Art films released on DVD this week include these movies by Italian filmmakers.
"Allegro Non Troppo" (HVE, 1977, not rated, animated/live-action, color and b/w, $29.95). Italian animator Bruno Bozzetto is best known in this country for this art-house staple of the '80s, a feature-length spoof of Disney's "Fantasia." The animation sequences, elaborate, abstract color cartoons set to classical music, specifically take aim at Disney's classic, but the black-and-white live-action scenes lampoon Federico Fellini.
Some of this is also a bit risque — primarily animated male and female nudity, though it is neither realistic nor titillating.
Most of the live-action comedy falls flat, with mute Italian comic Maurizio Nichetti as a buffoon artist in conflict with the music conductor. But some of the animated sequences soar, in particular the take on evolution set to Ravel's "Bolero," and the lonely memories of a cat in a condemned building.
This disc also contains 10 of Bozzetto's short cartoons, most of which have been seen in various international-animation collections, and some are hysterical. My favorite is "Baeus," about a little blue bug who falls in love with a mistreated homemaker and uses a book of magic to try and make himself human.
Extras: full frame, in Italian with English subtitles, 10 short cartoons, TV documentary, etc.
"Blow-Up" (Warner, 1966, not rated (but with R-level nudity, language), $19.98). This mod '60s existential mystery is set in London and focuses on a self-absorbed model-photographer (David Hemmings), who casually snaps some pictures in a park of a woman (Vanessa Redgrave) and her lover. But he doesn't realize until he develops the film that he's also photographed a murder. Or has he?
Filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni doesn't take a straight-forward, conventional approach here, but instead goes for an abstract exploration of human nature, the swinging lifestyle of the time and reality vs. fantasy. The film is as impenetrable as it is intriguing. (There's also a great Herbie Hancock score and an appearance by the Yardbirds, with Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck.)
A fascinating and strange film. And the optional audio commentary, by a film historian, doesn't help much. It's filled with opinions that often seem off the mark, as when he praises the unique credits here as a breakthrough phenomenon — apparently never having seen "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959), "Psycho" (1960) or any of the James Bond films (which began in 1962). His comments about some aspects of "Blow-Up" seem equally ill-advised, as he merely speculates or quotes others.
Extras: wide screen, audio commentary, music-only audio track, trailers, etc.
"The Damned" (Warner, 1969; R for violence, sex, nudity, language; $19.98).
"Death in Venice" (Warner, 1971, PG, $19.98).
Luchino Visconti, like Antonioni, was an Italian director of the same era. These two English-language art films he directed star British actor Dirk Bograde, and both were quite popular in their day, though they seem a bit more dated now. Even more dated than "Blow-Up," despite the fact that these are period pieces. Also like "Blow-Up," both are slow going and enigmatic, though not quite as baffling.
"The Damned" follows a wealthy industrial family in Germany during the 1930s, as Hitler is coming into power. The film parallels the family's decline into decadence with the rise of the Nazis. The film is perhaps a bit too decadent, leaving an unpleasant aftertaste. (Charlotte Rampling has a small role.)
"Death in Venice" is more low-key, based on a Thomas Mann novel, about a German composer (Bogarde) traveling through Venice who is obsessed with his search for beauty. Dull, but with occasional stunning cinematography. (The score is adapted from Gustav Mahler's third and fifth symphonies.)
Extras: "The Damned": wide screen, documentary on Visconti, trailer, etc. "Death in Venice": wide screen, making-of featurette, photo gallery, trailer, etc.
E-mail: hicks@desnews.com