Fellini's Roma; Fellini Satyricon

Here's an unfortunate rule of thumb regarding legendary Italian director Federico Fellini: in those films where his name is part of the actual title (i.e., Fellini Satyricon, Fellini's Roma, Fellini's Casanova), bloated spectacle pretty much pushes character and plot (never strong in Fellini films to begin with) right out to the fringes. Fellini Satyricon (1968), based on a fragmentary novel by first century Roman writer Petronius about decadent life under Nero, immediately plunges the viewer into a hellish moral landscape where gluttony, sexual debauchery and sloth are the order of the day. Through these decadent tableaus wanders one utterly vacuous boy toy (Martin Potter) whose sexual journey from initial pique over losing one rosy-lipped minor suitable for homoerotic diddling, to impotent dalliances with Italian beauties, to a Viagra-like resurrection courtesy of a mythical matron with mammaries the size of Manhattan, does not lend itself to easy exegesis. The bottom line is that the sheer size and scope of Fellini's canvas will hold you captive for about 30 minutes, leaving about 100 minutes left to fidget. Unfortunately, Fellini's Roma is nearly as bad--sadly so, because the opening half-hour of the director's paean to his beloved capitol is even more wonderful in its celebration of Rome's vibrant, bustling pre-WWII street life, than the visually engaging excesses of empire on display in Fellini Satyricon. Unfortunately, this equally episodic 1972 effort runs out of steam quickly as it vacillates between an idealized past (Fellini's childhood and early adult years) and chaotic present ('70s Rome). Serious film collections will, of course, want both of these extra-less though generally well remastered DVDs from Fellini's "big" period. For general collections, stick with Nights of Cabiria, and wait for good versions of La Strada, La Dolce Vita, 8-1/2 and Amarcord instead. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—Feb. 24, 2015—Criterion, 130 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: 2 discs, $29.95; Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1969's Fellini Satyricon features a great transfer and an uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary featuring an adaptation of Eileen Lanouette Hughes's memoir On the Set of “Fellini Satyricon”: A Behind-the-Scenes Diary, Gideon Bachmann's location documentary “Ciao, Federico!” (61 min.), a featurette on Fellini's adaptation of Petronius's work including interviews with classicists Luca Canali and Joanna Paul (25 min.), three archival interviews with director Fellini (16 min.), interviews with photographer Mary Ellen Mark (13 min.) and cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno (8 min.), a “Felliniana” presentation of ephemera from collector Don Young, a trailer, and an essay by film scholar Michael Wood. Bottom line: Fellini's visually extravagant and narratively-numbing epic sparkles on Blu-ray.][Blu-ray/DVD Review—Dec. 13, 2016—Criterion, 120 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, R, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1972's Roma features a great transfer and an LPCM mono soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary by Fellini's Films author Frank Burke, images from collector Don Young's Felliniana archive (19 min.), deleted scenes (18 min.), a featurette with poet Valerio Magrelli (17 min.), an interview with filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino (16 min.), a trailer, and an essay by film scholar David Forgacs. Bottom line: a lesser Fellini film, but it sparkles on Blu-ray.]