Am I Missing Something?

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Intense and prolific filmmaker Martin Scorsese did not seem to be satisfied with projecting the influence he drew from Italian films from the 1940s, '50s, and '60s on his own films. So, he spends four solid hours explaining the details and expressions of at least thirty films, all condensed into about ten minutes each. He analyzes and discloses trivia about each of them and pours out all of his passion into this like water bore over his shoulders that he can't bear anymore.For awhile, I was wondering why he would spend so much time doing this. Why make a movie wherein most of the footage is taken from other movies? Why examine a condensed version of each film from beginning to end when we may want to see these movies ourselves? Well, after awhile, I realized the point of this. Scorsese had a very important reason why he wanted to make this epic documentary. It's because these films are what made him the filmmaker he is, not to mention the person he is, and their effects have not weakened throughout time. So, he wants to perpetuate their lives. He wants to interest younger generations, such as mine, in these films and their makers.And I'll tell you what. It works. I am now very interested in seeing a lot of these movies. I realize I have not seen nearly enough films by Roberto Rossellini, Luchino Visconti, or Vittorio De Sica. And I plan to, thanks to Scorsese's film.

Trivia or not, the fact that M.S. refers repeatedly to Umberto's D.'s dog in this film as "Flag" has been driving me nuts. I have seen this great movie several times and there's no way, the actor enunciates Flag: the terrier's name is pronounced, "Fleek." I always thought it was a little homage to the french/American slang for flick(s), (alt. plural flix.) I doubted it was the french slang for cop i.e "flic")Undoubtedly other sites that include Umberto D have hashed over this subject ad N . My big problem is that Mr. S. knows more about film than almost anyone - historically included. And HE says it's Flag.It's quite likely the filmmakers had seen read m.k. rawlings book and seen the surprisingly impressive move. Rawlings and deSica shared a unflinching worldview, sensitivity not sentimentality. That said, I will always remain an aflickionata, but I'd love to be enlightened if I'm missing something.

I received this great documentary as a Xmas gift & finally got around to watching Other night..Its a wonderful experience... Martin Scorsese's enthusiasm for the Italian cinema .. is so honest so exciting.. he has a passion for this topic...& it shows..He anaylyzes the Italian film industry from the neo realist films of the mid 1940s thru the 60s the films of his childhood.. I'm an Italian American of similar age and background.. and I was so thrilled by this documentary i was moved to tears several times..He mentions the obvious films such as Open City, La Dolce Vita etc & mentions obscurities as well such as Rossellinis "Vacation in Italy" with Ingrid Bergaman & George Sanders never knew of this film.. I loved it..I regret a few omissions such as the mention of Rocco and His Brothers, and no mention at all of Silvana Mangano & her films esp..Bitter Rice..oh well maybe Scorsese is working on a part 2..please wonderful film documentary!!

In the beginning and end of Mi Viaggio Di Italia (My Voyage to Italy), legend Martin Scorsese explains, in good reason, that the way to get people more interested in film is to share personal experiences of viewing particular ones that had some kind of impact for a movie-goer's experience (much like a friend telling another that a new movie is out, go see it, it's good, etc). Scorsese used a similar approach to his first cinema lesson- A Personal Journey Through American Movies- and like that one, it's a long, detailed, and deeply felt documentary. Sometimes when he talks about these movies you can tell he's so passionate about them, and it's a good approach.First, Scorsese gives the viewer a feel of how he saw so many of these films from Italy- how he could go from seeing a Roy Rogers western in the theater and come home to watch a Rossellini series or a De Sica feature on TV- then, he goes through a comprehensive tale of the progression of the neo-realist movement, also mentioning the silent film epics, the tragic/comedies of the 50's, and how it progressed into the "new-wave" of Antonionni and Fellini in the early 60's. Like 'Personal Journey', it's long, possibly longer than the previous, and might not be watchable in one sitting (it's a two parter as I remember it from seeing it broadcast on TV). But for the avid movie-goer, fan of neo-realism, or someone wanting to get a glimpse of a better, smarter world in cinema in these days of cineplex garbage, it's a lenghty treat. A+