The Witches (1967 film)

 

Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, Le streghe (The Witches) is an anthology film consisting of five comic stories relating to witches all starring Silvana Mangano as it mixes horror and comedy. The anthology film features the work of five different filmmakers with a different cast as it plays into the world of witches who all disguises themselves as different kinds of women. The result is a witty though messy anthology film from producer Dino De Laurentiis.

The Witch Burned Alive

Directed by Luchino Visconti. Written by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi and Cesare Zavattini. Edited by Mario Serandrei. Music by Piero Piccioni. Starring Annie Girardot, Francisco Rabal, Massimo Girroti, Marilu Toto, Nora Ricci, and introducing Helmut Berger.

The film revolves around an actress who stops at the home of a friend in the Austrian mountains as a party is being held yet is pursued by men at the party with women being jealous of her. It is a short that plays into an actress taking a break from work to see a friend whom she realizes is in a crumbling marriage as she wants to spend time with her but there’s a party at the home as she gets drunk and things don’t go well. It is a film that has some humor and some dramatic tension though there are moments where things drag as Luchino Visconti doesn’t do much to make the sexual tension more prominent as it relates to its protagonist Gloria. Notably as Gloria’s beauty is also the source of tension among the women at the home with Gloria’s best friend Valeria (Annie Girardot) defending her while lamenting her own issues with her husband Paolo (Francisco Rabal). Girardot is the standout in the segment as it also include some fine supporting work from Nora Ricci as Gloria’s secretary and Helmut Berger in his debut film appearance as a hotel page who brings things to Valeria’s home.

Civic Spirit

Directed by Mauro Bolognini. Written by Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, and Bernardino Zapponi. Edited by Nino Baragli. Music by Piero Piccioni. Starring Alberto Sordi.

The segment revolves around a man who is injured in an auto accident as a woman offers to take him to the hospital only to drive somewhere else to her own destination. It is one of the shorter segments of the film as it is more of a comedy in which Alberto Sordi plays this man who is severely injured and is losing a lot of blood with Mangano as this woman who is in a hurry as she is driving ferociously through Rome. Featuring some amazing editing by Nino Baragli, the film is a comical short that has Mangano being this woman that is more concerned about going to a building than helping this man as it a hilarious segment by Mauro Bolognini.

The Earth Seen from the Moon

Written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. Edited by Nino Baragli. Music by Ennio Morricone. Starring Toto, Ninetto Davoli, Laura Betti, Luigi Leoni, and Mario Cipriani.

A man and his son both travel around the streets of Rome to find a woman for the man so he can create a new family as they chose this mysterious deaf-mute woman. It is a short that is comical but also stylish with Toto playing the father and Ninetto Davoli as his red-haired son wearing a New York City sports team sweater as Pasolini brings this sense of absurdity into the film. Notably as there’s a key scene at the Coliseum involving the mute woman known as Absurdity who takes part in a scheme of theirs. Featuring some great art direction and Baragli’s offbeat editing as well as Morricone’s wondrous music score that stands out from the rest of the music score in the film. This short is easily the best one in the film.

The Sicilian Belle

Directed by Franco Rossi. Written by Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, and Bernardino Zapponi. Editor Giorgio Serralonga. Music by Piero Piccioni. Starring Pietro Tordi.

A woman has been humiliated by a man prompting her father (Piero Tordi) to find out who he is as he would massacre the entire family. It is the weakest short of the film series as it doesn’t really much of a story as it is a more dramatic story that has some dark humor but it doesn’t really give Mangano much to work with.

An Evening Like the Others

Directed by Vittorio De Sica. Written by Cesare Zavattini, Fabio Carpi, and Enzo Muzii. Editor Adriana Novelli. Music by Piero Piccioni. Starring Clint Eastwood, Valentino Macchi, and Pietro Torrisi.

The final short of the series revolves around a housewife imagining herself as a woman being swept off her feet by her husband yet the reality is that her husband is content and prefers to work and sleep though he wants to do things for her. Even as the fantasy has him becoming desperate for her attention as it plays into some comical moments but also lavish scenes of her wanting to be the center of attention towards all men with the husband unable to get her attention. It is a film that has a lot of humor though Clint Eastwood’s performance as Charlie is odd considering that isn’t known much for comedy as he’s a bit miscast though there is a brief moment of him playing a cowboy while his scenes set in reality as the husband has him playing it straight where he does manage to hold his own with Mangano.

As a film overall, it is a messy one with Pasolini’s segment being the best of the bunch while the segments by De Sica and Bolognini are strong with the latter being the shortest. Visconti’s segment is a bit dull in parts though it does feature some unique visuals with Rossi’s being the weakest as it wants to be funny but it never hits. All of the segments were shot by cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno whose photography does add a lot of vibrancy to the film with some low-key work for Visconti and De Sica’s segments to more wondrous colors in Pasolini’s segments. Art directors Mario Garbuglia and Piero Poletto, with set decorators Emilio D’Andria and Cesare Rovatti, do amazing work with the sets with the design of the gravestones for the Pasolini segment being the highlight of the film. Costume designer Piero Tosi does excellent work with the many dresses that Mangano wears in her different characters including the layers of gowns she would wear for De Sica’s segment.

Makeup artist Goffredo Rocchetti does nice work with some of the makeup with the look of green hair and heightened makeup in Pasolini’s segment being the standout. Special optical effects work by Joseph Nathanson is good for the scene in De Sica’s segment in a stadium as it plays into Mangano’s character as the object of desire. The sound work of Vittorio Trentino is terrific in playing up the locations as well as some sound effects in the film. Much of the film’s music by Piero Piccioni as it has its moment in its playful music along with some low-key pieces for the dramatic work yet it is Morricone’s score for the Pasolini segment that is the real standout of the music.

Le streghe is a stellar though flawed anthology film. While it features great performances from Silvana Mangano along with some nice technical work along with standout segments from Mauro Bolognini and Vittorio de Sica as well as a great short from Pier Paolo Pasolini. It is a film where there are things to watch though there are bits that don’t make it work. In the end, Le streghe is a good film from producer Dino De Laurentiis.

Vittorio De Sica Films: (Rose scarlatte) - (Maddalena, zero in condotta) - (Teresa Venerdi) - (Un garibaldino al convento) - (The Children Are Watching Us) - (La porta del cielo) - (Shoeshine) - (Heart and Soul (1948 film)) - Bicycle Thieves - Miracle in Milan – Umberto D - (It Happened in the Park) - (Terminal Station) - (The Gold of Naples) - (The Roof) - (Anna of Brooklyn) - Two Women - (The Last Judgment) - (Boccaccio ‘70) - (The Condemned of Altona) - (Il Boom) - Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow - Marriage Italian Style - (Un monde nouveau) - (After the Fox) - (Woman Times Seven) - (A Place for Lovers) - (Sunflowers (1970 film)) – The Garden of the Finzi-Continis - (Lo chiameremo Andrea) - (A Brief Vacation) - (The Voyage)

Pier Paolo Pasolini Films: (Accattone) – (La Rabbia) - Mamma Roma - (The Gospel According to St. Matthew) - (Location Hunting in Palestine) – (Love Meetings) – (The Hawks and the Sparrows) – (Oedipus Rex) – Teorema - (Porcile) – (Medea (1969 film)) – (Appunti per un film sull’India) – (Notes Towards an African Orestes) – The Decameron - The Canterbury Story - Arabian Nights - Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom

Luchino Visconti Films: (Obsessione) – (Giorni di gloria) – (La Terra Firma) – (Bellissima) – (Appunti su un fatto di cronaca) – (We, the Women) – Senso – White Nights (1957 film) - Rocco and His Brothers - (Boccaccio ’70-Il lavoro) – The Leopard - Sandra – (The Stranger (1967 film)) – The Damned - Death in Venice - (Alla ricerca di Tadzio) – (Ludwig) – (Conversation Piece) – The Innocent (1976 film)

© thevoid99 2023

The White Sheik

Directed by Federico Fellini and screenplay by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, and Ennio Flaiano from a story by Fellini, Pinelli, and Michelangelo Antonioni, Lo sceicco bianco (The White Sheik) is the story of a man who takes his new bride to Rome to introduce him to her family where things go wrong when she goes missing in her own search for a magazine idol. The film is a comedic story of a man who is eager for his family to meet his new bride where things suddenly go wrong as the family also wants to meet the Pope. Starring Alberto Sordi, Leopoldo Trieste, Brunella Bovo, and Giuletta Masina. Lo sceicco bianco is a delightful and witty film from Federico Fellini.

The film is a simple story of a newlywed couple who arrive in Rome to meet the groom’s relatives who are eager to see his new bride when she suddenly disappears when she learn that her soap opera magazine idol is nearby as she wants to meet him. Along the way, a lot of craziness ensues as the bride finds herself on a photo shoot and all sorts of craziness while the groom tries to hide the truth from his relatives as they’re all supposed to meet the Pope. It’s a film that plays into not just a concept of fantasy vs. reality but also a film that plays into two people who are quite different but also cope with what happens when they’re both away from each other. The film’s script does have a back-and-forth narrative as it relates to the adventures of Wanda (Brunella Bovo) and Ivan (Leopoldo Trieste) where the two deal with their own craziness. The former is a young woman that has never been to Rome as she lives through these soap opera magazines while the latter is very conventional with a bourgeoisie family who have connections to the Vatican.

Federico Fellini’s direction is quite lively for the way he captures life in the city of Rome from the perspective of newlyweds who had never been to the city. Shot largely on location in Rome with additional shooting in Vatican City and rural places such as Fregrene and Spoleto. The film plays into a look of Rome from an outsiders point-of-view but also with a sense of excitement as it relates to Wanda’s adventure when she learns that her favorite photo star in this titular character (Alberto Sordi) is in Rome at this studio getting ready for a photo shoot at the beach. Fellini’s direction is quite simple with its usage of wide and medium shots while he doesn’t use a lot of close-ups in favor of capturing a lot of coverage involving the group of people Wanda and Ivan are with.

Especially as it relates to Wanda as the people she’s with are these lively and fun characters who wear costumes and such for this photo shoot as opposed to Ivan’s straight-laced relatives. Yet, both characters would find faults in themselves as their respective journeys would also make them realize what is really important. Overall, Fellini creates a lively yet compelling film about the day in the life of a newlywed couple in Rome.

Cinematographer Arturo Gallea does excellent work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to play into the vibrant look of Rome in its exteriors with some unique lighting for many of the scenes set at night including the ones in the streets of Rome. Editor Ronaldo Benedetti does nice work with the editing as it has bits of style in a few transition wipes and a jump-cut as well as some exhilarating montage moments in the photo shoot sequence. Art director Raffaello Tolfo does terrific work with the look of the photo shoot set and the studio that Wanda goes to where she meets the magazine‘s author. The sound work of Armando Grilli and Walfrido Traversari do superb work with the sound as it plays into the atmosphere of some of the city locations as well as the moments where Wanda rides on a boat with the sheik. The film’s music by Nino Rota is amazing for its playful orchestral score that adds a lot of liveliness to Wanda‘s encounter with the Sheik and his entourage as well as the misadventures of Ivan.

The film’s brilliant cast include some notable small roles from Lilia Landi as a model for the soap opera photo shoot, Ugo Attanasio as Ivan’s uncle who works for the Vatican, Ernesto Almirante as the photo shoot’s director, and Fanny Marchio as the woman who writes the stories for these soap opera magazines. Giuletta Masina is great in her brief yet vivacious performance as the prostitute Cabiria who would meet Ivan in the film’s third act as she muses about his situation as it is an early version of the character she would play in another film of Fellini’s. Alberto Sordi is fantastic as the film’s titular character as a soap opera idol who is this Rudolph Valentino-type of man as he is merely Wanda’s idea of a fantasy but someone who is very flawed.

Brunella Bovo is excellent as Wanda as this young newlywed who arrives to Rome in hoping to meet the White Sheik by presenting a drawing she made as she then becomes confused and guilty over sneaking around to leave her husband with his relatives. Finally, there’s Leopoldo Trieste in an amazing performance as Ivan as this man who goes to Rome to introduce Wanda to his family only to deal with Wanda’s sudden disappearance and a sense of shame he might endure for himself and his family.

Lo sceicco bianco is a marvelous film from Federico Fellini. Thanks in part to its cast, Nino Rota’s winning score, and a premise that is witty and engaging. The film is filled with a lot of humor but also some heart as it relates to newlyweds who cope with expectations and desires. In the end, Lo sceicco bianco is a remarkable film from Federico Fellini.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) - (L’amore in Citta-Un’agenzia matrimoniale) - I, Vitelloni - La Strada - Il bidone - Nights of Cabiria - La Dolce Vita - (Boccaccio ‘70-Le tentazoni del Dottor Antonio) - 8 1/2 - Juliet of the Spirits - Spirits of the Dead-Toby Dammit! - (Fellini: A Director’s Notebook) - Fellini Satyricon - (I Clowns) - Roma - Amarcord - Casanova - Orchestra Rehearsal - City of Women - And the Ship Sails On - Ginger and Fred - (Intervista) - (The Voice of the Moon)

© thevoid99 2016

I, Vitelloni

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 10/25/08 w/ Additional Edits.

Directed by Federico Fellini with a script he co-wrote with Ennio Flaiano based on a story by Fellini, Flaiano, and Tullio Pinneli. I, Vitelloni tells the story of five different young men in a small, coastal Italian town as their lives change when one of their girlfriends is pregnant. When that young man is forced to be married, he has to contend with his old lifestyle of flirting, partying, and such while his friends do the same with one of them starting to question their lifestyle. A part-character study and coming-of-age story, the film takes a comical yet tragic approach about the way lives change for five young men. Starring Alberto Sordi, Franco Interlenghi, Franco Fabrizi, Leopold Trieste, Riccardo Fellini, and Leonora Ruffo. I, Vitelloni is a wonderful coming-of-age story from Federico Fellini.

A beauty pageant at the coastal town of Rimini where attending are five different young men: the flirtatious Fausto (Franco Fabrizi), the mature and stable Moraldo (Franco Interlenghi), the childlike yet playful Alberto (Alberto Sordi), the intellectual and ambitious Leopoldo (Leopold Trieste), and the observant yet talented Riccardo (Riccardo Fellini). With Riccardo singing at the pageant and Moraldo's sister Sandra (Leonora Ruffo) as a contestant, it's a big day when Sandra comes out the surprise winner despite not wanting to participate. Yet, the win and the whole event overwhelm Sandra when she suddenly faints. When Sandra reveals she's pregnant, the whole town is shocked as the father is revealed to be Fausto who tries to run away. With Moraldo trying to talk to him, Fausto's father (Jean Brochard) decides to have Fausto do the right thing by marrying Sandra and stay out of trouble. Fausto reluctantly does as he and Sandra go to Rome for their honeymoon.

With Moraldo, Leopoldo, Alberto, and Riccardo still in the town where nothing really happens as they don't really do anything but slack around, play pool, and flirt with women. Moraldo ponders about trying to leave Rimini for good as he finds himself in a rut wondering if he will ever do anything. While Leopoldo struggles to write a play and often flirt with the neighbor's maid Caterina (Maja Nipora), Alberto tries to deal with the fact that his sister Olga (Claude Farell) is going back with her old boyfriend. Fausto suddenly returns with a new look as he and Sandra begin to start a new life as Sandra's father (Enrico Viarisio) gets him a job working at an antique store for Michel Curti (Carlo Romano). Yet, Fausto's flirtatious behavior starts again at a movie theater when he meets a young woman (Arlette Sauvage). After going after her during the movie, he kisses where it's clear he hasn't changed. That confirmation happens more at a carnival party where he meet Michel's wife Giulia (Lida Baarova), who looked very different from what she looked like at work.

The party ends with Alberto feeling depressed and sad about his existence as he sees his Olga leaving for good leaving him and his mother distraught. Fausto gets himself into troubling after his attempts to flirt with Giulia that leads him to being fired. Going to Moraldo for help, they attempt to steal a statue and sell it for money as Moraldo reluctantly helps him. Instead, the two men get into trouble as Fausto still decides to be reckless. Even as his baby is finally born where Leopoldo's play is finally read by noted Italian actor Sergio Natali (Achille Majeroni). For Leopoldo, it's his chance to get out of Rimini though Fausto's behavior with women finally make Moraldo uncomfortable. When Sandra finds out, she has enough in which she forces Fausto to grow up while his friends ponder their own world leaving Moraldo to make a huge decision.

Fellini creates a film that is essentially a coming-of-age story of sorts about five young men who lead aimless, slacker-driven lifestyle with a few of them not having any kind of ambition. Yet, all of five of them are different as Fellini explores these characters and their situations with one of them being the lead story as the other four men try to deal with what's going on. Yet, the story is told from the perspective of one of its main characters who see his friends dealing with their lives and their desires to leave the town they lived in for so long. Fellini and his writers decide to use that character as a narrator while letting the audience get to know the character of Fausto. Here's a man who likes women a lot yet is unable to change his ways when he's married and has a child. While the character of Fausto is interesting, he's a character that is practically unsympathetic even to the end while he never has a real sense of development as his antics do get tiresome.

The other characters like Alberto and Leopoldo do have some serious development as Alberto is a man that is more child-like while dealing with the fact that his sister is about to marry a man he and his mother don't approve of. Leopoldo is the intellectual who has ambitions while trying to deal with the lifestyle he and his friends have. Yet, his character is given a chance to leave Rimini for good thanks to an actor but what happens is complex yet is something audiences can relate to. While Riccardo is a background character who has a few moments, it's the character of Moraldo that really stands out as the film's lone conscience and main observer. Yet, he's also faced with conflict in his loyalty to his friend as well as being the brother to his sister. Moraldo is essentially the character that is truly based on Federico Fellini.

While the script explores a lot of autobiographical elements and themes that Fellini would often explore, his direction definitely shows the man starting to create his own sense of style that would set him apart from his fellow Italian directors. Notably his love of cartoonish images in the carnival scene with clowns and such along with shots of the beach and street-like locations. Fellini also brings element of light humor to some of the film's nighttime scenes where the friends get drunk and sing at night to give audiences an idea of who they are in the beginning of the film. The dramatic elements are prominent in some of the character situations without being over-dramatic with some exception to Fausto's own situations near the end of the film. Yet, the film proves that Fellini is starting to come out of his own as he creates a unique film with universal themes and realistic characters.

Shot in black-and-white, cinematographers Carlo Carlini, Otello Martelli, and Luciano Trasatti do excellent work in the film's look that truly has a European style of shooting in locations while getting shots of people's feet, faces, and lots of coverage in both the carnival scene and beach sequences. The cinematography is truly exquisite in its look and style. Editor Rolando Benedetti does brilliant work in creating a unique rhythm and pacing that doesn't make the film move very slow, like most European films, while bringing a lot of style to the cutting with its dissolves and smooth transitional cuts. Production designer Mario Chiari and set decorator Luigi Giacosi do amazing work in the film's look for the carnival and the decayed look of the beach places. Costume designer Margherita Marinari does wonderful work with the costumes, notably the carnival scene with its array of clothes and look. Most notably the drag costume that Alberto wears.

The film's score is composed by Fellini's longtime collaborator Nino Rota, who first worked with Fellini in The White Sheik. Rota's upbeat, melodic-flourishing score is truly a highlight as it plays up to the film's comical tone with its bouncy melodies in its string orchestral arrangements to the more somber work in the film's dramatic scenes. Instead of going into melodrama, Rota brings a score that plays just right to the drama with heavy arrangements and notes. The score in this film is truly wonderful and memorable as it definitely revealed a lot of the promise between the great collaboration in Fellini-Rota.

The cast is truly phenomenal with small performances from Vira Silenti and Milvia Chianelli as the respective dates of Leopoldo and Riccardo in the carnival scenes. Also memorable in small roles are Silvio Bagolini as an idiot that Fausto hires, Gigetta Morano as Alberto's mother, Maja Nipora as Caterina, Arlette Sauvage as a woman at the cinema whom Fausto flirts with, Paola Borboni as Moraldo's mother, and Enrico Viarisio as Moraldo's father. Guido Martufi is excellent as Guido, the boy Moraldo befriends at night as the kid works on a train as he becomes an unlikely friend for Moraldo. Achille Majeroni is excellent as the ambiguous actor Sergio Natali who brings an opportunity to Leopoldo though it seems like he wants something from Leopoldo that might not be his art. Carlo Romano is wonderful as Michel Curti who takes Fausto in for work only to lose his trust while Lida Baarova is good as Michel's wife who is suddenly harassed by the charm of Fausto.

Claude Farell is very good as Olga, Alberto's sister who often gives Alberto money until she decides to leave him and their mother to be with her boyfriend whom Alberto doesn't like very much. Jean Brochard is great as Fausto's father, a man who feels burdened by his son and all of the troubles he cause as he has tries to make him do what is right while being a grandfather to his newborn grandson. Riccardo Fellini is excellent as Riccardo, a background character of sorts who has a talent for singing though isn't convinced that he'll move beyond his hometown. Leopold Trieste is brilliant as Leopoldo, the most intelligent of the five men who strives to succeed as a playwright while a chance opportunity leads to questions about his own desires as well as his outlook into the world. Alberto Sordi is amazing as Alberto, a childlike man who seems to love life and partying until realizing that he might not go beyond that due to his lack of skills and his devotion to his mother.

Franco Fabrizi is good as Fausto with his charm and good looks as a man who definitely can be the guy everyone wants to be until his flaws are unveiled. While Fabrizi's performance is good, his character does suffer from being very unlikeable and unsympathetic while not getting much development right to the end. Leonora Ruffo is very good as Sandra, Fausto's wife who tries to be his devoted wife only to realize that he hasn't changed as she makes a move that would definitely change things in the third act. The film's best performance is Franco Interlenghi as Moraldo, the character mostly based on Fellini. Interlenghi brings a sense of observance, subtlety, and maturity as the one character who is a conscience of sorts while understanding his friends' desires to leave their town and what's holding them back. At the same time, there's a melancholic conflict as he deals with Fausto's womanizing that begins to make him uncomfortable as he ponders whether he should be the best friend or brother to Sandra. It's definitely one of the most standout performances of the film.

I, Vitelloni is a brilliant yet light-hearted drama from Federico Fellini featuring Nino Rota's wondrous film score and the standout performances of Franco Interlenghi and Alberto Sordi. Audiences new to Fellini will see this as a nice introduction though his next film La Strada is a much better one. While it's not perfect due to one of its main characters, it's a film that definitely is influential in what it would bring to films with multiple characters and perspectives. In the end, I, Vitelloni is a wonderful coming-of-age story from Federico Fellini.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) - The White Sheik - (L'amore in Citta-Un'agenzia matrimoniale) - La Strada - Il bidone - Nights of Cabiria - La Dolce Vita - (Boccaccio '70-Le tentazioni del Dottor Antonio) - 8 1/2 - Juliet of the Spirits - Histoires extraordinaires-Toby Dammit - (Fellini: A Director's Notebook) - Fellini Satyricon - (I Clowns) - Roma - Amarcord - Casanova - Orchestra Rehearsal - City of Women - And the Ship Sails On - Ginger and Fred - (Intervista) - (The Voice of the Moon)

© thevoid99 2012