Fellini’s “The Clowns” introduces Italy’s RaroVideo to the U.S.
Italy’s highly regarded video company RaroVideo is jump-starting their new U.S. venture with a little known Fellini film all about our collective fascination with circus clowns appropriately entitled The Clowns or in Italian, I clowns. Originally aired on TV and later in theaters, The Clowns is a peculiar film that blurs the lines between fiction and documentary. The story is told in sections, some showing the clowns in action and some showing them in “real life” with a film crew, which includes Fellini himself, “interviewing” them. The opening scene is of a child, representing Fellini I gathered, watching as a circus tent in erected in the dark of night and ends with the funeral of one of the clowns symbolizing the circle of life for the carnival performers.
I am new to the Raro camp, never even hearing of them until a package from them showed up at the Cinesploitation office. Before doing one ounce of research, I was completely impressed with the quality packaging of their release. The Clowns is neatly encased in a sturdy cardboard cover with a fantastic clown painting on the front and inside is a 50 page booklet called “A Journey Into the Shadow” about the making of the film complete with conceptual sketches, drawings and paintings. And after popping the disk in for a look, the picture and sound are high quality as well. I can’t wait to dig into the 4 movie Fernando Di Leo Crime Collection which will be their next release due out next week, March 8th, 2011.
The Clown DVD extras contain a rare and exclusive short film by Fellini called Un Agenzia Matrimoniale, a video essay on the genesis of the film entitled Fellini’s Circus by Fellini expert and film historian Adriano Apra. Pick it up tomorrow, March 1, 2011 to get in on the Raro Video USA ground floor! ORDER IT FROM TLA!
Video: 4×3 (1.33:1)
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Language: Italian and French
Subtitles: English
