![]() ![]() Seen at home (DVD), London, Sunday 15 February 2015. Synopsis An American spinster’s dream of romance finally becomes a bittersweet reality when she meets a handsomebut marriedItalian man while vacationing in Venice. Bates and Lean (based on the play The Time of the Cuckoo by Arthur Laurents) Cinematographer Jack Hildyard Starring Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi Length 100 minutes. The focus of course is in the film transfer, which is excellent.ĭirector David Lean Writers H. Chiefly though, it’s Hepburn’s subtle performance and the Venice scenery which do much of the work here.Ĭriterion Extras: More than most releases, this one really is bare bones, having only a trailer on it. It’s a bittersweet story which doesn’t condescend to its two lead characters, though there’s plenty of caricature to be found amongst the supporting roles. Her repression is never explained precisely, but it’s suggested during her halting romance with Venice native Renato (Rossano Brazzi) that this is her first time in love. Summertime (released in the UK as Summer Madness) is a 1955 American/British Technicolor romance film directed by David Lean and starring Katharine Hepburn. (Example: The Philadelphia Story. We thought your manner and accent were affected, and we didn’t feel your performances exuded warmth. You see, you struck us as patrician and not a little self-important. Katharine Hepburn’s Ohio-born school secretary Jane, overseas for the first time, is shot through with an indefinable sadness, expressed through her buttoned-up (if nevertheless fashionable) dress sense and cheerful embrace of the pleasures of a solitary drink. Dear Katharine Hepburn: It took us (as in, yours truly) a long time to acknowledge your talent. ![]() It is indeed filled with picture postcard views as might befit the American tourist on holiday - albeit ones shot with an exemplary eye by cinematographer Jack Hildyard, packed with saturated colours and beautiful light - but there’s a surprising depth of pathos to the characters. In fact, her dive left Hepburn with a permanent eye infection.David Lean has always been an exemplar of a certain cinema-of-quality within the English-speaking firmament (big overstuffed period pieces, later taken up by Merchant & Ivory), so I didn’t expect much from this tourist’s point-of-view story of romance in Venice. Summertime got here out in 1955 however Lean named Hepburn his favourite years later. The bonus options embody a 1963 interview with Lean on CBC’s Shut-Up from April 7. ![]() The aging business woman who takes a trip to Venice, its a role that might have been a snoozefest, but David Leans playful direction allows the actress to swoon and the audience to swoon with her. The Criterion Assortment launched Summertime on Blu-ray this month. The most famous scene in the film is the one in which Hepburn falls into the canal and a stuntwoman was not used. Kate Hepburn shines and surprises in a role which seems to be, at least at first, tailor made for her. The ending is a three-boxes-of-tissues tear-jerker and the theme song haunts the memory. N ot the greatest David Lean film perhaps, nor yet the greatest Katharine Hepburn vehicle. Yet there are scenes in the film that every single woman can identify with and Venice is depicted in all its romance and beauty. I acknowledge that this 'aesthetic' is not a great thing to idolize so because of that I am no longer going to be writing this guide. NEW NOTE: I started this book when I was a lot younger Ive outgrown the Nymphet 'aesthetic'and Ive moved on. The cute urchin who shows Jane around would be picking her pocket today and a single woman no longer feels so vulnerable when travelling. This is basically a book on how to be your best Nymphet self. In many ways the film, the first that Lean shot on location abroad, depicts an Italy, and a world, that have vanished. The two have a romance but, alas, Brazzi’s character is married so the affair cannot have the ending that Jane dreams of. Rossano Brazzi is the handsome, worldly Italian who befriends her. This is the film in which Katherine Hepburn really did take a dive into the canal!ĭirected by David Lean in 1955 and released in the US as “Summertime” and in Italy as “Tempo D’Estate”, the film stars Katherine Hepburn as middle-aged spinster, Jane, who takes the holiday of a lifetime in Venice. ![]() In our series about romantic films set in Italy, we’d like to remind you of a “golden oldie” today. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |