Italian

  • Luchino Visconti – Gruppo di famiglia in un interno AKA Conversation Piece (1974)

    Luchino Visconti1971-1980ArthouseDramaItalyQueer Cinema(s)

    Quote:
    The year is 1972. Master Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti is struck down by a stroke, rendering him, one would think, unable to continue making films—and this just two years after hitting a late-career high point with Death in Venice. But like many artists kept alive by their muse, Visconti heroically persevered, managing to complete two more films before finally succumbing to a heart attack in 1976. Adaptability being a key ingredient to any sort of artistic longevity, Visconti took his ailments not as hindrance, but as a challenge toward the realization of a new project. Taken by a story written by past collaborator Enrico Medioli and intrigued by the cinematic restrictions afforded such an intimate character study, Visconti—now very limited in his physical movements and activity—saw both personal and logistical promise in this tale of aging, nostalgia, and generational divide, which was entitled Conversation Piece after an illustrated novel of family portraits of the same name by Mario Praz.Read More »

  • Giuseppe Fina – Pelle viva (1962)

    1961-1970DramaGiuseppe FinaItaly

    The story of Rosaria, a woman from Apulia, who works in Milan and returns to her village each Saturday to see her illegitimate little boy, who is in a charitable institution

    The film entered the 23rd Venice International Film Festival, in which it received a special mention In 2008 it was restored and shown as part of the retrospective “Questi fantasmi: Cinema italiano ritrovato” at the 65th Venice International Film Festival.Read More »

  • Federico Fellini – Intervista (1987)

    Federico Fellini1981-1990ArthouseComedyItaly

    Federico Fellini accepts the request of a television crew to be interviewed about his career, narrating memories, dreams, realities and fantasies.Read More »

  • Raffaele Andreassi – I lupi dentro AKA The Wolves Inside (2000)

    1991-2000DocumentaryItalyRaffaele Andreassi

    Following the steps of the painter Antonio Ligabue, the documentary discovers the works of many naif painters from the Bassa Padania who live along the banks of the river Po.Read More »

  • Nanni Moretti – Tre piani AKA Three Floors (2021)

    Nanni Moretti2021-2030ComedyDramaItaly

    The story of three families living in three apartments in the same bourgeois condominium.Read More »

  • Mimmo Verdesca – Alida (2021)

    2021-2030DocumentaryItalyMimmo Verdesca

    Alida Valli is one of the most famous and beloved actresses of the 20th-century, a true legend, and a national treasure. Mimmo Verdesca tells her the extraordinary life through the words of her letters and diaries, read by Giovanna Mezzogiorno, and exclusive testimonies of eminent protagonists of Italian and international cinema and theatre.

    ‘Alida’ is a gem for many reasons: and the director proves his ability as a storyteller. He takes you on a fascinating journey that allows you to get to know the artist and the woman as well. And the latter is a captivating discovery.Read More »

  • Pupi Avati – Tutti defunti… tranne i morti (1977)

    Pupi Avati1971-1980ComedyGialloItaly

    Quote:
    A bizarre but heavy-handed giallo spoof whose overall effect is extremely uneven, it features a plethora of eccentric characters: inept detective, diminutive hero, a cross-eyed psycho and a dwarf (actually a man in drag!) for servants – plus a mad combo of relatives including a matriarch suffering from dementia, her cowboy of a second husband, her sex-crazed retard son who has to be frequently restrained via electro-shock therapy, another son who’s also a ‘little man’ (played by Bob Tonelli, one of the film’s own financiers!), etc. Both the hero and the detective overstate their masculinity – the former swaggers incessantly, while the latter is frequently caught with his pants down; the lovely and lively heroine is played by Francesca Marciano (an IMDb reviewer)Read More »

  • Giuseppe De Santis, Luchino Visconti, Marcello Pagliero, Mario Serandrei – Giorni di Gloria AKA Days of Glory (1945)

    Luchino Visconti1941-1950DocumentaryGiuseppe De SantisItalyMarcello PaglieroMario Serandrei

    Quote:
    Giorni di Gloria has been called “the first documentary on the Resistance” (Antonio Vitti) and “the most revolutionary film in existence” (Paolo Gobetti). I prefer the film’s own dedication:

    «A tutti coloro che in Italia hanno sofferto e combattuto l´oppressione nazifascista è dedicato questo film di lotta partigiana e di rinascita nazionale»

    “For all those in Italy who have suffered and fought Nazi oppression, this film is dedicated to the partisan struggle and national rebirth.”

    The film is raw, brutal, humane, outraged and unflagging in its celebration of resistance in the service of political justice. The photography – credited to a dozen cinematographers, including Gianni Di Venanzo’s first film credit – is starkly beautiful.Read More »

  • Sergio Sollima – La tigre è ancora viva: Sandokan alla riscossa! (1977)

    Sergio Sollima1971-1980AdventureItalyTV

    Quote:
    Following on from the successful television adaptation of Sandokan in 1976, a year later Kabir Bedi gave life to the big screen incarnation in this Sergio Sollima-directed film.Read More »

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