Avanti! | | Cast : | Jack Lemmon, Juliet Mills, Clive Revill | | Director : | Billy Wilder | | Studio : | MGM/UA Video | | Format : | Black & White, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | December 17, 1972 | | DVD Released Date : | January 11, 2005 | | Language : | Spanish (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | December 30, 2004 | | Summary | Sleeper romantic comedy: Lemmon and Mills make this classic | Content
 | With "Senza Fina" as the musical theme we've got a top rate romantic comedy in "Avanti!" Jack Lemmon arrives in Italy to get his father's corpse back to the US in time for the funeral to be viewed by 200,000 people on closed circuit TV (black and white in Puerto Rico). The jokes reference the time (1972) as the pilot in flight tells a State Department guy, "Greece is on the far left" "Not while I'm in the State Department". And Jack Lemmon's earily relevant gripe: "Goddamn Ralph Nader".
But what really makes this film is Juliet Mills who just came off the show, "Nanny and the Professor" and proves herself here as the weight-conscious lass who wins Lemmon's heart...and ours. It seems her mother and Lemmon's father had a 10 year affair at the hotel whose manager played by Clive Revill takes care of all the arrangements (What would Lemmon do without him). Meanwhile the porter is trying to blackmail Lemmon with compromising photos. Lemmon can no longer resist Mills charm.
"Permesso?" "Avanti!" 5 stars. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 29, 2004 | | Summary | at last | Content
| For me - an Austrian - at last this movie is available on dvd. Me and my wife have been loving this picture for years. It's so innocent an so many hidden comedy, that meanwhile I could see Avanti every week and enjoy it over and over again. This Wendell Armbruster character ist simply genius. And what's even more genius ist the part of Carlo Carlucci , the Hotel-Director. Everyone who loves a romantic movie mixed with humor and good acting - buy this one.
Robert Farnleitner, Vienna, Austria |
| Rating | | | Date | July 12, 2004 | | Summary | Leisurely Romantic Comedy | Content
| This one was not thoughfully picked , but caught my eyes in one of those channel surfing routines.. where just after few seconds , didn't think of any other channels or anything else..
The English translation of Italian word 'Avanti!' is 'Go Ahead' and is usually used in response to 'Permesso?' asked by any of the hotel staff while knocking at the door of your room.
Released in 1972, this is Billy Wilder's yet another light comic offering where an American businessman Wendell Armbruster(Jack Lemmon) comes to Italy to pick his father's dead body. Once there he comes to know about the long kept secret of his father of having a relationship with some woman. This woman's daughter Pamela Piggott (Juliet Mills) a delightful Brit also comes to Italy to pick her mother's dead body. Wendell, a hyperactive & uptight fellow and Pamela, a loving & carefree person happen to share the same hotel and share the same reason for their Italy visit. After not-so many instances, both of them find themselves in their parent's shoes. As if their assets of love have been passed on to their offspring. At the end, the bodies of the dead are not taken back to their respective country, but buried where their love once bloomed!
Amidst all the tough & good times there is one character that is distinctly noticeable is of Carlo Carlucci(Clive Revill) an efficient,clever and very helpful hotel manager. He is shown to be know-it-all and handle-it-all kinda guy.
One gets a sneak peek at the Italian culture of long lunch hours, mafia ruling,a general laid back attitude of people,etc..Although the movie could have done without the nude scenes and the vineyard brothers & their unreasonable demands from Wendell.
The true meaning of 'Avanti' is revealed when Piggot says it in response to Wendell's asking 'Permesso?' to kiss her. This truly is a magical moment!! The lilting music, the wit of the characters played and the locales add to the magic of this enchanting experience.
I'm glad that a film picked by chance turned out to be such a pleasure and it belongs to my favourite genre of movies! |
| Rating | | | Date | February 02, 2004 | | Summary | AVANTI | Content
| If your depressed, need a holiday, think that everything is against you, then you need to see Avanti! This is a true Jack Lemon comedy and Billy Wilder at his directorial best. As you watch the film you will be taken to the real Italy where lunch is more important than making money, where making love is to be savored and marriage is what you do at the end of the day.
I write this not as film review but as a strong recommendation to your soul - buy Avanti on DVD becasue if you get on VHS, your and your family wear it out! As they say in the film, "you bet your sweet buttouti!" |
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