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Mondovino

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Actors: Albiera Antinori, Lodovico Antinori, Michael Broadbent, Battista Columbu, Lina Columbu
Studio: Velocity / Thinkfilm
Category: DVD

List Price: ~~$7.99~~
Buy New: $4.14
You Save: $3.85 (48%)

New (25) Used (17) from $3.98

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

33 reviews
Sales Rank: 11130

Format: Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Italian (Original Language), Portuguese (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 135
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6

MPN: DTF53455D
UPC: 821575534550
EAN: 0821575534550
ASIN: B0009OL8E4

Theatrical Release Date: 2004
Release Date: July 12, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW AND FACTORY SEALED

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 16-20 of 33

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For industry only? February 23, 2006
13 out of 17 found this review helpful

I work in wine marketing and found the film an interesting piece documenting an important point in the history of the wine business. I can't imagine too many wine enthusiasts sharing my level of interest, however. My ADD wife refers to it as "MondoBoro" and had difficulty staying awake during our viewings.

From the artistic side, I found the hand-held camera to become tiresome after the first thirty minutes, and the dialogue-free shots out the car window of passing factories to get quickly old.

The director's bias may be summed up as "Big conglomerates bad. Small producers good." But this film is far from a Michael Moore diatribe. I found it to be a relatively even-handed, showing the inconsistencies and dysfunctionalities of small French producers right next to those from large, wealthy conglomerates.

Summary
The comments made by the director in the press are far more inflammatory than the movie itself. Closer to a documentary than a rant, this movie will be an imnportant piece documenting our current peirod in history - a turning point for th wine indutstry.

Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

3 out of 5 stars

Not Dead, Yet December 19, 2005
21 out of 28 found this review helpful

For those who have not yet seen the film, I recommend it only to wine buffs and recommend that you FIRST watch the DVD's bonus feature, "Quo Vademus?" (Part 6 of the original made-for-TV 10-part series). I think I'd have understood and enjoyed the main film better had I seen that first.

I found it interesting that, while most reviewers slammed the hideous camera work, it was not until I read the 18th of 18 reviews on Amazon (plus many elsewhere) that I found someone else annoyed by the mostly unreadable subtitles. I could almost learn the several languages more quickiy than I could decode the pale-on-pale subtitles.

While I very much struggled to follow the film in many places (and had to replay many parts, some of them several times), found it too long and disjointed, sometimes boring, I still thought it worthwhile for me. I enjoy drinking and learning about wine, live surrounded by vineyards, and have two family members in the wine business. I did learn a lot from the film, including how much I still have to learn about much of the business, especially in Europe.

On the other hand, I found the obvious conclusion that the artisanal quality of wine growing and making are nearly swallowed up by marketing, technology, and profit to be premature and perhaps somewhat presumptuous. The Mondavi empire has collapsed. California is repleat with artisanal, boutique wineries that take (what we here in upstart California may presume to pass for) Terroir quite seriously. Navarro Vineyards, in Anderson Valley, for example (there are many, many others). Until I saw this film, I thought California's foremost wine consultant was Helen Turley, yet she was not even mentioned. She doesn't just "micro-oxygenate" wines but works right with the soil, the plants, the clusters, and every aspect of what goes into making a wine unique, including, I daresay, Terroir.

Watch the film but don't give up on individuality in wines, just yet.

5 out of 5 stars

No plonk, this December 16, 2005
12 out of 15 found this review helpful

Mondo Vino lives up to most, if perhaps not all, the praise it has received. Nossiter's range is remarkable, and he brings both talent and passion to the project. Much has already been said in previous reviews with which I agree. Certainly, for anyone interested in wine, I recommend the film highly, but it reaches far beyond that specialized audience.

Where one may find fault is in the overall polemical tone of the work. True, Nossiter doesn't editorialize in his own voice. He lets his villains hoist themselves by their own petards, and it can be revealing and entertaining to watch. But he is clearly out to make a point. He does this with great success, and I salute the achievement. But something is lost, artistically and philosophically, in such point-making. It could have been a great documentary; but it is still a very good one.

3 out of 5 stars

Interesting content, very weak production and editing... September 30, 2005
6 out of 15 found this review helpful

This felt like a college video production on a much bigger budget... The content is, for me, inherently interesting, but the production was almost entirely on-the-fly winemaker interviews and following several personalities around their spheres of influence,then doing a relatively crude job of editinig it all together. There was clearly no script or detailed plan going into production, and MondoVino reflects that fact. It also appears to have been shot entirely on video, which is not inappropriate for this sort of piece, but the camera work is not particularly imaginative or interesting, and it looks as though the color palette may have been reduced somehow in the editing process. (I don't really think it was, but it appears that way...)

4 out of 5 stars

The inside story of the wine industry September 28, 2005
0 out of 6 found this review helpful

An excellent (but long) documentary on the wine industry. Some funny lines about Mondavi Family wines. Beautiful landscapes of wineries in Europe and in California. You'll never look at a glass of wine the same way again.

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