Review of Summertime (1955) by Ice R — 28 Jul 2009
David Lean's characteristic ability to conjure intensely honest, unpretentious performances, Jack Hildyard's robust cinematography, and the swooping, lapping strains of "Summertime in Venice" in Alessandro Cicognini's glittering score meld radiantly in this winsome romance.
Katharine Hepburn, with her Bryn Mawr drawl, is a paradigm for foolhardy American site-seers, and she clashes elegantly with Rassano Brazzi's lusty Renato de Rossi. (Lovers of A Christmas Story, that immortal slice of Americana a la Jean Shepherd, will be delighted by the presence of Darren McGavin as the unscrupulous artist Eddie Yaeger.
) Though it lacks the finesse of his Brief Encounter and the vast intensity of his epics, Lean produces a lavish visual feast, capturing La Serenisima in all its garish, spectral, haunting glory.
This review of Summertime (1955) was written by Ice R on 28 Jul 2009.
Summertime has generally received positive reviews.
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