The Man with the Nagra: The Life Story of Leo Levi, 1912-1982 2013
Distributed by Ruth Diskin Films Ltd., P.O.Box 7153, Jerusalem, 91071, ISRAEL
Produced by Deep Time Media, LLC
Directed by Levi Tsimerman, Ye`elah
DVD , color, 69 min., In Hebrew, Italian and English with subtitles in English
High School - General Adult
Musicians, Jews, Italy, Sociology
Date Entered: 02/06/2017
Reviewed by Michael Fein, Coordinator of Library Services, Central Virginia Community College, Lynchburg, VAThis film tells the story of Leo Levi, an Italian Jew who went about the country with a Nagra tape recorder in order to record the many and varied songs/music of the Jews throughout Italy. Using interviews with his children and other surviving family and contemporaries in Italy and Israel, we see not only the man Leo Levi, who seems to have been universally beloved, but also get a glimpse into the culture of the Italian Jewish community before World War II and the Zionist movement. The sound and visual quality of this production is excellent with no flaws found by this reviewer. Libraries with comprehensive collections in Jewish studies, Italian history and culture, and musicology should consider purchasing.