My Voyage to Italy (1999)

Good movie but grossly overrated

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

I've often claimed that I admire Martin Scorsese far more as a film historian than as a film-maker & something like this only reaffirms that notion. While I've watched A PERSONAL JOURNEY WITH MARTIN SCORSESE THROUGH American CINEMA (1995) years ago, I've only managed now to catch up with its follow-up; although it doesn't seem to me that the previous documentary was as selective as this one, his later (& much shorter) A LETTER TO ELIA (2010) was equally choosy. While in a way this stringent choice of material - in this case, some 20 movies discussed over a 4-hour time slot - makes for a rigorous analysis of the films in question (almost playing like a selected, scene-specific audio commentary from a distinguished fan), one can't help feeling that the movies or film-makers which have been bypassed are being unjustly discriminated against! Yet, this is Scorsese speaking about the handful of Italian movies that have meant the most to him on a personal & artistic level...so there are (mainly) 8 Rossellinis, 4 De Sicas, 3 Viscontis, 3 Fellinis & 2 Antonionis. As much as I enjoyed listening to him dissecting each of these films for 10 minutes at a time, the fact that he (mostly) concentrates on celebrated World Cinema classics to begin with also means that he is not really stating anything new (unlike, say, his then-'surprising' championing of Allan Dwan's neglected oater SILVER LODE [1954] in his previous documentary which had stuck with me enough to purchase the film on DVD much later on & come to love it myself)! While I can understand that some of the omitted titles just might not have been available to view as he was growing up, some of the missing stuff IS perplexing: he doesn't mention De Sica's classic MIRACLE IN MILAN (1951) but instead concentrates on the lesser-known THE GOLD OF NAPLES (1954; the only film included I've yet to watch) & skips over LA NOTTE (1961) when he gets to Antonioni's famous trilogy! He also commits the common mistake of dismissing Rossellini's work between his Bergman & TV phases (1955-1965); I, for one, am glad that his VIVA L'ITALIA (1961) is being released on BluRay by Arrow next year in 2 versions! Again, the decision on what to include may have willfully been restricted to his formative years...but, the thing is, he is so good at analysing the films included that one longs to learn his opinion on lesser-known masterpieces like Mario Monicelli's THE GREAT WAR (1959), Luigi Comenicini's EVERYBODY GO HOME! (1960), Dino Risi's THE EASY LIFE {IL SORPASSO} (1962), Vittorio Cottafavi's THE 100 HORSEMEN (1964) & Valerio Zurlini's THE CAMP FOLLOWERS (1965)! His complete passing over of Mario Bava, Pasolini & Bertolucci is genuinely baffling, to say the least...but, for what it's worth, what is included makes one yearn to watch the films again & it served as a personal reminder that some of these I've only watched once ages ago!!

"My Voyage to Italy" is a great film if you are trying to look into the mind of Martin Scorsese or if you are a film student. He talks very candidly about himself and about his adoration of Italian movies and is wonderful for his dedication to film preservation and appreciation. However, if you want to learn about some great Italian films so you can watch them yourself, "y Voyage to Italy" also has a few problems. It isn't a complete overview of great Italian films but a look at Italian films that Scorsese loves and the films ONLY covers a couple decades of cinema. Therefore, it is not exhaustive and many wonderful films from this same period (about 1943 to the mid-1960s) are omitted. And, most importantly, Scorsese not only talks about the films but divulges ALL the endings and twists and meaning--possibly ruining the viewing experience for anyone looking to follow his recommendations for great films to watch. Now all this does not seem like enough that you should completely avoid his film--there are some interesting insights into the films and Scorsese's mind. Just be aware of all this before you decide to watch--it could spoil your chance to experience the films without preconceptions and too much information.As for me, I mildly enjoyed it but was saddened that some of Vittorio De Sica's best films were not even mentioned (probably because he is my personal favorite of these directors). While "The Bicycle Thief" is perhaps his most famous film he directed and I did love Scorsese's discussion of "Umberto D.", the much lesser known and earlier "The Children Are Watching Us" is, in my mind, his very best--and it's an incredibly brave film that predated the ones discussed in "My Voyage to Italy". Now I cannot blame Scorsese for not mentioning it--the film has only recently been re-released by Criterion. An additional film, though, that he should have seen but didn't mention was "Miracle in Milan"--a film that combines wonderful Neo-Realism with the Surrealism that Fellini was known for--but MUCH earlier in the history of Italian cinema. It is brilliantly quirky. Likewise, I would have loved a discussion of Fellini's films between "I Vitelloni" and "La Dulce Vida"--as films like "La Strada" and "Nights of Cabiria" seem oddly absent from Scorsese's discussion.Perhaps I am too picky--especially since I have seen most of the films he discusses. And, perhaps I am too critical because of my adoration of foreign cinema. Plus, I realize I do have very, very strong opinions! All I know is that I did enjoy the film but really would have preferred a most exhaustive and comprehensive overview--but it would have probably lasted 10-12 hours or more! When they bring out some film like this, please let me know!

This is less a documentary than a visual diary of one man's selective view of Italian Cinema of the 50's & 60's. Of course, when that man is Martin Scorsese, it demands the attention of cineastes worldwide. In the introduction, one could assume that Scorsese will give a general view of the Italian films he saw as a child and as a young adult. But soon, he plunges into a hour plus mini-documentary of Roberto Rossellini. This is certainly understandable not only because Rossellini was a seminal Italian filmmaker, but because Scorsese in fact married into the family (via his ex Isabella). From there it's on to Visconti, De Sica, Fellini and Antonioni. And, that's about all. A few other filmmakers are touched upon briefly, but those five comprise the heart of the nearly 4 hour long film. Of course, rarely has a country given the world cinema a quintet as gifted as these five men. Still, it would have been illustrative if Scorsese had donated perhaps half and hour of the picture to a survey of the other Italian filmmakers of the era. These are mere quibbles, however. For no world class filmmaker (with the possible exception of Truffuat) has ever poured out so much emotion and depth of understanding for other directors as Scorsese has here. The portrayal of Rossellini in particular will be hard-pressed to ever be equaled - let alone surpassed. A demanding, yet essential film history.

There are so few people today who are interested in the great films of yesteryear. That's sad on many levels, but one of the more ironic reasons is that many of the directors who are so loved today could not have made the great films they did, had they not been so deeply inspired by the films of the past. Especially by the period of neo-realism in Italian Cinema (1940s-1960s).There's no way anyone could make a bad documentary about this era, since the films themselves have such a strong impact that any clips would be fascinating. But Scorsese has given us his very personal experience of these films, and that gives each of the films some context. Those of us who can remember seeing these films for the first time can relive the experience with Scorsese, exactly as if they were seeing the films for the first time. It also makes one think back on all the most important films in our personal lives. The films that first gave the world dimension, and the films that first made us worship the potential that great cinema has. The main directors featured are Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Lucino Visconti, Michaelangelo Antonioni and Federico Fellini, and Scorsese lovingly takes his time showing us numerous clips from most of their greatest films. I was lucky enough to see this documentary in a cinema, and I hope others will also have that chance. Most of the films featured I'd only seen on video. Some I'd liked a lot, others I loved, but nothing prepared me for the impact of seeing those images on the big screen! But even if you can only catch this on video or DVD, do your best to see it. It's what I call "sacred cinema"!