My Voyage to Italy (1999)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Four hours of Martin Scorsese talking us through his favourite Italian (mainly neo-realist) films. The format is odd. The problem is not that we don't get to see much of Scorsese - he appears only occasionally - but that he basically presents condensed versions of entire films - lots of them one after the other, using an extensive series of clips over which he narrates the story from beginning to end, giving away everything. This is annoying, and it is necessary to keep fast-forwarding in order to avoid all the spoilers.Rossellini gets most attention - a third of the film is devoted to him. Rome Open City, Paisan, Flowers of St Francis, and Viaggio in Italia are all treated in depth. The others, and the films that he singles out to rave about, are: Visconti (Senso), Fellini, (I Vitelloni), De Sica (Gold of Naples) and Antonioni (L'Avventura) - although many others touched on in less detail.Scorsese insists repeatedly that these films influenced his own work, but at no point gives any particular examples, and it's hard to see any. Where is the realism and the humanism in Scorsese's films? He admires Viaggio in Italia for not leaping from one climax to the next, instead allowing the drama to unfold through small moments - and yet breaks that precept completely in The Aviator.It's relentless adulation rather than critical assessment, and that becomes dull. Without adding enough critical value, it's hard to understand the point of the whole exercise.

I have watched this documentary on SBS television, which broke the film up into a five part series. My initial curiosity to see a respected and innovative director speak about some of his favorite films has turned into an amazing fascination and unexpected, delightful education in Italian cinema! Scorsese's commentary makes all the difference - humorous (loved the story about going to the barber!), insightful, passionate, and at times overwhelming intimate. Sometimes I could swear he's sitting on the other couch, pointing out significant and personal moments in the film clips for me. I certainly am inspired to rent some of these films from our local library, as well as revisit some of Scorsese's own works to compare the influence. No self respecting film fan should miss this opportunity to learn from one of the greatest film makers (and film fanatic in his own right) of our time. When are we going to the movies again, Marty? I'll buy the popcorn!!

I definitely enjoyed an evening watching Turner Classic Movies listening to Martin Scorsese discuss his appreciation and affection for many of the formative films of Italian cinema, particularly the neo-realism movement and the post-war works of Rossellini, De Sica, Fellini, Visconti and Antonioni. So personal is this documentary, that it was like spending an evening with a friend sharing a mutual interest; and for those with an interest in International cinema, this is a rare treat. My suggestion is to hunt down as many of these films as you can find on video, then view them on the biggest television you can find. Among the more obscure and brilliant works discussed are PAISAN, GERMANY-YEAR ZERO, OSSESSIONE, SENSO, L'ECLISSE and I VITELLONI; along with more popular masterpieces, OPEN CITY, BICYCLE THIEF, LA DOLCE VITA, EIGHT AND A HALF and L'AVVENTURA. Superb!

There are so few people today who are interested in the great films of yesteryear. That's sad on many levels, but one of the more ironic reasons is that many of the directors who are so loved today could not have made the great films they did, had they not been so deeply inspired by the films of the past. Especially by the period of neo-realism in Italian Cinema (1940s-1960s).There's no way anyone could make a bad documentary about this era, since the films themselves have such a strong impact that any clips would be fascinating. But Scorsese has given us his very personal experience of these films, and that gives each of the films some context. Those of us who can remember seeing these films for the first time can relive the experience with Scorsese, exactly as if they were seeing the films for the first time. It also makes one think back on all the most important films in our personal lives. The films that first gave the world dimension, and the films that first made us worship the potential that great cinema has. The main directors featured are Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Lucino Visconti, Michaelangelo Antonioni and Federico Fellini, and Scorsese lovingly takes his time showing us numerous clips from most of their greatest films. I was lucky enough to see this documentary in a cinema, and I hope others will also have that chance. Most of the films featured I'd only seen on video. Some I'd liked a lot, others I loved, but nothing prepared me for the impact of seeing those images on the big screen! But even if you can only catch this on video or DVD, do your best to see it. It's what I call "sacred cinema"!