MISUNDERSTOOD (1966)
Label: Radiance Films
Region Code: A,B
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 103 Minutes 57 Seconds
Audio: Italian PCM 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Luigi Comencini
Cast: Anthony Quayle, Stefano Colagrande, Simone Giannozzi, John Sharp, Adriana Facchetti, Anna Maria Nardini, Silla Bettini
In the bittersweet Luigi Comencini (The Sunday Woman) directed coming of age film Misunderstood (1966), based on a Victorian-era novel by Florence Montgomery, John Duncombe (Sir Anthony Quayle, A Study in Terror), a British consul in living in Florence, Italy returns home from his wife's funeral having chosen not to inform his young boys of their mother's tragic passing. Deeply grieved he does manage to tell his older son Andrea (Stefano Colagrande) the truth of the matter, but he makes him promise not to tell his younger brother Milo (Simone Giannozzi) the truth, with Andrea telling Milo that their mother is simply away in the idyllic countryside. Now burdened with the truth Andrea seems to take the news with a stiff upper lip, which eases his father's burden, but its actually weighing heavily upon him. As the story moves along Milo comes to realize the truth on his own, and both boys begin to distract themselves from their shared grief by acting out in youthful, mischievous ways, setting out on various adventures, including bicycling by themselves into the heart Florence to find a gift for their father, destroying their bedroom, rowing out onto the nearby lake, and driving their nanny nuts, who quits in utter frustration. It's a beautiful and bittersweet film about childhood, the grief of children, and the cost of bottling up emotions after suffering an unimaginable loss. The main cast is terrific, Quayle as the widowed father who buries his grief in his work, and who seemingly favors one child over, and hides away in his study gazing at his dead wife's portrait and listening to an audio tape of her reciting poetry, it's a wonderfully sympathetic turn. Both Colagrande and Giannozzi, who were first time children actors who never acted again, are sublime as the close-knit siblings, the former delivering a nuanced turn as the older sibling on the cusp of being a teen trying to protect his father by being strong for him, and Giannozzi as the youthful Milo gives a very natural performance, an imaginative and inquisitive younger sibling who looks up to his brother. A scene of Andrea coming out of the shower and yelling for his mother to bring him a towel out of habit, only to suddenly remember his mother is dead, it's quite affecting.
In the bittersweet Luigi Comencini (The Sunday Woman) directed coming of age film Misunderstood (1966), based on a Victorian-era novel by Florence Montgomery, John Duncombe (Sir Anthony Quayle, A Study in Terror), a British consul in living in Florence, Italy returns home from his wife's funeral having chosen not to inform his young boys of their mother's tragic passing. Deeply grieved he does manage to tell his older son Andrea (Stefano Colagrande) the truth of the matter, but he makes him promise not to tell his younger brother Milo (Simone Giannozzi) the truth, with Andrea telling Milo that their mother is simply away in the idyllic countryside. Now burdened with the truth Andrea seems to take the news with a stiff upper lip, which eases his father's burden, but its actually weighing heavily upon him. As the story moves along Milo comes to realize the truth on his own, and both boys begin to distract themselves from their shared grief by acting out in youthful, mischievous ways, setting out on various adventures, including bicycling by themselves into the heart Florence to find a gift for their father, destroying their bedroom, rowing out onto the nearby lake, and driving their nanny nuts, who quits in utter frustration. It's a beautiful and bittersweet film about childhood, the grief of children, and the cost of bottling up emotions after suffering an unimaginable loss. The main cast is terrific, Quayle as the widowed father who buries his grief in his work, and who seemingly favors one child over, and hides away in his study gazing at his dead wife's portrait and listening to an audio tape of her reciting poetry, it's a wonderfully sympathetic turn. Both Colagrande and Giannozzi, who were first time children actors who never acted again, are sublime as the close-knit siblings, the former delivering a nuanced turn as the older sibling on the cusp of being a teen trying to protect his father by being strong for him, and Giannozzi as the youthful Milo gives a very natural performance, an imaginative and inquisitive younger sibling who looks up to his brother. A scene of Andrea coming out of the shower and yelling for his mother to bring him a towel out of habit, only to suddenly remember his mother is dead, it's quite affecting.
The film foreshadows a future tragedy which does eventually unfold leading to a finale that sort of put me through the wringer, is was getting dusty in the room if you know what I mean, as the father asked a bit too much of his oldest son only to realize too late that he was the most affected of all of them. A masterful film that beautifully observes the wide-eyed the innocence of youth, chock full of bittersweet coming-of-age melodrama and a keen exploration of of life, loss and tragedy.
Audio/Video: Misunderstood (1966) makes its worldwide Blu-ray debut from Radiance Films in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen, sourced from a new 2K scan of the OCN. The source has has been nicely restored, it's not quite immaculate, there are faint vertical scratches and minor blemished visible for the eagle-eyed, but otherwise this is a terrific presentation that is quite filmic. Grain is nicely exposed, we have well-saturated colors, the greens of trees and grass in the exteriors great, and skin tones generally look excellent . There's some nice fine detail in the close-ups, offering pleasing textures throughout, some modest depth and clarity, and black levels are solid. The film was shot by Armando Nannuzzi (Silver Bullet, Maximum Overdrive), the Blu-ray does excellent work translating his style.
Audio comes by way of Italian PCM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and has an authentic boxiness to it, not a lot of depth or range to it but it does sound authentic to the period. The Italian dialogue sounds fine, and the piano score from Fiorenzo Carpi (Salon Kitty) which features a couple of classical pieces sounds quite pleasing.
Disc extras come by way of 1 35-min archival 2008 Interview with co-screenwriter Piero De Bernardi and Cristina Comencini, the director's daughter and the co-screenwriter talk about Misunderstood; plus a 24-min Interview with legendary critic Michel Ciment (2021) who looks back at the film and on the career of Comencini. There's also a new 25-min A Child's Heart - a visual essay by David Cairns on Comencini and the filmmaker's affinity for childhood stories (2023), plus a 3-min Trailer.
The single-disc release arrives in a clear full-height Scanavo packaging with a Reversible Sleeve of Artwork with both English and Italian titling options and artwork, plus Radiance's signature Removable OBI Strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings if you so wish. Tucked away inside is a 31-page Limited Edition Illustrated Booklet featuring new writing by way of critic Manuela Lazic's 'Troubled Youth in Cinema' essay, and a newly translated archival interview with Comencini from 1978, plus cast and crew info, transfer notes, acknowledgements and release credits.
Special Features:
- New 2024 2K restoration from the original negative
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- Interview with co-screenwriter Piero De Bernardi and Cristina Comenicini, the director's daughter and herself a noted filmmaker (2008) (35:10)
- Interview with legendary critic Michel Ciment (2021) (23:41)
- A Child's Heart - a visual essay by David Cairns on Comencini and the filmmaker's affinity for childhood stories (2023) (24:51)
- Trailer (3:18)
- Newly translated English subtitles
- Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original promotional materials
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critic Manuela Lazic and a newly translated archival interview with Comencini
- New 2024 2K restoration from the original negative
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- Interview with co-screenwriter Piero De Bernardi and Cristina Comenicini, the director's daughter and herself a noted filmmaker (2008) (35:10)
- Interview with legendary critic Michel Ciment (2021) (23:41)
- A Child's Heart - a visual essay by David Cairns on Comencini and the filmmaker's affinity for childhood stories (2023) (24:51)
- Trailer (3:18)
- Newly translated English subtitles
- Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original promotional materials
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critic Manuela Lazic and a newly translated archival interview with Comencini
Screenshots from the Radiance Films Blu-ray
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