No it doesn't.

Whaddaya mean it doesn't? I just watched it.

Excellent. Wish I could find more stuff like this. Thanks.

Wow. That is incredible. I don't think I've seen anything quite like this. I love the old footage and I don't think I've seen fish being caught this way. Sure, in nets, but this method is down and dirty and almost primitive. I was bracing myself and hoping nobody would be seriously injured. I felt a little sorry for the fish. It's never easy to see panic before the fatal blow.

Very cool video, Hugh. Thanks.

OMG, that really IS incredible. Fantastic. I had no idea tuna were that huge. The editing in this is excellent- it reminds me of some of Sergio Leone's early westerns ("spaghetti westerns"). Leone's dad worked in Italy's TV/film industry, so I'm sure he saw de Seta's films. Excellent.

Here's something else you might find interesting: Tuvan throat-singer Sainkho Namtchylak.

By the way, I don't think the fish are panicked, LoriFLA, I think they just appear that way because they have big round eyes and they keep trying to swim while they drown in the air. Plus there's all that roiling bloody water and they're getting stuck with pikes and okay, I bet it's pretty terrifying to be a caught fish, they're surely in the throes of the flight instinct, probably flooding their fish trousers, eyes wet with fish tears. Oh, the tunanity!

I do find it fascinating the way, given a little momentum from the fishermen's muscle, the fish slide themselves into the big boat in such an orderly manner, like sardines into a giant tin.

Contadini del Mare reminded me of a book I read a few years ago by Giovanni Verga called The House by the Medlar Tree, written in 1881 about three generations of Sicilian fishermen. There are also some great Alan Lomax recordings of Italian fishermen singing work songs, though they may be Genovese or Calabrese, not Sicilian.

By the way, I don't know if anyone noticed (maybe this was what LT was getting at with his mysterious initial refutation) but the translation the site gives for Contadini del Mare is hilarious. I'd love to say I stumbled upon the film while doing a Google search for "bluefin furry," but alas, my dad sent me the link in an email.

Oh the tunanity!

And my initial refutation was simply arbitrary. Just felt liking saying No to tuna. Didn't even click the link.

Whee. I had no idea that I Malavoglia had an entirely different title in English, though I really shouldn't be all that surprised. Since I found my copy a few days ago while preparing to move flats, I've been thinking about reading it again. Good book.

Bluefin furry is certainly a more eyecatching title than Peasants of the Sea. Heh. Thanks Hugh.