A choppy, uneven portrait of Italy and her people, The Italians opens with a look at the Italian fascination with the Ferrari automobile, presenting this as the embodiment of the modern Italian "soul": ultimate freedom, beauty, luxury, and style. From here, the program moves on to Milan, focusing on the Italian fashion industry, with particular reference to artist-photographer-designer Fabbrizio Ferri and his clothes, models, and fashion runways. The third section takes the viewer to the island of Favignana, just off the coast of Sicily, to experience the annual harvest of blue-fin tuna and the attendant folklife and customs, followed by the video's centerpiece, an evocative photo-essay on the many beauties that are Venice. Additional segments include a stunning visual montage of the Dolomites, which includes forays into dangerous mountain and ice/rock climbing as well as brief glimpses of the cultural and folk life of Cortina; another look at designer Fabbrizio Ferri and his clothes and models (this time on the island of Pantellaria); and a final short piece centering around the unveiling of the newest model Ferrari, the 550 Maranello. Although the program features lots of gorgeous photography of beautiful people, places, and things, this is ultimately neither a travelogue nor a comprehensive view of the Italian people. In fact, to paraphrase the Bard, this video is 'full of light and pictures, adding up to little.' A marginal purchase. Aud: P. (M. Rechel)
The Italians
(1996) 120 min. $19.98. Discovery Channel (dist. by Unapix Home Entertainment). Color cover. ISBN: 1-57523-770-9. Vol. 15, Issue 5
The Italians
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