Talk:Robert Rietti

Died. Shiva notice: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/bde/588

Content issues

I have tried to explain my reasons for the changes I have made in the edit summaries, but some points are better made here. Describing someone as a "star", as this article has done, is an overused term on Wikipedia, and did not apply to Rietti. It is clearly an over-statement. He was clearly well-known in the industry, and doubtless to collectors of obscure minutiae, but to most readers of this article he will seem obscure. A claim like "familar face" (to TV viewers of a half-century ago) is a value judgement which will be difficult to source, so I removed it. IMDb can only list work which can be traced, and often is not complete for an individual's credited work, so a count from an itemised list of his film or television work is pointless. It probably omits much of his work in foreign-language dubbing of English-language films.

Using the term "screen work" in a heading meant that phrases with much the same meaning, here it is "scores of productions" and "dozens of performances", did not need to be used twice. The same could be said for most of the work being uncredited. Percy Gresham (the editor with whom I am in dispute), I hope your promised expansion is worthwhile, properly sourced material, not an indigestible list of often forgotten productions. Philip Cross (talk) 05:44, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Misunderstanding

Unfortunately the IMDb page for Robert Rietti can be very misleading. IMDB is mean primarily as a guide to films, not an encyclopedia of biographies of actors. IMDB lists perhaps a hundred of the films for which Rietti worked on the post-production post-syncing, mostly later in his career, i.e. the late 1960s (and don't forget his first film was in 1931). Since dubbing is very often done badly, it is generally disdained by the public; and even though Rietti was an expert at it, he was usually uncredited for his work.

Certain misguided editors were led to think that since there are many "uncredited" tags on the IMDb page for this actor, he cannot have been famous. Although he was not a star, it is completely untrue to state that he only got small parts or "bit parts" on screen (in the 1950s and 1960s he acted mostly in supporting roles in both films and television episodes, to say nothing of his colossal work in radio and theatre). There is plenty of proof of this on IMDb and many other websites, so it would be superfluous to repeat it here. Percy Gresham 09:04, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

I do not think you have read my edit summaries or my comments above. The obituaries so far barely mention his direction of post-synching, so it not appropriate to concentrate on it because sources have not been cited. You accuse me of being over reliant on IMDb, but insist on being specific as to the number of productions he worked on in film and television. It cannot be definitively ascertained. The Empire article from 1994 will certainly be out of date, so it is not worth citing for this piece of information. For some reason you have reverted to the bare citation of the Hollywood Reporter article, which is not the preferred method here. Have you not heard of link-rot? The revealing quote from this article, which is then followed by examples of both applications of his skills, you entirely deleted for some reason.

You have deleted passages which contain properly sourced material such as his brief resettlement in Italy with his father and you removed the obviously necessary information that Riertti was born in London. Rather important biographical information. The Jewish Chronicle review of his autobiography correctly describes him as a "moderately successful" actor in front of camera, yet you insist he was a "guest star" in a number of TV series. Featured would have been better. Naturally you remove the review in TJC; the fact that the author expresses disappointment in the book is not a reason to remove it. The English language version of Lawrence of Arabia is the main one, directed by David Lean, yet you insist on stating "Rietti gained a reputation for directing the English [version]" of Lawerence. Unfortunately, "the many other websites" usually do not count as reliable sources.

I am inclined to report you for disruptive editing, and inability to work with another editor, but it is usually not worth the trouble. Please see WP:OWN. Philip Cross (talk) 07:08, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

Jewish

His obituary notice in a Jewish publication of record is mentioned on the Talk page; but his Jewish identity is not otherwise alluded to in the article. This would be fine if he was not particularly observant in life; but I am certain I remember him presenting an edition of the ITV late night religious programme Late Call, as a person of Jewish identity. Perhaps some mention of his religious persuasion is called-for, after all.

Nuttyskin (talk) 01:37, 24 April 2020 (UTC)