I like Italian neo-realist and those that followed in the 1960s, '70s and beyond. I also like French new wave flicks. So, it stands to reason a lot of the DVDs on the shelf will carry the Criterion logo, since it is the company doing more than any other to preserve and restore the world's great films.
No one does reissues of substantial films like Criterion, which painstakingly restores the images and the sound and improves subtitle translations, too. The booklets are invariably loaded with great photos and insightful essays and there are often so many interesting extras that a second disc is de rigeur.
Recently, Criterion turned its attention to Francois Truffaut's 1959 "The 400 Blows," an adolescent picture that is routinely highly-ranked on lists of the greatest films ever made. There has been so much written about this film -- based on Truffaut's own youth -- about a boy who, faced with disinterested parents and vicious teachers, begins to dabble in petty crime, that I won't bother with that here.
Instead, I will tell you about the thrill of seeing the film restored to a pristine condition. If you've seen "The 400 Blows" at an art house cinema, you've certainly seen one loaded with pops, clicks, dirt, scratches and likely some improvised projection room edits. Get this edition -- which also has superior audio -- and see it with fresh eyes.
Although the "booklet" is only a six-panel fold-out with a brief essay, Criterion hasn't skimped on the extras. There are two audio commentaries -- one by a friend of the director and another by a film scholar -- audition footage of the main actors, newsreel footage of the star at Cannes for a screening of the film, TV appearances by Truffaut and the theatrical trailer.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
