Stepping into these adventures is like getting into the passenger seat of Rossellini's Ferrari - it will take you far, fast. Rossellini was not simply one of the greatest filmmakers, he was also a modern Ulysses whose life was the stuff of fable and whose fables were his life spliced into 24 frames per second. Tag Gallagher has done a superb thing by not attempting to divorce them, and the result is a work of art in its own right that has more to say about the 20th century than a boatload of "important" novels and sententious tomes. On top of that, it's a damn good read.

Roberto Rossellini is one of the most influencial figure in film history. A few of his films changed the way movies are made. Open City and Paisan shocked the world. Voyage in Italy changed the lives of many filmmakers, from Jean-Luc Godard to Martin Scorsese. Yet, no serious study was done about his entire body of work, before this book. Rosselini is a mysterious figure. His style changes from a decade to another. Also, many of his films, like Vanina Vanini or Blaze Pascal, are rarely screened. His carrer is also sort of tarnished because of his affair and marriage with Ingrid Bergman. In fact, most f not-so-serious movie fans know his name as only the guy who brought her to Italy. The truth is, they made some of the most beautiful films in film history: Voyage in Italy, Stromboli, Europe 1951... Gallagher, who is also known with his magnificent work about John Ford, applied the same tactics to write about Rossellini: to carefully study each film, from shot to shot. It is an impressive book. It takes a lot of time to read, perhaps, but not aslong as the author took to write (20 years). His argument is sober and careful, yet you can feel the passion behind it, just as you can feel from the later works of Rossellini himself. In studying each film with great attention, the author finds out, and explains to us, that in spite of the differences in their appearance, there is a single, unique, coherent style, logic, and genius behind this impressive body of works. It is one of the most impressive book about cinema. One regretable thing is that, most of the films disscussed in this book, we can't see them.

Having taken 2 of Professor Bondanella's courses, I probablyhave a bit of a bias towards this book. But I think I can say with allhonesty that anyone who finds Rossellini or neo-realism interesting will find this an extremely entertaining and informative book. The writing style is high-browed with wit and humor thrown in, as Rosselini was after all a very larger than life figure who was admired in no small part by the professor for his off-the-cuff approch to filmaking and his famous escipades with beautiful women such as Ingrid Bergman. Bondanella is intimately familiar with the study of neo-realism and the most widely acclaimed directors of this sub-genre of film. He shares his wealth of knowledge freely and warmly; overall an extremely satisfying read.