> > You do understand what Italy's filmmaking reputation is, right?
>
> It's about the same as Hollywood's one.

Not by any standard I know. Hollywood has a reputation for catering to the masses, but it's darned successful add it, and it's as hard to argue with success as it is easy to sneer at it. They churn out a lot of garbage, but there is more good stuff in there than credit is given for. Furthermore, Hollywood is NOT the only place films are produced in the United States.

However, Italy's filmmaking reputation, at least as it is here, is probably the worst there is. You've got artsy things that only Italians watch, and you've got Roberto Benigni, whose Life Is Beautiful is Italy's like one international critical and commercial success. And you've got dozens upon dozens upon dozens of the worst westerns, barbarian flicks, and -- ironically enough -- Roman epics the world has ever seen. About half of the worst movies on At-A-Glance Film Review's swords and sorcery films page are Italian. They aren't Hollywood-bad either. The worst Hollywood does is at least usually proficient from a technical standpoint, with production values somewhere above subzero. (Of course there are exceptions.)

Whether the above is strictly accurate is open to debate, and whether it's deserved or not is open to debate also. I'm just saying that when it comes to the fact of the reputation, Italy's is about as bad as it gets.

S "thinks 'Sinbad of the Seven Seas' is single-handedly enough to love Italian filmmaking" am