DVD Review: My Voyage to Italy - Scorsese's Fascinating Account of Italian Cinema History

By Robert Beames / September 25, 2011

rating: 5

With a filmography boasting some of the most important and entertaining films of the last forty years, from Mean Streets and Taxi Driver to The Departed and Shutter Island, Martin Scorsese could be forgiven for resting on his laurels or at least taking a nice relaxing holiday. Yet this doesn't seem to be in his make-up. A dedicated cinephile and music lover, the director has been an equally prolific documentarian over the years and the results are rarely less than spellbinding, with his chosen subject matter always deeply personal. A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) and My Voyage to Italy (1999) - which is released on DVD tomorrow - are among the best of these movies, with Marty himself narrating - passionately sharing his thoughts on the films which have inspired him in an accessible, unpretentious style. Aided by his own touching reminiscences as well as (remarkably well preserved) 1940s family footage of his Sicilian New York neighbourhood, Scorsese broadens the focus, talking briefly about 20th century American history and the immigrant experience. He also provides insight into the conditions which led up to the birth of the Neo Realist movement in Italian cinema. He begins his armchair voyage by addressing the camera directly, explaining that without having seen these classic Italian films he would be a very different person. There's an intensity to it and, though it's a backwards looking, nostalgic piece shot in black and white, My Voyage to Italy has a vital mission. Scorsese aims to inspire us to watch these icons of Italian cinema, concluding by saying "I saw these movies... they had a powerful effect on me and you should see them." It's this film conservationist and historian version of Martin Scorsese that has long appealed to me the most, even more than his abilities as a filmmaker, and this four hour epic of a documentary makes for compelling, eye-opening viewing. Though the epics of Alessandro Blasetti and Giovanni Pastrone were a revelation to me, many of the films he mentions here won't be new to viewers, with the work of Fellini, De Sica, Visconti, Antonioni and Rossellini referenced throughout (indeed the work of the latter accounts for at least an hour of the film), but if you've never stumbled upon the classics of Italian Neo Realism - or even if you're just after a refresher course - the director's infectious enthusiasm will have you hanging on his every word. Marty treats us to close readings of over 30 films, with 99% of the movie comprising of lengthy clips supported by (what's effectively) a Scorsese commentary track. With the calibre of the filmmakers showcased, you'll be equally enthralled by the images. Images are of primary - even primal - importance to the director. As with his aforementioned documentary on American cinema (which must be seen as a compulsory companion piece to this), the clips he chooses to show help us to better understand his own operatic expressionism, as time and time again it's the the power of images and raw emotional content of the scenes that he describes. As an American child, seeing such moving stories about the strange war-torn European country his grandparents had left behind apparently had a great impact on him. Over footage of Rossellini's 1945 Roma, Citta Aperta (Open City) he notes earnestly that: "My world consisted of an apartment, a church, a school a block away, a candy store around the corner. And all of a sudden... it became much bigger." Moments like this remind us of the power cinema once had to expand a person's horizons and even change their aspirations. Listening to this veteran director talk about these great masters of cinema, you'll believe in the inspiring power of movies all over again. My Voyage to Italy is released on DVD tomorrow (September 26th) courtesy of Mr Bongo Films.