MovieChat Forums > La terra trema Discussion > Was the narrator really necessary?

Was the narrator really necessary?


I think the film would have been much better with out the narrator? It left nothing for the viewer and often just stated the bloody obvious.


- This comment is most likely authentic and fairly close to what I intended to say -

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The narrator was necessary because all the film is in strict Sicilian dialect and without some proper Italian commentary most of the audience could not even get a word. Of course when you have subtitles it's a different thing.

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Probably you don't know this but this 'La terra trema' was first envisioned as a documentary, not as a dramatization. Therefore the idea of using a narrator probably was there since the beginning.
Besides it was common in movies from that period to include a narrator; a sort of "guide" for the audience.

And please listen to Eleonora, she knows what she's talking about.
I speak italian quite fluent but sicilian can be quite hard to understand for non-sicilians (I had to turn on subtitles). Considering this movie was meant to be seen MAINLY by italians from Rome, Milan, Turin, Trieste, and so on (who doesn't speak sicilian), it's understandable why they added a narrator, otherwise some people might have missed many important details.

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I think the narrator was a bit unnecessary indeed



When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...

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