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Gruppo di famiglia in un interno (Conversation Piece)

Format: DVD
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 34 ratings

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 16:9
  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches; 2.93 ounces
  • Language ‏ : ‎ Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 8875840857
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 34 ratings

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
34 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Patricia LC Bessa
5.0 out of 5 stars the Visconti 2nd movie
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2013
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the movie i always wanted to own - i saw it 18 years ago for the first time - and wow
it's a very interesting theme - solitude, aging, death, family interaction - and there's a included doc about it
it has a play feeling - the carathers are trapped in a building , 2 views of the same space , they are in conflict , extremes that attract and repel , connections and separation
i added it to my library that has lots of antonioni an author that is obcessed w. the same themes
a must see in my opinion
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Namgerb
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent movie, I seen it before in a theatre
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2016
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Excellent movie, I seen it before in a theatre. However, the Amazon disk has very BAD quality: sound is unclear and color are very artificial. I bought it as a gift and then watch it with my friends. It was embarrassing.
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John A. Brooks
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2016
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Not my favorite.
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William A. Carnahan
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2015
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A work of cinematic art!
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lars.lofgren@pof.se
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2015
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A truly great contemporary drama!
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Chakiras
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2014
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Great movie, great service!
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Carlos E. Velasquez
5.0 out of 5 stars Conversation Piece - Gruppo Di Famiglia in un Interno
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2012
Luchino Visconti is one of the best known Italian directors in the United States, together with Bernardo Bertolucci, Vittorio De Sica, Roberto Rossellini, and few others. He is known for being one of the fathers of the so-called Italian neo-realism film movement from the 40s and 50s, and it is best remembered, for example, by such movies as "The Leopard" (1963) and "Death in Venice" (1971). The exquisite and penetrating "Conversation Piece" (aka "Gruppo Di Famiglia in un Interno") was Visconti's penultimate film before his death, and it is a treat to have it now available in DVD and Blu-ray. And what a delight it is!

"Conversation Piece" is the type of film that I most respect, as it was filmed inside limited interior sets, without any distraction, and with a smart story and dialogue. It stars frequent Visconti collaborator Burt Lancaster (loved by Italian directors) as Il Professore, an aging and retired American professor that lives by himself in a magnificent villa in Rome. His only company is Herminia (Elvira Cortese), his maid, and a few of Herminia's assistants. He truly values his solitude and enjoys collecting art and reading. However, all that changes when he is approached by Bianca Brumonti (the delightful Silvana Mangano), a rich aristocrat who wants to rent an apartment from Il Professore, in order that her younger lover, Konrad Huebel (Helmet Berger), could live in it. He informs her that he is not interested in renting that apartment, because he uses it to store his stuff. Mrs. Brumonti doesn't take no for an answer and basically forces herself into the property. We learn that Il Professore was right in not renting the apartment, as Mrs. Brumonti, her daughter Lietta (Claudia Marsani), her son Stefano (Stefano Patrizi), and Konrad make his life miserable, up to a point in which Lietta says, "There is a tragedy here every five minutes."

The film is very captivating -- there are plenty twists and turns until the very last minute. In addition, Visconti injects messages about class politics - rich versus poor, left versus right. It is great drama, with some funny and steamy moments. The DVD includes a booklet with information about the film and Visconti, as well as special features which include an interview with film critic Alessandro Benccivenni, trailer and more. (Italy, 1974, color, 125 min plus additional materials).

Reviewed on April 4, 2012 by Eric Gonzales for RaroVideo.
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KNDY
5.0 out of 5 stars (4.5 stars) Considered as Luchino Visconti's "last will & testament", "Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" is magnificent!
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2012
For Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti, although his oeuvre may not be as lengthy compared to Roberto Rossellini or Federico Fellini, he is among the few that have crew created films that not only were beloved in his country, but have remained cinema classics worldwide.

Visconti was also involved with filmmakers Rossellini, Fellini, Puccini, Pietrangeli and De Santis in collaboration in creating the first Italian neorealist movie "Obsession" in 1943. Breaking away from neorealism in the '50s, Visconti pursued realism and romanticism and set his own path of creating films that were personal.

Well-known for directing theatre and opera but for cinema, he is best known for creating masterpiece after masterpiece such as "The Leopard" (1963), "Sandra" (1965), "The Damned" (1969), "Death in Venice" (1971), and for many, his films such as "La terra trema", "Bellissima", "Senso", "Le notte bianche", "Rocco and His Brothers" and "The Stranger" would also rank high on the list for many cineaste.

But one film would also rank high among cineaste, some may consider it another masterpiece and that was his 1974 film "Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno", also known as "Conversation Piece". Winner for "Best Film" at the David di Donatello Awards", "Blue Ribbon Awards", "Fotogramas de Plata", "Kinema Junpo Awards" and the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists", the film would receive recognition worldwide.

But also, the film would be known as Visconti's "Last Will & Testament". In an interview with actor Burt Lancaster, Lancaster said that Visconti told Lancaster that the character he was playing was him. Lancaster said, "I knew that the old man I was playing was him. He told me another time, `This is my life. I am very much alone. I never knew how to love. I never had a family.'"

And now this classic Visconti masterpiece has arrived on DVD (March 2012) and a Blu-ray release (scheduled for April 2012) courtesy of RaroVideo. As the film has had its fair share of being censored (due to the political dialogue and profanity in the film), the version featured on DVD is the uncut version.

"Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" is also a personal film for Visconti. The film would be critical of the Jet Set high society lifestyle, the film would star Visconti's partner Helmut Berger but the film also was a comeback for Visconti who was incapacitated due to health reasons.

This comeback for cinema would be the second-to-last film that Visconti would write and direct before his death due to a stroke two years later.

While the film's titled "Gruppo di famiglia in Un Interno" describes the internal situation of a family, the English title "Conversation Piece" refers to artwork of 18th Century English paintings, typically of a group engaged in conversation but also a reference to the protagonist's observance of a wealthy family and their way of engaging in conversation.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" (Conversation Piece) is presented in 2:35:1 (16×9) and in English monaural. It's important to note that for those who want the best version of this film to date, RaroVideo will be releasing a Blu-ray version in April 2012.

With that being said, ""Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" (Conversation Piece) has been digitally restored. The picture quality of this DVD is amazingly good for a near 40-year-old film. Considering how much we have seen in terms of restoration of Visconti films in the last two years for DVD and Blu-ray release, I have watched this film before and the film looked its age.

Because this film rarely takes place outside of the professor's home, you really can't tell this is a 1974 film. The colors look very good and I detected no major defects with picture quality. Granted, in HD, I would expect to see much more detail and noticeable light and warmer colors. But for DVD, picture quality is good as one can expect.

As for audio, audio is presented in monaural, English dialogue is clear and understandable. As with the music and noises emanating from the tenant's room. But it's a clear soundtrack that had no hissing, crackling, pops or any issues.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno (Conversation Piece)" comes with the following special feature:

Interview with Alessandro Benccivenni - (9:33) Film critic and screenwriter Alessandro Benccivenni talks about Luchino Visconti and the making of "Grippo Di Famiglia in Un Interno".
Original Trailer - (3:46) The original theatrical trailer for "Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno (Conversation Piece)".

EXTRAS:

"La Visita" comes with a slipcover case and an 18-page booklet featuring critical analysis by Mark Rappaport and a Luchino Visconti biography.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" is a film that has always hit me in so many levels. As I appreciate its humorous take on high society, it's almost dreamlike surreal situations that often take place, I enjoy how the film was cleverly written and his ability to allow his obsession of politics especially sexuality be displayed in his films.

And like so many other Luchino Visconti films that I adore, this film was also intriguing for me in the fact that it was a personal Visconti film.

If a filmmaker could predict his own demise, what kind of film would you make? I look towards Andrei Tarkovsky's "The Sacrifice" as an example. As a fan of Luchino Visconti films, "Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" was a film that I had looked differently at compared to any other films in Visconti's oeuvre.

Mainly for the reason as the more you research Visconti's work, you begin to research him not only as Visconti the filmmaker but also as an individual. As a man who is an aesthete, his films can depict an acerbic tone, some may be towards the society, politics or even sexuality and while "Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" is no different, especially when compared to his film "Death in Venice", but this film, it appears that he is also directing this scathing tone towards himself.

I have read that this legendary Italian filmmaker felt lonely. Never had a family. May it be depression or something that happened within his life that gave him that state of mind, the fact is that in this film, he has created a character based on himself and asks the question, if you have art. If you have music. If you have these expensive possessions that many people acquire with wealth, is it still enough to fill the void in life, if you don't have love or family?

We often read about many classic Hollywood celebrities who lived the final days of their life as recluse and for the character of the Professor, he chose his passion over love and family. And when that opportunity came to have people in his home, he begins to realize how much it meant to him, despite having wealth and all the possessions that he desired.

Visconti's "Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" is a film that has a message that life is short and one should be able to live life to its fullest.

The film parallels the life of the Professor and Visconti not only in life but also in the manner of death. Not to say that Visconti could have predicted how his last years of his life would be on this planet but somehow he knew that his life would not last that long while making this film. Premonition, intuition? Who knows.

But in the film, the Professor felt a new synergy in his life when he starts to consider the new tenants almost like a part of his family, moreso for the Professor and Konrad. In real life, Visconti and Helmut Berger (who plays the character of Konrad) were a real life couple and in the film, the relationship between Konrad and Konrad Huebel) was like father-and-son. A father wanting to take care of someone. But when you look at the context of life and cinema, was there more to it? Was there an underlying message between the Professor and Konrad and the real life Visconti and Helmut Berger.

This is my take and my personal opinion but when I first watched this film and knowing a little about Visconti's life, it was my feeling that Visconti knew he wouldn't have a long life and discovered the love and passions in his life quite late. Would he have a much more fulfilling life if he pursued love and family earlier on.

In the film, we see how the character Lietta tells the Professor how she turns him on and if he asked her to marry him, she would. But he tells her that he doesn't have much time and the characters then get into a discussion about his life and family. With the professor wanting to share that passion of art and music with someone but as much as he thought that the enjoyment of life was embodied in the art that he has collected, it's been far too long since the Professor was able to care for someone.

The great artist Salvador Dali once ridiculed Visconti's lifestyle by saying that "he was a communist who only liked luxury" and Visconti's character of the Professor was similar but perhaps it was a wakeup call for Visconti that he needed to change his life, not place so much into luxury but towards love but his discovery of that was possibly a little too late.

Visconti may have felt that because of his older age and ill health (it is said that Visconti smoked up to 120 cigarettes a day), he didn't have much time to live and so, thus "Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" became known as the director's last will & testament.

And for me, that is why I appreciate this film on a different level compared to Visconti's other films. This is a man near death, putting his heart and soul to this film with a character about himself but yet, in Visconti-fashion, he is able to create this idiosyncratic film.

And while this film is enjoyable, one of its most controversial moments is when we realize who Konrad really is and when "Conversation Piece" was screened at the 1975 New York Film Festival, it was not well received. Possibly the most problematic part of this film that I have read over time is the casting of Helmut Berger to play Konrad. A plaything for a woman possibly in her '50s and his involvement in a movement which I don't want to spoil but yet it was hard for others to take in because Helmut Berg looked very young for his age. This has always been a sore point for certain viewers who felt his character looked "too good" and "too young" to play the part.

But for those who have watched a Visconti film, there has always been an underlying premise of silliness. Does everything have to be right? One should know from a Visconti film by now that things, especially with characters are imperfect. For me, I was never bothered by the casting of Berg and it was no surprise that he was in the film as well. This is a story by Visconti, about Visconti and as the Professor has discovered a new meaning to life with Konrad, Visconti in real life found love with Helmut Berger and both Visconti/Professor knew the one thing they did not have was time.

As for the DVD release, RaroVideo has continued to impress me release after release. Picture quality is good on DVD and considering this is a new digital restored film, I was quite impressed of how good this film looks compared to an older release in which the film did show its age. But "Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" doesn't look like a 1974 film because the quality of the video is pretty good. But with that being said, it's also important to remind those wanting to purchase this film is that a Blu-ray version of this film will be released a month later. So, if you want the best picture and audio quality, you may want to wait for the Blu-ray release.

Overall, "Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" is a Visconti idiosyncratic film that I have enjoyed over the years. Yes, "The Leopard", "Death in Venice", "Senso" and many other Visconti films can be considered as magnificent, but I have to put this film high on my list of favorite Visconti films because of its grandeur, its beauty, its humor, its absurdity, its acerbic tone and message.

"Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" may be known as Visconti's last will & testament but it's also a film that everyone can relate too. Life is short, enjoy it while you can.

"Gruppo Di Famiglia In Un Interno" (Conversation Piece) is highly recommended!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Phoenix 5
5.0 out of 5 stars Superbe
Reviewed in France on March 30, 2019
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Superbe film de Luchino Visconti, avec Claudia cardinale et plein d'autres acteurs magnifiques , son dernier film !
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RICCARDO FELICI
5.0 out of 5 stars GRANDE FILM DI VISCONTI
Reviewed in Italy on December 1, 2017
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In questo film, Luchino Visconti si confronta con la contemporaneità, proponendo un duro attacco nei confronti della borghesia "nera" e dei suoi presunti usi e costumi. Inevitabili i riferimenti al terrorismo e alla decadenza della morale, ma è presente anche il disagio dell'intellettuale nei confronti della crisi dei valori della società. Burt Lancaster è il professore di origini statunitensi e Silvana Mangano è la marchesa Bromonti, moglie di un ricco industriale di destra. Il DVD è di ottimo livello e il film è consigliabile per tutti coloro che amano il cinema italiano di vocazione internazionale.
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doris aamot
5.0 out of 5 stars Wahnsinn, wie ein Gelehrter vom prallen Leben überrollt wird.
Reviewed in Germany on September 16, 2015
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Die Familie mit ihrem hedonistischen Lebensstil bricht in das Leben des zurückgezogenen Gelehrten ein. Viele Spielarten der Kommunikation werden hier ausgeübt, eine überragend elegante Kontessa ,Konrad, ein umwerfend schöner Spielball der Leidenschaft, zerbrechlich bis vulgär, die Tragik des Konrad kann niemanden kalt lassen, am wenigsten den zurückgezogenen Eigenbrötler, der sich dann nahezu zärtlich um ihn kümmert, die Reminiszensen des Professor, nur leicht angedeutet, geben Raum zu eigenen Interpretationen.Auf das das tragische Ende wird von Anfang an hingewiesen und so überrascht es nicht, daß ein Ende mit Schrecken kommt. Ein ganz großer Regisseur mit einem wunderbaren Helmut Berger.
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dario busto arsizio
4.0 out of 5 stars Uno dei più bei film di "interni"
Reviewed in Italy on April 18, 2019
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Un film dei miei anni universitari, Visconti è un classico evergreen !!
Da rivedere con attenzione 45 anni dopo . . .
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lettrice
5.0 out of 5 stars Uno dei più bei film di Visconti
Reviewed in Italy on September 15, 2018
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Attori eccezionali e una Silvana Mangano superlativa. Il restauro del film è perfetto nella parte video un pò meno nel sonoro, ma considerata la vetustà del film è comunque buona. Piacevolissimo il secondo dvd con i dietro le quinte.
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