Apart from the novelty of featuring the most hirsute guido of any film romance (Moonstruck included), this also holds importance as the opening salvo of italian neo-realism ("Ramones" to Roma Citte Aperta's "Never mind the bollocks", if you will). It has many bright spots, the smoldering styles of Calamai in particular, and it's never less than engaging, but it also has that subtly nagging air of a film that one should be watching because it's important, rather than just for... ahem... pleasure.

Good story, good neorealist touches and a bit too long. While the elements are nice, the fatalism is a bit too palpable towards the end and combined with the length it becomes a bit tiring to watch.The beginning is really good though and mostly makes up for the final half hour.

547

#588

Meh. Neither a particularly well done instance of Neorealism nor of noir. Though this might be worthwhile for those curious about either, it in no way holds a candle to flicks like 'The Bicycle Thieves' and 'The Postman Always Rings Twice'. Plus, it's both long and slow.

It's sad how little the canonical "neorealist" films actually have in common, other than the location filming and preoccupation with the lower class, especially since the paradigms are attributed to the boring Rossellini and sappy De Sica. Ossessione - Visconti's adaptation of The Postman Always Rings Twice - may be less quintessentially generic, but it's a richer, deeper and more satisfying experience. Amazing that this difficult work of art survived the Fascist climate into which it was born.

If only Italian Neo-Realism took after this rather than Open City.

# 502

Very long but ultimately satisfying. Nothing like a good Italian movie that makes you want to shoot yourself.

Enjoyable if a bit dry, and overlong too, but the neorealistic style and the focus on character instead of plot help to separate this from the American adaptation of The Postman Always Rings Twice. I don't really have much to say about this, other than that I enjoyed it but didn't go nuts over any aspect of it.

Gino and Giovanna are complex (if not wholly likeable) characters... sometimes a little too complex, with sudden or unclear shifts in motivation, but Visconti uses them to cover a lot of thematic ground. The story itself is familiar territory but except for being a little slow in the first act, it's compelling. So far I haven't seen a Visconti film I would count among my favorites, but I'm glad I watched this one.

497

It's too long but it is amazingly well made. I love neorealism but you really need to be in the right frame of mind to see something like this. I enjoyed it a lot but it isn't a masterpiece for me.