Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Maybe you would care to say something about the "over-zealous" digital restoration of sound he alludes to.
Reviews of the dvd of the restored print hail the sound quality of the Italian track and disparage the English one. I only payed attention to the former and have no reason to complain.

I haven't seen either one o these as far as I recall, but from the descriptions I don't know why anybody would discuss their relationship to "neorealism", especially after 1952
You seem to be alluding to most film historians' identification of 1952 as the year when Neo-realism ended and the fact that The Girlfriends was not released until 1955. As you know, most art epochs or movements don't have clearly delineated chronological barriers. One can argue, for instance, that Fellini's La Strada (1954) is a neorealist film. One can argue also that Antonioni's The Cry, not released until 1957, has more neorealist traits than 1950's Story of a Love Affair. I think it would be incomplete to regard these films, and many others made in Italy post-1952, without considering how they adhere and depart from Neo-realism.

Pratolini's novel CRONACA FAMILIARE was also made into a ilm in 1962 by Valerio Zurlini (IL DESERTO DEI TARTARI), maybe you've seen it.
I haven't. I know it was never released theatrically in the US and it's now available on dvd. Seems like a must-see. It also seems like the type of epic, widescreen-format film that loses impact when viewed at home.