Il Bidone

Description

In Fellini's sardonically humorous, yet powerfully dramatic "Il Bidone," three small-time crooks impersonate priests in Rome to con poor people out of their money. Academy Award winner Broderick Crawford is extraordinary as the group's world weary leader, whose chance meeting with his daughter opens his eyes to his wrongdoing. Too late, he suffers a crisis of conscience in this absorbing tale of hope, desperation and, finally, redemption. One of Fellini's most realistic films, "Il Bidone" begins as an Italian comedy of errors, its swindles reminiscent of "The Sting," yet there is true sting in its harsh portrayal of greed and squalor. The middle chapter in Fellini's "trilogy of loneliness" between "La Strada" and "Nights of Cabiria," this classic film will tug at your heart and astonish you with its aching sense of compassion. Music by Nino Rota (The Godfather, Rocco and His Brothers).

Customer Reviews:

The middle chapter in Fellini's "trilogy of loneliness", .......2007-03-12

The middle chapter in Fellini's "trilogy of loneliness", made by a master between "La Strada" (1954), and "Nights of Cabiria," (1957), "Il Bidone" (1955) is less known, for long time simply forgotten (and I can't imagine why) but powerful, humorous, heartbreaking, and poignant film. Broderick Crawford, Academy Award winner for playing Willie Stark, a corrupt politician and a charismatic man in "All the King's Men" (1949), gives a compelling performance as Augusto, an aging con man, a leader of a trio of small time crooks who take advantage of poor and uneducated Italians in both country side and poor quarters of Rome. Augusto realizes at the age of 48 that his life of selfishness, greed, and wrongdoings only made his existence meaningless. Once in his life, he decided to con the con men in order to help his daughter whom he rarely sees but deeply loves with fulfilling her dreams of better life but a swindle gone wrong leads Augusto to the final scene of pain, both physical and mental, to loneliness and desperation. It is very much like "Nights of Cabiria" final scene but without eternal hope of Cabiria's smile...

Technically, "Il Bidone" is a very strong film with memorable performances, including the smaller cameos. Fellini's directing is as satisfying as always and many scenes remind of his future triumphs (New Year party is a stunning sequence and brings to mind "La Dolce Vita", 1960 ). Nino Rota's music and Otello Martinelli's cinematography add to many pleasures of the film, one of them is Giulietta Masina who plays supporting role of Iris, the wife of Picasso (Richard Basehart), the younger con artist with a dream to become an Artist. Both, Masina and Basehart starred in Fellini's first chapter of "trilogy of loneliness", "La Strada" (1954).

Fellini's Il Bidone.......2005-10-12

This is post World War II Fellini. Rudimentary and hard but fatally realistic. While possibly not as good as his later works, this was the original film that begot the Fellini style. Worth a look.

Nothing to go crazy over.......2004-09-06

This is a simple film. Not really any thinking involved here. Not a bad film eithor. Don't get me wrong it's good but it just doesn't have the feel of some of his other films.

I liked it.......2002-06-29

My friends hassled me for starting off my Fellini collection with Il Bidone but I've seen the classics and have pretty easy access to seeing them any time. Something a little bit more obscure like this one is harder to track down, so I figured that I'd buy it based on the reviews here. I wasn't disappointed. people were pretty accurate in their impressions. The story is told well, the acting is good and it's something that I lok forward to watching many more times.

Simple and elegant.......2002-05-20

Il Bidone is a stark, gritty, unyielding portrait of the life of small time con men in Rome. Augusto sees those who've escaped the rounds about him, at forty eight he is far past his prime and just beginning to realize that he has no idea to escape the rut. The movie is very spare, the cons not particularly interesting as cons, but very weighty in symbolism. The script is playful, sly and heartless, until Augusto bumps into his estranged daughter and begins to work his way back towards humanity. That it will cost him dearly is rarely in doubt, but the passage is fascinating to watch.

If you've heard comparisons to The Sting, forget about them. That would be like calling the South Pacific and Lord of the Flies similar since they're both set on islands. Il Bidone does not function as a story of revenge, or as an example of the grand old life of con men. As a piece of neorealism, we can expect a somber mood and only passing happiness, but it is well worth watching the awakening and demise of Augusto - not as a lesson in morals, but as one in storytelling. Il Bidone carries an emotional punch, half a century later and if you're an admirer of La Strada, here is a harsher, perhaps better, companion piece.

Average customer rating:
Il Bidone
Starring: Il Bidone
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000A2WCPO
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Average customer rating:
Il Bidone [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Director: Federico Fellini
Manufacturer: Umbrella
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000BMWK3C

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: o English (subtitles) o Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: Swindle and The Swindlers are both English-language titles for 1955's Il Bidone, a lesser-known effort from Federico Fellini. Broderick Crawford, Richard Basehart, and Franco Fabrizi play a trio of con artists who victimize the Italian bourgeoisie (who are shown to be no better than the crooks). Giueletta Masina (Fellini's wife), who had previously costarred with Richard Basehart in La Strada, here plays Basehart's wife. Humphrey Bogart had been intended for the role played by Broderick Crawford; one wonders how Crawford's self-deprecating curtain speech about the hollowness of his existence would have played in Bogart's hands. Swindle was not released to the US until nine years after its completion. Special Features: o Scene Access

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