Summertime - Criterion Collection | Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi

Summertime - Criterion Collection | Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi | The Ultimate Venice Tour

DVDs:

Summertime - Crite...

	Summertime - Criterion Collection Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi Criterion, 1998 average customer review:based on 49 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An American spinster's dream of romance finally becomes a bittersweet reality when she meets a handsome-but married-Italian man while vacationing in Venice. Katharine Hepburn's sensitive portrayal of the lonely heroine and Jack Hildyard's glorious Technicolor® photography make Summertime an endearing and visually enchanting film.

A Dream Come True

Watched this as a child and dreamed of seeing the beautiful Venice in which it is lovingly filmed. Wanted the courage of Kate's character to just go where I had dreamed, on my own. Have now twice. Loved having the chance to relieve the enchantment I felt as a child at the cinematic beauty of this film.

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The Ultimate Venice Tour

Even though the movie is nearly sixty years old very little in Venice has changed. Anyone planning a trip to Venice will benefit from seeing this movie since it perfectly captures the atmosphere they can experience for themselves. You can still visit the location where Hepburn falls in to the canal and the shop that was temporarilly turned into Rossano Brazzi's antique shop. The storyline does not overwhelm the visual experience of the city.

Restoration Lacking

Others have thoroughly reviewed this wonderful and special film. My review is strictly about the picture quality.

Over the years I have heard people comment on the wonderful transfers and restorations that Criterion does. I have only seen two of their releases and both disappoint. The colors of Summertime have a reddish brown tinge that look like typical unrestored color film from the 1950s--particularly, but not restricted to, the flesh tones. Also, the highlights (and this picture is loaded with them since it was filmed in the bright sunlight of Venice) are blown out, with a resulting lack of detail. The picture doesn't look terrible, but it appears to be a few generations removed from the original negative and most certainly doesn't fit the definition of "restored." I don't know for certain but I doubt that Criterion, despite the premium price of their products, has the budget for proper film restorations that you would get from Warner Brothers or the other majors. I was expecting to see this film in its original beauty, but all I got was another over-priced DVD from a company that apparently gives only lip service to quality.

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