The Life of Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi by Gallone, a veteran practitioner of the music film, can be compared to the later 50s version directed by Mattarazzo. It moves swiftly through the various periods of the composer's life using the fluid camera style the director favored.Several touches are a bit heavy, such as Verdi pounding the piano while we see crashing waves, or a cut between women gossiping about his unmarried relationship and cackling geese in a market. The snatches of operas we see performed benefit from the singing of Beniamino Gigli and are well mounted. This has something in common with those superficial biographies made in Hollywood but it made a strong impression on my 18 year old future mother, when she was living in Italy, it was one of her favorite films so has at least a curiosity value for me.