I recall seeing this film years ago on home video in its Magnetic Video release that wasn't a great transfer. Seeing this now on television, I felt like I was seeing it for the first time. It starts off really promising with a memorable Kander and Ebb title song for Liza to sing over a montage of her in some bedazzling costumes. There is some incredible art decoration, lovely use of location footage, and the presence of not only the unstoppable Liza Minnelli but Ingrid Bergman as well. Bring in Charles Boyer for a cameo as well as Bergman's lovely daughter Isabella Rosellini as a nun, and you have at least an artistic curio. This is the equivalent of "Yolanda and the Thief" for Fred Astaire and "The Pirate" for Gene Kelly and Judy Garland as another one of director Vincent Minnelli's artistic flops.
The story surrounds an Italian movie star who while gazing into a looking glass reflects on what brought her the fame she has received. It is all owed to an eccentric countess played by Ingrid Bergman who took an interest in Minnelli's young chambermaid on her very first day working at a rather delapedated Rome hotel. Ingrid makes Liza very glamorous and ultimately changes her life. This is combination Cinderella Story and Fellini movie. I can see why it flopped, but I also think it is a bit of a sleeper, a film of much artistic merit that had it been the film of Minnelli's dream it could have been clearer and less choppy. The real problem though is the sound recording which actually makes it sound as if it could have been dubbed. It's like a birthday cake with candles but no frosting. I don't think it warrants the disaster status it had at the time, or as a film that endangered Liza's film career. Made between the funny but sometimes overly silly "Lucky Lady" and the slightly overstuffed "New York, New York", I feel it came to movies at a time when a Vincent Minnelli movie was simply too old fashioned for movie viewers who wanted stuff like "Rocky", "Network", "Taxi Driver", and even Barbra Streisand's remake of "A Star is Born". I feel Liza should be proud of what did come out of this film as while it may not be what her father endeavored, she looks lovely and acts wonderfully, and Bergman is also wonderful as well. It appears that much of 1979's Billy Wilder film "Fedora" could have been influenced by this much as it was by his "Sunset Boulevard".
The story surrounds an Italian movie star who while gazing into a looking glass reflects on what brought her the fame she has received. It is all owed to an eccentric countess played by Ingrid Bergman who took an interest in Minnelli's young chambermaid on her very first day working at a rather delapedated Rome hotel. Ingrid makes Liza very glamorous and ultimately changes her life. This is combination Cinderella Story and Fellini movie. I can see why it flopped, but I also think it is a bit of a sleeper, a film of much artistic merit that had it been the film of Minnelli's dream it could have been clearer and less choppy. The real problem though is the sound recording which actually makes it sound as if it could have been dubbed. It's like a birthday cake with candles but no frosting. I don't think it warrants the disaster status it had at the time, or as a film that endangered Liza's film career. Made between the funny but sometimes overly silly "Lucky Lady" and the slightly overstuffed "New York, New York", I feel it came to movies at a time when a Vincent Minnelli movie was simply too old fashioned for movie viewers who wanted stuff like "Rocky", "Network", "Taxi Driver", and even Barbra Streisand's remake of "A Star is Born". I feel Liza should be proud of what did come out of this film as while it may not be what her father endeavored, she looks lovely and acts wonderfully, and Bergman is also wonderful as well. It appears that much of 1979's Billy Wilder film "Fedora" could have been influenced by this much as it was by his "Sunset Boulevard".