The Great Caruso Crowther says, "All of the silliest, sappiest clichés of musical biography have been written by Sonya Levien and William Ludwig into the script. And Richard Thorpe has directed in a comparably mawkish, bathetic style." Nearly 40 years after its release, Caruso's son, Enrico, Jr., reminisced that, "Vocally and musically "The Great Caruso" ...has helped many young people discover opera, and even become singers themselves."He added that, "I can think of no other tenor, before or since Mario Lanza, who could have risen with comparable success to the challenge of playing Caruso in a screen biography." The film has also been
D. J. Caruso D. J. Caruso Daniel John Caruso, Jr. (; born January 17, 1965) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His work encompasses a variety of genres, including thriller ("Disturbia, Taking Lives"), drama ("Standing Up"), horror ("The Disappointments Room"), and action ("I Am Number Four, "). He has also directed numerous episodes of television series such as "The Shield", "Over There", "Smallville", and "Dark Angel". The majority of his films fall into the thriller and action film genres. Caruso was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, the son of Lorraine (Zullo) and Daniel John Caruso, who owned a salon, House of Beauty.