Massacre in Rome (Remastered Edition) (1973) Review

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(More customer reviews)The film "Massacre in Rome" is a film that conveys the orchestration of the retaliation plan in regard to the assault of the Italian national partisans against the SS brigade stationed in Rome during the WWII era.
We closely watch the orchestration of that massacre through the intrusive look behind all the closed doors at the SS headquarters, the Police Department of Rome and the Roman Catholic Church.
The director provides us a documentary view as if there was a camera within those headquarters and we are thankfully ridden of any over dramatization that certainly destroys the very essence of political cinema. Simply watch all the reasoning and the agendas followed by the implicated authorities to simple matters (such as the number of people to be executed for every dead SS officer. All of them remain very interesting in respect of understanding diplomatic games and saving face against the opponent as well as to the higher ranks.
This is a political film in the very same tradition of the film "Z" where the dialogues are realistic, the pace is timely increasing and the actors are serving the actual characters' reasoning and do not think for one single minute to ride upon their star status.
Richard Burton and Marcello Mastroianni along with a group of excellent actors entice us in a magnificent piece of historical representation. The film rightfully condemns the executioners along with the authorities whose apathy was just as crucial for the execution of all the innocent Italian prisoners.
The end of the film presents the massacre that may have disappointed many viewers due to the fact that it is compared to the today's graphic depiction of violence in films. One though can rightfully hold a different opinion that is based on the character portrayal that sometimes is perfectly stated on the faces of the executioner and the innocent.
The film credits give a list of all the names of the people killed.

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Torn from the pages of history comes the true account of one of the most devastating massacres in the chronicles of modern warfare.March 1944.With the fortunes of war turning against the Third Reich, Nazi-occupied Rome is a hotbed of dissent from the growing resistance movement.When the Roman underground ambushes a column of SS military police, killing 33, the German High Command orders the execution of 10 Roman citizens for each of its fallen soldiers.MASSACRE IN ROME unites two of the greatest cinema icons of the 1960s.Marcello Mastroianni (LA DOLCE VITA, 8½) stars as Roman priest Pietro Antonelli, ordered by the Pope to collaborate with Nazi Lt. Colonel Herbert Kappler (Richard Burton, of WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?), charged by Hitler with the duty of rounding up 330 civilians for execution.Dedicated to pacifism, Antonelli must choose whether to defy the Pope’s orders and aid the resistance or remain true to his vows and watch his countrymen slaughtered by the SS.This Carlo Ponti production was the second film by director George Pan Cosmatos (RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II), and benefits from a tense, searing score from Ennio Morricone. NoShame Films presents for the first time ever a deluxe 2-DVD edition. MASSACRE IN ROME is a commanding, disturbing historical drama of rebellion, heroism and sacrifice by men and women who loved freedom more than they feared death.

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The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is a film about need and seduction and the fear of being all-alone in the world. Legendary New York stage actress Karen Stone (the legendary Vivian Leigh) is unhappy with her latest performance, and is even more distraught when the play turns out to be a flop. She decides to retire from acting, telling everyone she needs a holiday to take care of her ailing husband.
However, when he dies on board a jetliner on the way to Rome, she decides to stay in the City and book herself into a lavish rooftop apartment. She wonders the streets, drifting in a haze of expensive loneliness, wondering what to do with her life now that acting is over for her. She soon falls in with the Contessa (Lotte Lenya), a female pimp, and a sharp procuress of handsome young men for forlorn wealthy old widows.
The Contessa hooks her up with the young Paolo di Leo (Warren Beatty). The sexy Paolo thinks nothing of acquiring money out of rich, older women, and with the Contessa's encouragement, he wines and dines Karen. Karen, however, isn't your typical widow. At around fifty, she's is still very beautiful, although she worries about getting older, she's obviously enamored of Paolo and she's desperate for affection, but she's determined that Paolo's need for money will not triumph her need for love.
They eventually become lovers. Karen showers gifts upon Paolo and they take a trip to Tangier. The Contessa becomes furious that Paolo isn't "cutting her fifty-fifty on the deal." Karen also doesn't heed the warnings of her friend, journalist Meg (Coral Browne) that she has "a disease" that can't be fulfilled. When Paolo begins to make the movies on younger starlet Barbara Bingham (Jill St. John), Karen begins to see Paolo for what he really is.
Based in Tennessee Williams novella, Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is full of his trademark themes of desperation and isolation of fearful people aching to connect. There's no doubt that Paolo is an attractive man, but he's also selfish, spoilt and petulant and he thinks nothing of two-timing Karen. Karen is an intelligent and intuitive woman, and she's well aware of Paolo's agenda, but it's as though she's observing life through a looking glass, and is ultimately seduced by the gigolo lifestyle.
Director Jos? Quintero bathes the movie soft hews of gold and orange and he makes the most of Rome's stunning surrounds. Vivien Leigh remains a rather downcast presence - she's plays Karen with a fascinating mixture of neurosis and foreboding, she knows the relationship with Paolo will probably lead nowhere but she just can't help herself.
When their romance starts to sour, she and her young and deceitful companion trade sharp words but there no extravagant theatrical exchanges. Likewise Beatty plays down the truculent Paolo - much has been made of his Italian accent, but I found it perfectly suitable, and he's totally convincing as a manipulative pretty-boy Italian gigolo.
The Romance of Mrs. Stone was probably pretty sensational when it was released in 1961; and it's moral ambiguities - paying for sex and high-class prostitution, quite shocking to some. The film as aged well, although it dances around the more intimate aspects of the relationship - there's only one short love scene, which fades to black - the film certainly does a good job of highlighting the trials and tribulations of poor lonely women with bags of money who find themselves at a loss, living in exotic places and desiring to connect with someone. Mike Leonard May 06.


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An ageing starlet is off to vacation in Rome with her husband when he suffers a fatal heart attack on the plane. Mrs. Stone stays in Rome where she leases a magnificent apartment with a view of the seven hills from the terrace. Soon, a contessa comes calling and introduces Mrs. Stone and a young man named Paola. A wary Mrs. Stone ultimately succumbs to Paolo's charms.DVD Features:DocumentariesFeaturette:? New Featurette Mrs. Stone: Looking for Love in All the Dark Corners

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Ben-Hur (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) (1959) Review

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William Wyler's Oscar-winning BEN-HUR (1959), produced by Sam Zimbalist (who died of a heart attack near the end of filming) and based on a best-selling late 19th Century novel by Lew Wallace, is one hell of a movie experience. Watching a brand-new, pristine camera negative copy, I could not believe that the opening Nativity scene and the Resurrection finale were the same movie. There is just so much here. This remake of the 1925 silent epic, runs 3 hours and 45 minutes, including powerful roadshow bookend music by Miklos Rozsa. It takes its leisurely time in telling the story of a Jew (Charlton Heston) and a Roman (Stephen Boyd), raised as best friends, who become bitter enemies in the Holy Land of Jesus Christ's life. Director Wyler was always known as a painstaking perfectionist who would exhaust cast and crew by doing take after take after take of every scene. But the result for the audience is enthralling.
Wyler had never made a Biblical epic before and wanted to work in every genre; his BEN-HUR is the one with a literate brain. It is hard to believe it had major writing problems, multiple writers, and scenes written the night before they would be filmed. It flows beautifully and is continually engrossing, despite its near four hour length. The cast is impeccable, including Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Jack Hawkins, lovely Haya Harareet, and Oscar winner Hugh Griffith.
If you are looking for the sea battle (directed by Andrew Marton), it is about 70 minutes into part one. If you are seeking out the greatest chariot race in movie history (choreographed and directed by Yakima Canutt), it is about ten minutes after the intermission. The Christ scenes are handled with taste and subtlety; we see only his back or his hand and never hear his voice. In fact, non-Christians might have a difficult time understanding what is going on in those scenes with Jesus, including an impressive Sermon on the Mount near the movie's end. The art direction and costumes are absolutely gorgeous, and Robert Surtees' use of ultra wide-screen Camera 65 is masterful. Most of all, Miklos Rozsa contributes the music score of a lifetime. Everyone won Oscars for their distinguished work. No wonder this BEN-HUR won eleven Oscars the same year as SOME LIKE IT HOT, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, and ANATOMY OF A MURDER. It is a masterpiece. The audio commentary, by scholar and author Gene Hatcher and Mr. Heston, is thoughtful and insightful.
The 1925 silent version, starring Ramon Novarro as Ben-Hur and Francis X. Bushman as Messala, is on disk three of the new and magnificent four disk set. In some ways it is even more impressive than the remake. Novarro and Bushman give performances of a lifetime, the 143 minute length is a good 75 minutes shorter than the 1959 version, the color tinting is very beautiful, the sea battle and chariot race are sensationally good by any standards, and the silent version has far more Jesus Christ scenes and in two-color Technicolor. Carl Davis' orchestra score is outstanding, as always.
The disk four bonuses include two major documentaries, one for the 1994 tape version and one brand-new for this 2005 DVD restoration. We also get "BEN-HUR: A JOURNEY THROUGH PICTURES", several 1959 movie theatrical trailers, and a gallery of vintage newsreels heralding the arrival and covering the premiere of the lavish remake in 1959. This $40 DVD set is a work of art and deserves a place in every library, even if it takes you a while to see all four disks of material. Amazon.com has it for $30, not much more than the cost of a family of four going out to a new movie at night. With both the 1925 and 1959 versions included in flawless prints, this DVD set gets my highest recommendation.


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The numbers speak volumes: 100,000 costumes, 8,000 extras, 300 sets and a staggering budget in its day the largest in movie history. Ben-Hur's creators made it the best, the greatest Biblical-era epic ever. Charlton Heston brings a muscular physical and moral presence to the role of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman in Palestine whose heroic odyssey includes enslavement by the Romans, a bold escape from an embattled slave galley, vengeance against his tormentors during a furious arena chariot race and fateful encounters with Jesus Christ. Heston's charismatic performance brought him the Best Actor Oscar; the winner as 1959's Best Picture with the legendary William Wyler earning his third Best Director trophy, the film won a total 11 Academy Awards -- a tally unequaled until 1997's Titanic set sail.DVD Features:Audio Commentary:Commentary by Film Historian T. Gene Hatcher with Scene Specific Comments from Charlton HestonDocumentaries:New Documentary: Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema - Current filmmakers such as Ridley Scott and George Lucas reflect on the importance and influence of the film 1994 Documentary: Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic Hosted by Christopher Plummer Directed by William Wyler - 1986 Emmy Award-nominated documentary featuring the last interview with Wyler before his death Featurette:Ben-Hur: A Journey Through Pictures - New audiovisual recreation of the film via stills, storyboards, sketches, music and dialogueOther:The 1925 Feature-length Silent Version of Ben-Hur with a stereophonic orchestral score by composer Carl Davis. Vintage Newsreels Gallery Highlights from the 1960 Academy Awards Ceremony Theatrical Trailer Gallery Outtakes:Screen Tests: Leslie Nielsen and Cesare Danova Leslie Nielsen and Yale Wexler George Baker and William Russel Haya Harareet Hair and Make-up Tests

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