Search - Divorce Italian Style on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Humor, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 1962 Format: DVD - Black and White,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: Italian Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 44 mins Studio: Henstooth Video Members Wishing: 1 Genres: Comedy, Satire, Domestic Comedy See Also: Divorzio all-italiana, Divorce, Italian Style [Criterion Collection]

To fully appreciate the international box-office bonanza Divorce, Italian Style (Divorzio All'Italiana), one must remember that back in 1962, divorce was illegal in Italy. Ferdinando Cefalú(Marcello Mastroianni) would love to unload his demanding, sex-starved, monumentally unappealing wife, Rosalia (Daniela Rocca), but he can't take the legal means open to his American counterparts. Ferdinando can, however, kill off his wife and receive a light sentence...provided he catches the lady committing adultery. The trick now is to make his plate-of-potatoes spouse attractive enough so that some other man will accommodate Ferdinando by cuckolding him. Divorce, Italian Style not only cleaned up financially, but also won several international film awards, as well as an Oscar nomination for Marcello Mastroianni. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marcello Mastroianni - Ferdinando
Daniela Rocca - Rosalia
Stefania Sandrelli - Angela
Leopoldo Trieste - Carmelo Patane
Margherita Girelli - Sisina
Odoardo Spadaro - Don Gaetano

A massive international hit in 1962, and the winner of the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, Divorce, Italian Style has sadly faded from public consciousness. This is a real shame because the movie has lost none of its snap and it just may feature Marcello Mastroianni's finest straight-faced comic performance as the world's vainest Sicilian pushing his extremely plain but extremely sweet wife into an affair (his secret plan being to kill her in a faked crime of passion). The film's title was Italian slang for murder since men so often got away with murdering their wives in a country where divorce was illegal. This is a very dark subject matter for such a light, effervescent comedy and Hen's Tooth at least deserves credit for being the first home entertainment company to release an edition of Divorce, Italian Style on DVD. Unfortunately, the print used in the DVD transfer is in horrible shape and full of scratches and hiss. The movie has been returned to its original widescreen aspect ratio but the print is in such bad shape that this point is basically negated. Hopefully, a quality boutique DVD house such as Criterion Collection will restore and re-release the wonderful Divorce, Italian Style on DVD soon. Besides being appreciated as a great comedy, the movie helped cast an international eye on the practice of marital murder in Italy and played a big part in divorce being legalized in that country. ~ Nick Dedina, All Movie Guide