Editing The Italian (1915 film) (section)

==Critical reception==

===Initial reviews===
[[File:Clara Williams (The Italian).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Clara Williams as Beppo's wife, Annette, with "Little Tony"]]
Upon the release of ''The Italian'', the ''Los Angeles Times'' gave the film a positive review which included the following comments:<blockquote>"There are possibilities in the role of Pietro, in 'The Italian' ... that a less clever character artist than George Beban might overlook ...  The story is full of human interest, requiring a full understanding of the character, and Beban by look and gesture is at all times in fullest sympathy with the difficult role. ... [A]ll go to make a story that pulsates with human interest.  The pathos of the child's death because of the lack of necessities and the imprisonment of the poor Italian furnish the real lesson of the Ghetto."<ref>{{cite news|author=Grace Kingsley|title=Vaudeville and Films|date=1915-01-12}}</ref></blockquote>

''The Washington Post'' called it "a fascinating story,"<ref>{{cite news|title=Potash and Perlntotter" and "Today" Chief Playbills of Week: Garden—'The Italian." Washington Post|date=1915-01-10}}</ref> and "a simple story of ghetto life, showing that love, faith, and loyalty are not unknown quantities in this dark sphere."<ref name=WP>{{cite news|title=Heard and Seen at the Theaters: Garden - "The Italian." The Washington Post|date=1915-01-02}}</ref>

A newspaper in [[Fort Wayne, Indiana]] praised the film for its "rare quality of charm and a warmth of appeal that is truly unique" and concluded: "Here is a story beautiful and exquisite in theme ...  Its simplicity and utter humanness have an appeal that reaches straight to the heart of the onlooker."<ref>{{cite news|title=GEORGE BEBAN, IN "THE ITALIAN": Celebrated Character Actor Appears in Title Role of This Brilliant Paramount Drama|publisher=Fort Wayne News|date=1915-01-13}}</ref>  Another review in the same paper also commended the "simple beauty of the story itself" and also praised Beban's performance:<blockquote>"George Beban, who has the difficult role of Pietro Donnetti, gives a piece of character work that is truly marvelous.  This artist has developed mimicry to its highest form of expression.  His mobile countenance mirrored every emotion so perfectly, each varying mood was portrayed so truly, that it was hard to believe that this man was naught but a pantomimist.  The upward glance when the heart was bitten again by the fangs of emotion, the hysterical joy of the Latin nature when in high spirits, all these phrases were delineated by this artist in a way that moved and thrilled."<ref>{{cite news|title=BEBAN IN "THE ITALIAN": Famous Character Actor Gives a Marvelous Bit of Acting in Drama|publisher=Fort Wayne News|date=1915-01-14}}</ref></blockquote>

A newspaper in [[San Antonio, Texas]] praised the "vein of innocent humor" that runs through the film at the expense of Beppo and concluded: "'The Italian' is regarded as Thomas H. Ince's masterpiece and is said to be greater than his 'Wrath of the Gods,' 'The Typhoon' and 'The Bargain.'"<ref>{{cite news|title="THE ITALIAN" COMING: Thomas Ince's Masterpiece to Be Shown Thursday and Friday|publisher=San Antonio Light|date=1915-01-31}}</ref>

===Modern assessments===
In 2008, ''The Italian'' was released on DVD as part of a two-disc compilation titled, "Perils of the New Land: Films of the Immigrant Experience (1910-1915)."  At the time of the DVD release, ''The New York Times'' praised the film for [[Reginald Barker]]'s strong direction, including his use of a mobile camera and "liberal use of close-up" which give the film a subjective, personal feel.<ref name=NYT/>  The ''Times'' also praised Beban's "powerful lead performance" which it described as follows:<blockquote>"The audience is drawn to identify with Beppo, even though he remains in many respects an appalling ethnic caricature: dark, brooding, vengeful. That Barker and Beban are able to create so much sympathy for Beppo, despite their own, occasionally quite obvious condescension to the character, is a mark of emerging maturity in the movie business; no longer are films dealing in one-dimensional 'types.'"<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|author=Dave Kehr|title=Critic's Choice: New DVDs: 'Perils of the New Land'|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2008-08-11|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/movies/homevideo/12dvds.html}}</ref></blockquote>

The ''Los Angeles Times'' in 2008 described ''The Italian'' as "a shameless melodrama that, despite unfortunate stereotypes, musters considerable sympathy for its titular immigrant."<ref name=Lim>{{cite news|author=Dennis Lim|title=A Second Look: 'Perils of the New Land'|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=2008-07-13|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jul-13-ca-secondlook13-story.html}}</ref>  The ''Times'' also noted that "Beban, the silent-era star known for his ethnic impersonations, hams up a storm as Beppo, a jaunty Venetian."<ref name=Lim/>

The film publication ''[[Cineaste (magazine)|Cineaste]]'' published a review of ''The Italian'' in March 2009, focusing on the film's depiction of the Italian-American immigrant experience as a Darwinian jungle rather than a promised land paved with gold:<blockquote>"Against [[Horatio Alger]] expectations, ''The Italian'' is a story of failure suffused with a soft-focused, dappled nostalgia for the old country ... 'From sunny Italy to the New York ghetto,' read the taglines on Paramount's original [[one-sheet]], contrasting scenes of 'carefree Beppo at home' in the serene canals of Old Italy with the mean streets of New York where 'to live your baby must have Pasteurized milk.' America is not a promised land paved with gold but a Darwinian jungle, where dreams meet dead ends."<ref name=Cineaste>{{cite news|title=Perils of the New Land: Films of the Immigrant Experience (1910-1915)|publisher=Cineaste|date=2009-03-22}}</ref></blockquote>
Cineaste also credited Beban for his intense performance, commenting on the fight sequence in which Beban's character "seethes with murderous determination" as the camera focuses on his face in an extreme close-up: "Beban's sudden transformation from amiability to wrath recalls the first glimpse of [[Spencer Tracy]] after nearly being lynched in [[Fritz Lang]]'s ''[[Fury (1936 film)|Fury]]''."<ref name=Cineaste/>

A reviewer for the publication ''Bright Sights'' wrote that the film had a powerfully downbeat conclusion with a social message:<blockquote>"Projecting overwhelming grief, Beban reveals some hefty acting chops, and ''The Italian'' certainly gets its liberal point across, a model of how American movies dress social consciousness in the garb of melodrama. Even here, in its infancy, feature film was eager to pick up the call for social reform that sounded out in urban America before the First World War."<ref>{{cite web|author=Gordon Thomas|title=Recent DVDs|publisher=Bright Sights|url=http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/62/62brightsights.html}}</ref></blockquote>

In his 2004 historical book on the depiction of Italians in Hollywood movies, Peter Bondanella praised the film:<blockquote>"A number of elements sets ''The Italian'' apart from the other films treating the Italian immigrant experience. ... Its melodramatic plot reflects a serious sense of artistic construction, aimed at milking the last bit of emotion out of the audience.  George Beban's outstanding performance shows his roots in the dramatic theater. ... Finally, the depiction of the tragic story of Beppo shows a certain sympathy for the character of the poor Italian bootblack but also includes a callous disregard for depicting Italian immigrants in a stereotypical manner, an attitude that no doubt reflected the opinions of the majority of Americans at the time.  Its plot is simple and compelling."<ref>Bondanella, Hollywood Italians, p. 23</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Reginald Barker.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Director [[Reginald Barker]] has been credited for his innovations in filming ''The Italian''.]]
Despite its occasional use of patronizing stereotypes, Bondanella concludes that Beppo "is represented with great dignity and even comic twists, making Beppo a far more lovable figure than one might expect."<ref>Bondanella, Hollywood Italians, p. 27</ref>  He concludes his chapter on the film with the following comment: "In short, what emerges from ''The Italian'' is an unusually complex view of tenement life and multiethnic immigration in America, and the film consequently retains its value not only as social history but also as a work of art."<ref>Bondanella, Hollywood Italians, p. 28</ref>

In his book about the history of film editing, Don Fairservice credits ''The Italian'''s director, [[Reginald Barker]], for his early use of editing to maintain story continuity and for his use of multidirectional camera positioning and variable framing to emphasize character development and psychological motivation rather than plot.<ref>{{cite book|author=Don Fairservice|title=Film Editing: History, Theory and Practice: Looking at the Invisible, pp. 123-125|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=2001}}</ref>

A review in ''DVD Talk'' concluded that Beban's performance was able to overcome the film's melodramatic premise:<blockquote>"Beppo is a delightful character ... His rage after being robbed was another standout moment.  The camera does a very tight closeup, one of the closest I can recall for a film from 1915, and his anger and fear are almost palatable. ...  The ending of the film is also very dramatic and works well, without a false Hollywood happy ending ... It was nice to see the hardships of poverty portrayed without any easy answers, something that doesn't often happen."<ref>{{cite web|title=Perils Of The New Land: Films of the Immigrant Experience|publisher=DVD Talk|url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/34160/perils-of-the-new-land-films-of-the-immigrant-experience/}}</ref></blockquote>