I KNEW HER WELL Blu-ray Review

7.5

Film Pulse Score

Release Date: February 23, 2016
Director: Antonio Pietrangeli
MPAA Rating: NR
Run Time: 99 Minutes
Purchase: Amazon

Angelo Pietrangeli
’s name is not one that comes up all too often in discussions pertaining to important filmmakers throughout history to cinema; it’s barely one that barely even surfaces when those discussions limit themselves to Italian filmmakers, a name apparently lost through the decades buried underneath the constant praise of the works of Antonioni, Rossellini, Fellini, Pasolini and more.

Now, the Criterion Collection is providing a comforting, familiar residency for rediscovery by bestowing Pietrangeli’s I Knew Her Well, with its pristine 4K transfer, a spot on the shelf alongside the aforementioned masters. Playing like an inverse La Dolce Vita (according to Criterion and Luca Barattoni) with a female central character instead, I Knew Her Well follows Adriana (Stefania Sandrelli), a young woman gallivanting about Rome in attempts to live the good life and make it as an actress with varying degrees of success.

The only supplement included that is relatively of the same age as the film would be footage of Stefania Sandrelli’s audition for the main role of Adriana. Three separate takes running through one of the film’s more memorable scenes: a post-coital conversation of trivial substance between Adriana and a writer that leads to a pointed conclusion of Adriana’s character and reputation, a realization of how people see and judge her based on outward appearances and actions that she experiences for the first time. It does provide an interesting comparison between the rough sketch of the scene and, ultimately, the final product.

The other two supplements occur in the present, both conducted by the Criterion Collection in 2015 – interviews with Stefania Sandrelli and film scholar Luca Barattoni, respectively. Sandrelli’s interview, while interesting, does happen to be a bit minor in its substance, running only nine minutes long. She lightly touches upon a number of topics relating to the film’s production – working with Ettore Scola and Pietrangeli – without ever delving too deeply into any one topic in particular.

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Barattoni’s interview, on the other hand, is in direct contrast to that of Sandrelli’s; granted, Barattoni has more to discuss. Starting with a cursory introduction of Pietrangeli’s beginnings (literary critic/translator/contributor to a handful of cinema journals), the film scholar works his way through the better part of several decades worth of Italian cinema before dissecting and analyzing I Knew Her Well, along with the character of Adriana as well. Referencing a litany of Italian films, Barattoni’s timeline rundown of Pietrangeli’s influences and works provides the viewer a swell of watchlist additions.

While the supplements of Pietrangeli’s initiation lean towards the lesser they do provide a well-rounded introduction to Antonio Pietrangeli and his work, especially considering his position on the threshold of rediscovery. These bolstering extras (including an essay from Alexandre Stille), along with the 4K digital restoration of the film, should do well in at least piquing interest in the proposed renewal of appreciation towards Pietrangeli.

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