"De Sica's Greatest Achievement"   THREE DAYS ONLY! Vittorio De Sica's UMBERTO D. This week's revival at the Charles Theatre. RESTORED VERSION! NEW TRANSLATION AND SUBTITLES! 1952 Italy Dir. Vittorio De Sica. Carlo Battisti, Maria-Pia Casilio. In Italian with English subtitles. 35 mm. bw. 89 m. SHOWTIMES Saturday, April 24 - Noon; Monday, April 26 - 7 PM; Thursday, April 29 - 9 PM. "De Sica's Greatest Achievement!" -Martin Scorsese "An unflinching masterpiece...one of the greatest works of Italian neorealism." -- Mike D'Angelo, Time Out New York "When this film came out, we felt that there was nothing the cinema could not do." -- David Shipman "Truly extraordinary...Nothing of De Sica's [previous work] has had [its] pure simplicity and almost unbearable candor and compassion." -- Bosley Crowther NY Times 1955 "UMBERTO D. was overdue for revival. And now, expertly restored... exemplifying a movement that has had an immeasurable impact on the last 50 years of filmmaking around the world.... The [print's] visual and sound tracks are superb." -- Peter Brunette, The New York Times "As powerful as The Bicycle Thief was, for me, De Sica and Zavattini's greatest achievement together was Umberto D...a great movie about a hero of everyday life. That was De Sica's precious gift to his father. And to us." -- Martin Scorsese "Screenwriter Cesare Zavattini likely deserves as much credit as director Vittorio De Sica for such masterpieces of Italian neorealism as The Bicycle Thief (1947) and this 1952 feature about a retired civil servant (schoolteacher Carlo Battisti) who discovers that his meager pension won't pay the rent for his room. He's befriended by a maid in the same flat who's pregnant but unsure of the father's identity; apart from her the only creature he feels close to is his dog, and though he contemplates suicide, he has to find someone to care for it. This simple, almost Chaplinesque story of a man fighting to preserve his dignity is even more moving for its firm grasp of everyday activities." --Jonathan Rosenbaum COMING SOON: Robert Siodmak's PHANTOM LADY (1944) May 1, 3, 6. Yasujiro Ozu's LATE SPRING (1949) May 15, 17, 20. Revival Series 35 mm Repertory Films Charles Theatre 1711 N. Charles Street (410) 727-FILM