There is one name that stands out in this hideous production of a great opera. That name is Gianfranco Fozzi, director and editor.
Gianfranco Fozzi. A warning label.
Fozzi cannot restrain himself from proclaiming "Hey, I just graduated from film school. Look at how clever I am." And like most children wishing to exhibit cleverness, Fozzi comes across as a fool. And destroys the opera.
The problem? Editing. Fozzi cannot let a scene dwell upon your eye for more than two seconds without cutting to a new angle. As a result, viewer is jerked from view point to view point as though shaken on a spring in the auditorium. Let's look at Rigoletto in a head-and-shoulders shot. No, done with that. Cut to Gilda in a three-quarters shot from below. Now let's get her from the top. Two seconds later, a big setting shot of the Duke's play room.
Musical director Keri-Lynn Wilson does a great job leading a competent cast. But all their efforts come to naught under the lunatic scissors of Gianfranco Fozzi. I guess if you turn off the video and just listen, you will enjoy it. But I stopped watching half way through Act Two.
I checked out Fozzi on the IMDb and thankfully he has been silent since 2005. The film world may have been saved.
Gianfranco Fozzi. A warning label.
Fozzi cannot restrain himself from proclaiming "Hey, I just graduated from film school. Look at how clever I am." And like most children wishing to exhibit cleverness, Fozzi comes across as a fool. And destroys the opera.
The problem? Editing. Fozzi cannot let a scene dwell upon your eye for more than two seconds without cutting to a new angle. As a result, viewer is jerked from view point to view point as though shaken on a spring in the auditorium. Let's look at Rigoletto in a head-and-shoulders shot. No, done with that. Cut to Gilda in a three-quarters shot from below. Now let's get her from the top. Two seconds later, a big setting shot of the Duke's play room.
Musical director Keri-Lynn Wilson does a great job leading a competent cast. But all their efforts come to naught under the lunatic scissors of Gianfranco Fozzi. I guess if you turn off the video and just listen, you will enjoy it. But I stopped watching half way through Act Two.
I checked out Fozzi on the IMDb and thankfully he has been silent since 2005. The film world may have been saved.