SYNOPSICS
A Matter of Time (1976) is a English movie. Vincente Minnelli has directed this movie. Liza Minnelli,Ingrid Bergman,Charles Boyer,Spyros Fokas are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1976. A Matter of Time (1976) is considered one of the best Drama,Fantasy,Romance movie in India and around the world.
Nina has just started working as a chambermaid in Rome's Imperial Hotel, a once grand but now slightly run down establishment. She works alongside her cousin Valentina, who encouraged her to do this work to expose her to a better life. One of the people whose room Nina attends is seventy-two year old Contessa Lucretia Sanziani, a longtime resident who has been estranged from her husband, Count Carlos Sanziani, for forty years. However, her stay at the hotel is threatened when her money stars to run out and the Count informs the hotel that he wants nothing to do with her, even if something serious happens to her. The Countess was once considered the "love goddess" of Europe, she who still lives in the fantasy of that life and her memories. In Nina, the Contessa sees a younger version of herself, and encourages her to be herself and that people will notice. The Contessa also takes her under her wing in providing a more polished version of herself to the world. During this process, the ...
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A Matter of Time (1976) Reviews
A tantalizing what-might-have-been
Ingrid Bergman is excellent in this unfortunate misfire, gruesomely "re-edited" by the clueless American-International studio. Vincente Minnelli disowned the finished project, and other directors (such as Martin Scorsese) took out ads in Variety protesting the re-cutting of the project. Liza's performance is all over the place, although she does have a few affecting moments. Overall, an intriguing mess.
Take with a grain of salt
If you're not a Liza Minnelli fan, don't even bother because despite the other talent involved, this is her show (and not a very good one -- father Vincente Minnelli, the director, very wisely disowned the edited picture). This isn't one to watch for Minnelli's acting (like "The Sterile Cuckoo" or "Cabaret") or even her charm ("Arthur," "Stepping Out"), but her voice is incredible. While the songs (except for Gershwin's "Do It Again") are middling, Minnelli's delivery makes you forget how silly the story and her character are. Mother Judy had better songs to sing, but Liza's instrument was phenomenal at its peak. On the plus side is Ingrid Bergman as the aging contessa. She's so at ease and has so much fun as the grande dame that it's impossible not to love her -- again. Reunited briefly with Charles Boyer more than 30 years after their first pairing (in "Gaslight"), she has on-screen history working for her in her playful scene with him. (Watch the melodramatic "Arch of Triumph" if you really want to see Bergman and Boyer connect.) Another reason to watch is for the film debut of Bergman's daughter, Isabella Rossellini. She's barely in "A Matter of Time" -- and you can barely tell it's her under her nun's habit -- but seeing her luminous face next to her mother's has the feeling of the passing of a torch, or at the very least a blessing. To give you an idea of the kind of cornball humor at work here, Rossellini's character is called Sister Pia; the actress's real-life sister, of course, is Bergman's daughter Pia Lindstrom.
Do it Again
I saw this when it first came out and haven't seen it since. I do remember that some of it was typically Minnelli-beautifully composed and gorgeous, other parts were obviously stock footage and not very attractive at all. The whole film had a disjointed air to it which wasn't surprising since it was well known before the movie was released that "the powers that be" took the film out of Minnelli's hands in post-production. What a shame-even if the film wasn't first rate I certainly would've preferred to see Minnelli's version. I vividly remember the "Do it Again" number. I thought it was beautifully done and the equal of Minnelli's work in his heyday. I've never seen it included in any of the documentaries on Minnelli's work and it should be. Just because the movie as a whole isn't perfect it doesn't mean that some parts aren't worthwhile.
Be swept away to a world of fantasy
The biggest tragedy of this film is that American Independent Pictures pulled the rug on the ageing Minnelli during his directorial work. Rumours abound about how much over budget he was - but then AIP always funded cheap productions - and this could never be. The original French novel is languorous, passionate, compelling and exciting, telling the story of how a country girl goes to work in a hotel and meets the Countess Santziani, a legendary star in her day, but who has fallen on hard times. Bergman plays the role of the Countess with all her usual dignity, but having to let go to be the near-mad Countess. She is fabulously over the top and Liza plays the awe-struck Nina with her usual flair, finally rising to the stardom that comes her way. The cameo role of Charles Boyer adds a touch of period nostalgia. When seeing the film, it is easy to see Minnelli's rich direction, what a pity that it is intercut with stock footage, which clashes horribly with the passion that Minnelli could still bring to directing his daughter and Bergman. The story is fantastic - but so is the novel. With a couple of songs by Kander and Ebb, it's a pity that it could not have been completed by the late master. Still, it is a rare treat - and beats a number of other musicals from that same period.
More interesting for the actors than the plot
It is not hard to understand why this movie has never been released on anything but 16mm, which is how I came to see it. This movie is a bit too eccentric to actually accomplish it's purpose. The acting is much too stylized and emphatic with the plot rather weak. The interest in this film lies in the fact that has many firsts and lasts. It is Charles Boyer's last film, and Isabella Rossellini's first. It is also the last film that Vincent Minnelli directed, and close to the end of Ingrid Bergman's career. Other than that there is little to recommend it, but it does have some interesting footage of Rome. It is about a chamber maid who gains employment in Rome taking care of a declining socialite who once strutted across the world stage but who is now on the rocks. She is unable to accept being a has-been and continues to live in her mind as though she is still the consort of emperors. Her new chamber maid Liza Minnelli tries to support her as well as she can, although it is a hopeless task.