With the sheer amount of films that are being re-released onto the Blu-Ray format, I feel that there is a good chance that a number of them will be completely missed. While there is a good reason for this for some films, I content that Lorber’s re-release of a number of films from the Sophia Loren vaults should be viewed. This collection (which includes Sunflower, Marriage Italian Style, and Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow) represent a perfect way for fans to get into Loren’s career.
1964’s Marriage Italian Style showcases the varied marriage arrangements that are present in Italy, involving a mistress’s plans to become legally married to eir amour. This extends beyond mere expression of love; there are tremendous machinations to ensure that the master will take the mistress’ hand in matrimony. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow closes out the collection and represents the earliest title in the collection.
Sunflower is a 1970 film directed by Vittorio De Saca (Amanti, Sette Volte Donna) that showcases the love that can only be found in wartime. Whether the love that Loren’s character Giovanna and Antonio (Marcello Mastroianni) share can continue after hostilities cease is the focal point of the film, while the ending will undoubtedly surprise viewers.
Taken together, the sharp film prints that are used by Lorber along with a number of other features like trailers and stills ensure that anyone that may be interested in Sophia Loren’s acting career during this period should search the titles out. Here’s to hoping that sales of these titles are strong enough to allow Lorber to continue to re-release these titles, as they do seem to be considerably better in quality and content than other re-releases that have came out this year.
Rating: 9.0/10
Sophia Loren Award Collection (Sunflower, Marriage Italian Style, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow) / 2011 Lorber Films / http://www.lorberfilms.com