Cheap Umberto D. (Video) (Carlo Battisti, Maria-Pia Casilio) (Vittorio De Sica) Price

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Customer Reviews of Umberto D.

emotional vignettes at a (sad) point in time
'Umberto D.' is not in the same class as 'Bicycle Thief,' its artistic predecessor, for several reasons. Telling the story of the struggle with poverty in post-war Italy twice, from a changed perspective, has less of an impact. Moreover, it is less dramatic for an elderly man, with a dog being the only dependent, than another man in his thirties/forties, with a whole family to feed, not to make ends meet. Nonetheless, this film still packs enough emotional power to move its viewer. The protagonists' acting is superb though not so much so the acting in the supporting roles. All in all, leveraging non-professionals into maintaining the emotional tension, AND into borrowing the attributes of a documentary, is a concept wonderfully illustrated by the film.

There is not much of a story to talk about in this film. A retired old man, former bureaucrat in the Mussolini's regime, has a hard time in keeping up with the new times: a pension smaller than the rent for a room in a house, people around him who either cannot help or do not care to, and the announced eviction. There is a mix of dignity and egotistical stubbornness that makes the viewer oscillate between empathy and reprobation towards this character. On the other hand, the young maid is representative for a new social trend: young, uneducated, compassionate, and, by comparison with the old man at least, with relaxed morals. Again, this film is about the complex emotions developing around the main character(s) and less about a story.

As for the whole noise passing as commentary, coming from the left though not always, one may well ignore it. To this point, I found it interesting that, in real life, Maria Pia charged the producers 2 Mil. Lire in 1952, when she was only 15 years old, while the old man in the film could not come up with 15000 Lire for the life in him...

And now a word about the director. De Sica, by catering to the mores of the new Italian politics and American cultural administrators, is the illustration of the new class while illustrating the decadence of the old. Talented nonetheless...

Criterion meets the standards for the transfer and the like yet misses on the extras that are of minimal value.

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Humanity vs. The Modern World
The master of Italian Neo-Realist cinema, DeSica, creates with Umberto D. one of the finest films of his career (I will not say his finest because I am torn between this movie and his earlier "The Bicycle Thief"). Set in post WWII Italy, this film follows the heartwrentching story of a retired civil servant, Umberto D., and his dog, Flike, as he tries to survive on his modest government pension in a world where traditional human values have fallen before the weight of an amoral modernistic culture.

OK. So far what I have said is basically right off of the movie's box description and no more origional than what others have said. It's just that this movie is very difficult to describe without doing the nature of the film an extreme disservice. This is a movie completely devoted to instilling in the audience a sense of empathy towards a character that they very likely just passed by on the street entering into the theatre without a second thought. By attempting to convey the strong pathos of such an ordinary human being (played incedentally by a nonprofessional actor) the film offers hardly anything in the way of spectacle, just showing the realistic day to day life of forgoten humanity. This all sounds almost silly on paper, and by virtue of the subject matter it is. This is one of those movies that could not be a book. It could not convey its message by means of the printed word, and takes advantage of the medium of picture in a masterful way. One of the true greats of world cinema.

Now just a few words on the Criterion Edition DVD. As many of us have some to expect from Criterion, this DVD is presented in a sharp clear transfer and with a decently clean audio track. It also shipped with a fair amount of extra features which help to elucidate and expand the viewing experience. It has a very nice hour length documentary devoted to DeSica's films and a very interesting interview with the actress who played the maid. On top of this it ships with a few written essays. The one disappointing omission is the lack of a commentary track. Oh well, maybe some day. Overall a good buy, especially considering that this is one of Criterion's less expensive offerings.

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No Hankies For Me
The story line of Umberto D. could be the story of any man in any western country caught up in old age by changes he couldn't understand without sufficient resources to survive. Urbanization had loosened family and other ties in Italy and indeed all over Europe, and many men in the post-war period found themselves alone in the city without anyone to turn to in times of personal crisis.
The movie opens with a group of pensioners marching through the streets of Rome demanding an increase in their pensions. After all, a new system was in place after the defeat of the old order and rampant inflation was eating away at their pensions' value. The march was broken up gently by the police and the marchers were ordered to disperse as they had no permit.
Umberto is one of these men and the film chronicles this one man's struggle with the reality of his redundancy. He eats in a soup kitchen (and gives half of his food to his dog) and his daily life revolves around trying to scrounge up enough money to bring his rent payments current by selling off his better possessions. He occasionally crosses paths with old "friends" from better days, but when they learn of his plight, they turn their backs on him.
He can't bring himself to beg. When on the brink of success at his first begging attempt, pride causes him to turn away and refuse what is offered.
He cares most for his dog Flike and for the maid in his ant-ridden penzione who befriends him. None of his half-baked attempts to come up with his rent arrears succeed including his feigning illness in order to be admitted to a charity hospital, thereby saving the meagre soup-kitchen fee for a few days. When he returns home from the hospital and finds his landlady had knocked a hole in the wall of his room, let his dog loose in the street and was planning to make his room part of a larger reception room, he fled and frantically searched for his dog at the pound where it would be put to death if unclaimed.
Reunited with his dog and facing eviction, he felt the only way out was suicide. He even failed at that and momentarily lost the trust of his beloved Flike.
Umberto's plight is tragic, but it is the plight of one who fails to plan for the contingency of old age. He was somewhat a victim of circumstance, but was also a victim of poor choices. When one can barely afford to live, having a pet is stupid. Umberto had no family apparently. Why did he stay in expensive Rome? Why did he not save any money when he was still working as a civil servant? Though his situation is sad, he brought many of his problems on himself. No hankies for me.
What I liked most about the film is its stark aspect. Black and white film accentuates the film-maker's portrayal of the drabness of everyday life in post-war Rome. What I found most surprising is that bus and lorry drivers were prepared to run over anyone in their path who did not clear out fast enough. This was demonstrated several times, once at the beginning where the buses just scatter the pension marchers without slowing and may have been the film-maker's way of portraying man's callous indifference to man.
Carlo Battisti, an untrained actor, gives an excellent performance as the pitiful Umberto. It is actually quite unforgettable. Film fans looking for action and excitement are advised to avoid Umberto D. It is certainly not for everyone, but it is a must-see for foreign film buffs. Four stars.