MovieChat Forums > Il conformista (1971) Discussion > One of the most underappreciated, yet on...

One of the most underappreciated, yet one of the best films ever?

posted 19 years ago by haasxaar
4 replies | jump to latest

This film is truly astounding, the acting, cinematography, script, everything is just flawless. Add to that one of the most profoud and relevant messages about political idealism ever created and you have one absolutely mindblowing films of all time.

Even though the visual quality that I had on my DVD was a travesty I have seen stills of a good version on TV and it is without doubt one of the most beautiful, aesthetic films I have ever watched.

You have to be a proper film fan to truly know or love this film. But are there any other hidden gems in the vast ocean of deleted films that are just as good?? I would love to know, because it is almost one of the travesties of the 20th century film industry to omit this film from the international market.

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] george_aslf 19 years ago

Truly a masterpiece which is on one hand intelligent and deep and at the same time thrilling and entertaining. Bertolucci is an artist that not many good directors can be compared to.

[–] Eumenides_0 19 years ago

You have to be a proper film fan to truly know or love this film.

I just picked it up on cable one afternoon, watched it and enjoyed it. I didn't need to perform an Herculean effort because of it.

I wouldn't call it underappreciated it. The right cirlces seem to know it. People I respect certainly know it, like my university teachers. And you wouldn't have trouble finding books about this movie either.

I would suggest The Spider's Stratagem and The Passanger as two other rather unknown pearls of the Italian cinema.

Tu sei la prima donna del primo giorno della creazione.

[–] jenflynn24 19 years ago

If you loved "The Conformist", you would surely enjoy Bertolucci's epic, "1900", which portrays Italy's transition from a bucholic, patriarchical, aristocratic, society to a modern, politically convulsed society. Starting with the death of Verdi in the year 1900, it focuses on the evolving relationship between two boys from different classes who are born on the same day, one to the "padrone" of a fine estate, and the other to the head laborer on that estate. The two grow up almost as brothers, but are later divided by politics. We see the passing of the agrarian era, the advent of fascism, then socialism, and finally the post-World War II reconciliation between the classes. The leading male characters are played by Robert diNero and Gerard Depardieu; the lovely Dominique Sanda also stars. Donald Sutherland is chilling in a supporting role as a sadistic fascist, and there is an interesting cameo by Burt Lancaster. It is a sweeping movie, and at about 4 hours (edited down from nearly twice that long!) it is a bit too rambling in places. But it is gorgeous and vivid, and unforgettable.
Another movie somewhat along the lines of "The Conformist" is Vittorio di Seca's "The Garden of the Finzi-Contini's" with Dominique Sanda.