Mediterraneo

Mediterraneo
by Gabriele Salvatores

Mediterraneo
Our Price: $19.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $5.22 (click here)
Category: VHS Video
See more movie releases


(Click here)
Buy this VHS video movie at online store in your country
Canada

Product details

Actor: Claudio Bigagli, Claudio Bisio, Diego Abatantuono, Gigio Alberti, Giuseppe Cederna
Director: Gabriele Salvatores
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language); Greek (Original Language); Italian (Original Language); Turkish (Original Language)
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 90 minutes
Release Date: 2003-01-14
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Walt Disney Video
Studio: Walt Disney Video

VHS Movie Reviews of Mediterraneo

Movie Review: One of the best recent Italian films
Summary: 5 Stars

This wonderful Italian film shot during the 1990's, tells the story of a group of misfit Italian soldiers from various parts of Italy sent to occupy a Greek Island during World War II of zero strategic importance.

Through a series of mishaps, they lose a soldier's beloved pet donkey, and their essential two-way radio, effectively cutting them off and leaving them forgotten during the war.

Left stranded on the seemingly deserted isle, they discover they are not alone once the inhabitants realize the Italian soldiers are harmless, unlike the brutal German occupiers who preceded them.

As the natives emerge from hiding, a gradual interface between the Italians and the Greek inhabitants develops.

Bittersweet, hysterical, and almost poetic, this film is sure to delight you with its touch of whimsey, well-defined characters who all develop throughout the film, and its nostalgic look at a time long lost.

Winner of the 1991 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film and difficult to find on DVD (unlike VHS), don't pass this film up. Everyone I've shown this gem to has loved it.

Movie Review: Time Out from War
Summary: 5 Stars

"Mediterraneo" is a FUN movie. It's a very likeable story of a group of Italian marines who follow an assignment to occupy an obscure Greek Aegean island during the early period of WWII. Due to a series of escapades, they lose their contact with the outside world. Instead, they get caught up in their own little world for the next three years. That may sound like a boring movie but things happen from time to time and the excerpts we see are generally pretty funny. The different personalities emerge and their variety allows the writer and the actors plenty of room for development. In the end, the marines are "rescued" by their new allies; the British. Initially, all of the soldiers were focussed on getting out of this forsaken island. In the end, the island had become their home and their "rescue" was a mixed blessing. A post script ending brings the feeling together in a poignant way.

The acting is very good although all of the actors and actresses were new to me. I especially appreciated the character who played Sargeant Lo Russo. The cinematography is excellent which helped to give the viewer a sense of paradise for these errant marines. I found the movie to be a relaxing, humorous, touching experience. I got used to the Italian with English subtitles with no problem and even got to where I could follow some of the dialogue without looking at the subtitles. The movie won an Oscar, I believe, for Best Foreign Language film. I've used that category to find a number of very good to excellent films that I probably would have never seen. "Mediterraneo" was a fun example of what I mean by that.

Movie Review: Where is the DVD?!?!?!?
Summary: 5 Stars

Where the heck is the DVD for this grand movie?? What the heck are the morons at Miramax and Disney doing???? RELEASE THE DVD IN THE USA!!!!! Che Piccato!!!!

Movie Review: Joy
Summary: 5 Stars

This is an excelent movie, which has not lost any of its appeal since the release. Charming, romantic and philosophical with beautiful scenery. It flows like a sailing boat on a nice day. If you'd like to escape from this world (even for only 1.5 hours) just like the movie characters did - you got to watch it. This is one of those movies I have to have.

Movie Review: A movie worth watching!
Summary: 5 Stars

Definitely a GREAT movie, Mediterraneo, brings to the screen the story of a small Italian military force consisting of eight men that invades Greece during WWII and takes over one of the islands. Subsequently, the Italians are forced to interact with the local Greek populace with everything that that entails. When the Germans arrive, things get a bit more complicated...
Mediterraneo, is a film that touches on human relations, and such concepts as hope, honor and inner strength.
Needless to say, all the actors have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are outstanding to say the least; without exceptions, they give it their 100% and it really shows (the chemistry is AMAZING)! Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt guaranteed to provide more than just a few laughs, not to mention a few tears. The film is simple enough, but does a great job of describing people's every day lives and the problems they face. It just goes to show that simplicity is often far better than complexity, when trying to present issues of a human nature.
The setting, the plot, the dialogues, the humor (!!!), and the music are all WONDERFUL!
In short, Mediterraneo is a movie definitely worth watching and one to seriously consider adding to your movie collection!
Strongly recommended along with Malena for the lovers of such films.

Summary of Mediterraneo

This 1991 comedy by Gabriele Salvatores was knocked for not being deep enough, but it is what it is, and it's actually an easygoing, sunny movie about eight Italian soldiers who manage to strand themselves on a tiny Greek island paradise during World War II. The sort of mutts who would shoot a donkey for not knowing the proper password, these clumsy warriors become a comic variation on the Lotus Eaters of myth, their fighting spirit evaporated in the midst of so much beauty and sexual availability among the local women. There are also sundry opportunities for the men to find another purpose for their lives (one particularly artistic fellow works on the restoration of a church, for example). Amid the sometimes coarse jokes and gratuitous nudity, there are subtle themes about the contrast between what men are truly like in their natural state versus what they are like as killers. (The Thin Red Line this isn't, but Salvatores does, in his own way, touch on some of the same themes.) Watch this one on a cold winter's day and vicariously enjoy the tans as well as the antiwar sentiment. --Tom Keogh

General Video

Video Genres
Movies most talked about in General Video
The Wannsee Conference ImageThe Wannsee Conference
Homevision; Release date: 2000-06-13; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $44.94
Jamon Jamon ImageJamon Jamon
Fox Lorber; Release date: 1997-11-11; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $19.99
Ashes of Time ImageAshes of Time
Tapeworm Video; Release date: 2000-04-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $10.58
Price in other shops: $14.95
Wild Strawberries ImageWild Strawberries
Homevision; Release date: 2000-06-13; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops: $29.95
The Red Balloon ImageThe Red Balloon
Homevision; Release date: 1996-02-20; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $15.95
The Incredible Adventures of Wallace and Gromit ImageThe Incredible Adventures of Wallace and Gromit
BBC Warner; Release date: 2000-11-21; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.95
Price in other shops: $6.98
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands ImageDona Flor and Her Two Husbands
Fox Lorber; Release date: 1997-10-13; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $75.00
Wings of Desire ImageWings of Desire
MGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 2000-06-06; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $0.48
Price in other shops: $9.98
Yellow Earth ImageYellow Earth
Fox Lorber; Release date: 1997-10-16; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $129.99
Latcho Drom ImageLatcho Drom
New Yorker Video; Release date: 1998-11-11; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $59.90
Similar Video, DVDs, Audio CDs
Shirley Valentine ImageShirley Valentine
CONTI,TOM; Release date: 2007-05-01; DVD
Best price: $8.09
Price in other shops: $14.99
Amarcord (Criterion Collection) ImageAmarcord (Criterion Collection)
Release date: 2006-09-05; DVD
Best price: $26.94
Price in other shops: $39.95
The Last Kiss ImageThe Last Kiss
Release date: 2003-11-11; DVD
Best price: $5.08
Price in other shops: $14.99
La Dolce Vita (2-Disc Collector's Edition) ImageLa Dolce Vita (2-Disc Collector's Edition)
Release date: 2004-09-21; DVD
Best price: $21.79
Price in other shops: $39.98
Life Is Beautiful ImageLife Is Beautiful
Release date: 1999-11-09; DVD
Best price: $9.58
Price in other shops: $19.99
Malena ImageMalena
Release date: 2001-07-10; DVD
Best price: $5.54
Price in other shops: $32.99
Ciao, Professore! ImageCiao, Professore!
Release date: 2004-01-13; DVD
Best price: $28.79
Bread and Tulips ImageBread and Tulips
Release date: 2002-03-26; DVD
Best price: $18.12
Price in other shops: $24.96
Il Postino ImageIl Postino
Release date: 2000-03-14; DVD
Best price: $5.82
Price in other shops: $14.99
Cinema Paradiso (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) ImageCinema Paradiso (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition)
WELLSPRING/GENIUS; Release date: 2006-11-07; DVD
Best price: $12.84
Price in other shops: $24.95
Compare prices and read customer reviews for more than one million DVD titles.
Oscar 2005 Winners