Rocco And His Brothers on DVD (1960)

QPR Olly from Shepherds Bush,England [Highly rated reviewer] , 15/03/2007

Alain Delon, undoubtedly handsome but not the most elastic of actors, sets a bit of a template for Visconti leading men.(C.F.-dreadful Helmut Berger in The Damned)Striking scenes and visuals in this moving tale of a poor southern Italian family's downward spiral in northern Milan. Boxing scenes and the main plot of two brothers obsession with the same woman play out in a compelling fashion. Nevertheless, having now viewed 4 Visconti films(Death In Venice & The Leopard with Burt Lancaster are the best)he is nowhere near as good as other old Italian masters Rosselini,De Sica & Fellini

  23 out of 37 people found this review helpful

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johnny_friendly from London, England , 25/03/2005

I've wanted to see this film ever since I read an article in Time Out many years ago that cited it as the inspiration behind Raging Bull. Certainly the similarities are striking - the boxing sub-theme, the triangular relationship between the two brothers. But I also found similarities between Rocco and The Godfather. There's that same sense of displacement and yearing for home (the Parondi family have emigrated from Southern Italy to Milan in the same way that the Corleones left Sicily for New York.), the moral complexities of the relationships among the brothers. And then there's the distrust of outsiders, represented by the prostitute whom two of the brothers fall in love with with ultimately devastating consequences. Rocco And His Brothers is not without its flaws though. I felt that the triangular relationship could have been fleshed out a bit more. The Simone character is quite obviously a main in the throws of unbearable anguish of this woman, yet Rocco doesn't seem to display similar emotional distress until the end even though its obvious that the feelings are there. Without giving anything away, I felt that the ending was ludicrously over-acted and over-emotive and as such took away whatever punch the ending was expected to carry. Still, a cinematic masterpiece that should appeal to fans of Coppola and Scorsese who'd be interested to see where their themes and even cinematography came from.

  4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

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A customer from Leyland , 24/05/2005

Sprawling attempt to cover some of the problems facing working class Italians during the massive reconstruction of Italy after WW2. The film centres on the lives of a poor southern family who come to the big city - Milan - with their widowed matriarch to forge a new life for themselves in the new world. The film is divided into chapters following the fortunes of each of the five brothers. Some prosper, others become corrupted by the temptations of city life and degenerate into alcoholism and murder. It all looks overly didactic and generally overwrought but there is an appealing period feel to the look of the film although the politics look dated and naive. Like most upper class Marxists, Visconti had a sentimental attachment to the working class but no real understanding - it's a bit like watching 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' directed by Noel Coward.

  3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

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A customer from LONDON , 22/11/2006

E\xtraordinary gritty, truthful, candid portrayal of poverty stricken southern Italians trying to make it in the big city. Compared to American and British films of the time, Rocco is far more adult and honest, not shying away from homosexuality, prostitution and casual violence. The brothers are dominated by an appalling matriarchal monster, worse than any screen patriarch and yet tender and loving at the same time. Superb black and white photography filmed on real streets and real locations, often starkly lit at night making the drama more heightened. It is a three hour film I thought I may not be able to stay awake through mid week but I was utterly gripped, emotionally drained and devestated by the brutal climax. I cannot recomend this highly enough.

  3 out of 5 people found this review helpful

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