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Category:    Home > Reviews > Documentary > Music > The Orchestra Of Piazza Vittorio (2006/Genius/IFC DVD)

The Orchestra Of Piazza Vittorio (2006/Genius DVD)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Documentary: C+

 

 

The documentary has developed several subgenres since digital video became more available and one of them is about new music from around the world and Agostino Ferrente’s The Orchestra Of Piazza Vittorio (2006) is the latest of such projects, chronicling how 15 musicians from 11 countries are brought together and the results of that gathering.  Now it did turn out to be a good project, but there is a problem here that this cycle has developed.

 

These works tends to try and tell us a few things that have become clichéd if they were not already a problem from the earliest such works.  1) Music is always upbeat and a wonderful thing.  2) Any international gathering will bring world peace and a better tomorrow; we can sing our way to world peace.  Guess they never drank a Coca-Cola!  3) “Our documentary will show you “reality” as if you did not know what that was.  4) If you reject anything about this work, you are ignorant and maybe even a racist (or something like that).  5) We still are the world.  6) No matter what the music is that is sung, it is great because of who is performing it, not because of its content or the actual performances.

 

Imagine how much bad music been made because of all that.  The music here was not as awful as expected, but some things still felt forced, no matter how sincere the people were.  Yes, the musicians have talent, but I did not feel this was the best work they could do and this was ultimately not that memorable, but it is more interesting nonetheless.  Only see it if you are really curious.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is soft and detail-challenged, with dull color and has a generic look with the location digital rough at times.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound can be in stereo, but can also offer rough location audio like most such documentaries.  Extras include trailers for other Genius releases and a Live At The IFC Center tie-in special.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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