
GOLA, LA (IT, Pio Vanzi & Camillo De Riso [?], 1919)
GIULIETTA E ROMEO (IT, Gerolamo Lo Savio, 1911)
FROU-FROU (IT, Alfredo De Antoni, 1918)
FRANCESCA DA RIMINI (IT, Ugo Falena, 1911)
FEDORA (IT, Giuseppe De Liguoro & Gustavo Serena, 1916)
CONTESSA SARA, LA (IT, Leone Roberto Roberti, 1919)
CONTESSA DI CHALLANT E DON PEDRO DI CORDOVA, LA (IT, Gerolamo Lo Savio, 1911)
BUFERA, LA (IT, Baldassarre Negroni, 1913)
BEATRICE CENCI (IT, Gerolamo Lo Savio, 1910)
ASSUNTA SPINA (IT, Gustavo Serena & Francesca Bertini, 1915)
ANIMA ALLEGRA (IT, Leone Roberto Roberti, 1919)
AMAZZONE MASCHERATA, L' (IT, Emilio Ghione, 1914)
AFFAIRE CLEMENCEAU, L' (IT, Alfredo De Antoni, 1917)
ACCIDIA, L' (IT, Edoardo Bencivenga, 1919)

Whoopee, there's Fedora! It's George Eastman House.

By the way (also to the person also asking a Diva question), concerning Borelli and
Menichelli--Malombra used to be out on video in Italy and is very Borelli.
Rapsodia Satanica is out on video from Kavel, but it's a crummy fuzzy black and
white version, and not as impressive as the wonderful tinted print restored by the
Cineteca di Bologna--if you ever get a chance to see this, don't miss it. As for
Menichelli, La Tigre Reale is wonderfully demented, another Italian Diva must-see,
but, unfortunately, not on video.

greta