Posted on: June 11, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Adua & Her Friends (DVD) / 2011 Rarovideo / 129 Minutes / http://www.rarovideo.com
I had thought with the advent of the Blu-Ray, that DVD-making companies would gradually die off. However, there are some companies that are putting out some impressive DVD-only content. Rarovideo is one of these companies, and Adua & Her Friends (Adua e le compagne) is an example of one of these films. The film is only one of many different must-have features to this DVD, as Rarovideo has painstakingly researched the title, the cast & crew, and the movie’s historical relevance for this release. Adua & Her Friends is a 1960 film that focuses on the actions taken by a number of Italian prostitutes after Rome hands down a decree that all whorehouses in the city limits must be closed. While they are able to find an arrangement, the hoops that they have to jump through to satisfy the owner places them perilously close to having to close up shop.
The bonus features that are present on Adua & Her Friends begin with an exploration of the restoration process, which is a valuable insight for the sheer amount of work that went in to making this film a good fit for the DVD format. The subtitles here make sense given the original Italian of the title, while the introduction laid down by Maurizio Poro will be essential for anyone that wishes to understand the cultural and social foundations for the film, as well as what it contributed to the larger body of Italian (and even world) cinema. There are always a number of different film companies that attempt to restore and otherwise re-release foreign films, but Rarovideo is one of those companies that actually care about the product they release. Their releases of films like Adua & Her Friends or The Vanquished are nothing less than stellar, and they are cheap enough to pick up by the bundle.
Rating: 9.5/10

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