2023 Cannes Marathon: Orchestra Rehearsal

 

(Played Out of Competition at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival)

Directed by Federico Fellini and screenplay by Fellini and Brunello Rondi from a story by Fellini, Prova d’orchestra (Orchestra Rehearsal) is the story of an orchestra being filmed for a documentary as they deal with their conductor leading to a strike but also chaos within the orchestra about what to do. The film serves as a political commentary towards some of the political turmoil that was happening in the late 1970s as it is told in a documentary style set inside a dilapidated 13th Century church that is to be demolish. Starring Balduin Bass, Clara Colosimo, Elizabeth Labi, Ferdinando Villela, Franco Javarone, David Mauhsell, Francesco Aluigi, and Andy Miller. Prova d’orchestra is a riveting and fascinating film from Federico Fellini.

Set in 13th Century church that is in ruins, the film revolves around an orchestra rehearsing for an upcoming performance as they’re being filmed by a documentary crew as they deal with each other and their tyrannical composer who demands perfection from them. It is a film with a simple premise as it is told in the span of a day as screenwriters Federico Fellini and Brunello Rondi explore this orchestra getting ready for a performance though the rehearsal space they’re using is in a decayed state as well as growing tension among the orchestra. Leading the whole thing is the conductor (Balduin Bass) who is demanding perfection which becomes much for some of the people in the orchestra as many of them talk to the camera crew as they talk about their roles in the orchestra. A union organizer (Claudio Ciocca) is watching over things as he is aware of the tension among the orchestra going into different factions relating to age, social classes, and leftist ideals.

Fellini’s direction is largely intimate as it is shot at the Cinecetta Studios in Rome where there’s very few sets with much of it being in this dilapidated church from the 13th Century that has cracks and mold. While there are some wide shots including some moments in the film’s finale, much of Fellini’s direction emphasizes on close-ups and medium shots as well as lot of dolly-tracking shot that pans around the area where the orchestra is rehearsing. Fellini opens with an empty room in the church as an elderly copyist (Umberto Zuanelli) places music sheets for all of the musicians to read while a few of them arrive with one of them holding a radio listening to a soccer game. The first half of the film is about the members of the orchestra being interviewed individually including a young piano player (Elizabeth Labi), an oboe player (Andy Miller), and many others as they deal with their conductor who likes to have the music be presented a certain way.

Fellini does play into these factions among the orchestra where many of its younger members have leftist ideals with elements of socialism and communism while the older ones prefer to just play with some not happy with the conductor whom they see as this conservative figure that is tyrannical though he is far from this conservative figure when he’s alone in his room and talking to the camera. Still, he endures this sense of chaos that is going on in the church while there is a lot of things happening outside of the church as if it is being destroyed as it does serve as this metaphor for the problems of late 1970s Italian politics. Though Fellini doesn’t make things clear on where he stands nor does he explain where some of the individuals are coming from politically. He does say something about its many fallacies where the film’s ending is about the need for everyone to come together on one thing no matter their differences. Overall, Fellini creates a compelling and engaging film about an orchestra rehearsal going into turmoil.

Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on low-key lighting as the film is shot largely in interior settings along with the usage of candle lights and lights in the latter for some scenes involving the documentary crew. Editor Ruggero Mastroianni does excellent work with the editing as it plays into some of the chaotic elements of the film with its jump cuts along with some stylish cuts to play into the rhythm of the music. Production designer Dante Ferretti and set decorator Bruno Cesari do incredible work with the look of the interior of the church hall in its decayed state where it looks like it is from the 13th Century with its cracks and mold as well as the hallway and a bar that the characters go to during a break. Costume designer Gabriella Pescucci does fantastic work with the costumes as it is largely casual with everyone wearing something of style with the older people wearing suits and the younger people wearing more stylish clothes of the time.

The special effects work of Adriano Pischiutta is terrific for a few scenes relating to sounds outside of the church including a big moment in the film’s climax. Sound effects editor Fernando Caso does superb work in creating sound effects for many of the scenes outside of the church as well as sparse sounds inside the church. The film’s music by Nino Rota is phenomenal as it is not just a major highlight of the film but a key proponent that helps drive the film with its orchestral flourishes and arrangements that features suites and pieces with strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussions all playing their part as it is one of Rota’s great scores in one of the final contributions he created before his death in 1979.

The film’s ensemble cast is wonderful as it features some notable small roles and appearances from the quintet of Heinz Krueger, Angelica Hansen, Luigi Uzzo, Francesco Aluigi, and David Maunsell as violinists, Filippo Trincaia as the orchestra head who is trying to get everyone in place, Daniele Pagani as the trombone player, Franco Mazzeri as a trumpet player who is the victim of a prank, Claudio Ciocca as a union organizer trying to help the musicians with whatever they’re dealing with, Andy Miller as the oboe player who expresses his love for the oboe, Ronaldo Bonacchi as the bassoon player, Franco Ivarone as the bass tuba player who believes the tuba is an important part of the orchestra, and Ferdinando Villella as an old cello player.

Umberto Zuanelli is terrific as an elderly copyist who is trying to write down notes for the conductor as well as assist him any way he can while Sibyl Amarilli Mostert is fantastic as a flute player who is promiscuous but also spouting a lot of feminist and leftist views. Elizabeth Labi is excellent as a young pianist who is eager to be interviewed as she feels like she is important to the orchestra while Clara Colosimo is brilliant as a veteran harp player who feels underappreciated by the other musicians as she believes the harp carries something special. Finally, there’s Balduin Bass in an amazing performance as the conductor as a man who is a perfectionist as he wants everything to not just be right but also in its feel as he is filled with frustrations as well as bearing the responsibility in being someone who wants to present the music to the people in the way he feels.

Prova d’orchestra is a marvelous film from Federico Fellini. While it is a film that has a short running time of 72 minutes and doesn’t do enough to explore many of the political allegories in the film. It is still a film that carries gorgeous visuals, amazing performances from its ensemble, and a tremendous music score by Nino Rota in his final collaboration with Fellini as the film was released in Italy months before Rota’s death in early 1979. In the end, Prova d’orchestra is a remarkable film from Federico Fellini.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) – The White Sheik - (L’amore in Citta-Un’agenzia martimoniale) – 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 (1976 film) - City of Women - And The Ship Sails On - Ginger & Fred - (Intervista) – (The Voice of the Moon)

© thevoid99 2023

City of Women

 

Directed by Federico Fellini and written by Fellini, Bernardino Zapponi, and Brunello Rondi, La citta delle donne (City of Women) is the story of a businessman who is trapped inside a hotel as he encounters women all over the hotel and the city around him. The film is a fantasy-comedy that plays into a man who is forced to confront his own attitudes about men and women as it forces him to think about everything he’s done including his relationship with his wife. Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Prucnal, Bernice Stegers, Donatella Damiani, Iole Silvani, and Ettore Manni. La citta delle donne is a majestic and rapturous film from Federico Fellini.

The film is about a surreal journey of a businessman who follows a woman he meets on a train in an attempt to seduce only to find himself in a hotel full of women where a lot of chaos ensues as he is forced to deal with his ideas about men and women and his relationship with the latter. It’s a film that explores a man who is asleep on a train only to wake up where he meets this beautiful passenger whom he would make out with in the bathroom only to leave as he would follow her into a forest that is a pathway to a mysterious hotel that is the beginning of a series of misadventures in the course of an entire day. The film’s screenplay by Federico Fellini, Bernardino Zapponi, and Brunello Rondi does play into the male gaze towards women but also this idea of what a man wants in a perfect woman in its possible existence. The film does have a unique structure based on its settings as the first act largely takes place in this hotel where its protagonist Snaporaz (Marcello Mastroianni) has followed this woman (Bernice Stegers) from a train they were both on as the hotel is full of women.

Notably as there’s conferences relating to feminism, performance art installations, discussions on men vs. women, and other things where Snaporaz looks on in awe yet he ends up getting into trouble until he is saved by Donatella (Donatella Damiani) who would put him into more trouble. The second act has him leaving the hotel thanks to a woman motorcyclist (Iole Silvani) yet she has her own ideas that would put him into trouble but also lost in the countryside where he would later meet a group of teenage women and young women as he would eventually find shelter in the home of Dr. Xavier Katzone (Ettore Manni) who isn’t fond of feminism and rowdy women. Dr. Katzone is a unique figure as a man whose home is filled with a lot of things including a grand hall devoted to the women he had been with as he’s about to have a party where one of his guests is Snaporaz’s estranged wife Elena (Anna Prucnal) who isn’t happy to see him. It plays into Snaporaz’s own fallacies but also his own desires where he sees Donatella at the party as its third act is this strange fantasy that plays into past events in Snaporaz’s life as well as the male gaze where he is confronted for his own faults with women.

Fellini’s direction is definitely grand as it plays into this idea of fantasy and surrealism as it plays into a man and his love for women but also how he sees them. Shot largely at Cinecitta Studios in Rome with various locations in small Italian countryside areas, Fellini does maintain some simplicity in terms of his close-ups and medium shots when it play into characters looking at each other or reacting to something around them. The intimacy does play into Snaporaz’s encounter with his surroundings and women does have this element of style where Fellini keeps the spectacles at a restraint to focus on Snaporaz’s emotions and frustrations towards the way women treat him. Then there’s the wide shots as Fellini uses them to capture not just some of the exterior locations but the extravagance of the places that Snaporaz goes to including Dr. Katzone’s lavish home and the hotel itself with its rooms including a gym where Snaporaz watches all sorts of activities including women learning martial arts to kick a man in his nuts. Fellini also uses these settings into not just explore feminism and its faults but also the fact that men haven’t made things easier as Snaporaz is a man stuck in his old ways while is trying to be understanding.

Unfortunately, he does see them as objects of desire while the scene at Dr. Katzone’s home where he converses his wife showcases a lot of his faults as a husband as it reveals why they’re separating. Even in a scene where she is nude and wants to have sex with him where it is clear that they’re no longer on the same page since Snaporaz wants to be with other women and doesn’t appreciate her. Its third act is Fellini at his most lavish in terms of its set pieces with this air of whimsy to play into Snaporaz’s own life and his childlike innocence towards women that evolved into something more masculine where he is forced to confront his faults as a man. Its climax is also lavish as it plays into the male gaze but is seen mainly by women in what a man will do to reach its idea of the perfect woman that is followed by an ending that is ambiguous but also one where it is about this man who is forced to come to terms about his relationship with women. Overall, Fellini crafts a dazzling and exhilarating film about a businessman who enters into a world inhabited by women where he deals with his fantasies and realities.

Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno does brilliant work with the cinematography with its lush and natural look for some of the film’s daytime exterior scenes to the usage of stylish lights for many of the interior scenes including the hall of women at Dr. Katzone’s home. Editor Ruggero Mastroianni does excellent work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts for a few scenes as well as some stylish cuts for some of the humor and drama. Production designer Dante Ferretti, with set decorators Bruno Cesari and Carlo Gervasi plus art director Giorgio Giovannini, does amazing work with the set design in the look of some of the hotel rooms that include performance art instillations, its gym, Dr. Katzone’s home including its hall of women, and the fantasy park that Snaporaz went to in the film’s third act. Costume designer Gabriella Pescucci does fantastic work with the costumes from the look of the police uniform some of the women wear during Dr. Katzone’s party as well as a lot of the clothes the women wear including some lavish gowns.

Makeup designer Giancarlo Del Brocco does nice work with the makeup of some of the characters in the look of some of the women in the performance art instillations as well as some of the fantasy scenes. The special effects by Adriano Pischiutta is terrific for some of the film’s minimal effects that largely relate to some of the film’s grand set pieces. The sound work of Pierre Paul Marie Lorrain and Tomasso Quattrini is superb for capturing the atmosphere of the locations as well as the raucous atmosphere involving lots of women in a crowd to play into the craziness that Snaporaz deals with. The film’s music by Luis Enriquez Bacalov is incredible for its playful orchestral score that has elements of strings and woodwinds to bring in some of its humor while also featuring music from old pop standards to the Italo disco of the late 1970s/early 1980s.

The casting by Liliane Betti is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Gabriella Giorgelli as a fish woman from Snaporaz’s childhood past in a fantasy ride, Catherine Carrel as a police commandant who charges Dr. Katzone with a charge over his party, the quintet of Marina Confalone, Dominique Labourier, Sylvie Meyer, Stephane Emilfork, and Helene G. Calzarelli as feminists, Silvana Fusacchia as a roller-skater that skates around a gym that is friends with Donatella, and Fiammetta Baralla as the mother of the motorcyclist who isn’t fond of these modern ideals as she is one of the few who is kind towards Snaporaz. Iole Silvani is fantastic as a motorcyclist who is first seen working at the furnace as she would take Snaporaz out of the hotel and back to the city yet she has her own motives of what she wants to do with Snaporaz.

Ettore Manni, in his final film performance, is excellent as Dr. Xavier Katzone as a reclusive rich man who hates feminism as he hosts a party to celebrate his 10,000th conquest as he has a hall devoted to all of the women he’s been with as he is this flamboyant figure. Bernice Stegers is brilliant as a woman Snaporaz meets in his train compartment whom he would follow as she is this object of desire that would lure him into trouble. Anna Prucnal is amazing as Snaporaz’s estranged wife Elena whom Snaporaz would see at Dr. Katzone’s party as she is someone who is bitter over their relationship and the lack of love he had towards her. Donatella Damiani is incredible as a woman Snaporaz meets at the hotel as she is this lively woman who is a feminist but is also kinder towards Snaporaz as she becomes this idea of everything Snaporaz wants in a woman. Finally, there’s Marcello Mastroianni in a tremendous performance as Snaporaz as a businessman who loves women and their bodies as he finds himself being confronted with ideas of feminism and such where he wants to understand yet is also clinging to his own ideals as it’s a performance that is full of charm and wit from Mastroianni that also has him acting like a child but also displays the humility of his faults as a man.

La citta delle donne is a phenomenal film from Federico Fellini that features a great leading performance from Marcello Mastroianni. Along with its supporting cast, incredible visuals, immense art direction, themes on the male gaze and their view on women, and a sumptuous music score. The film is a delightful journey that is filled with a lot of crazy turns that follows a man who deals with his idea of women as well as what women think of someone like him. In the end, La citta delle donne is a sensational film from Federico Fellini.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) – The White Sheik - (L’amore in Citta-Un’agenzia martimoniale) – 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 (1972 film) - Amarcord - Casanova (1976 film) - Orchestra Rehearsal – And the Ship Sails On - Ginger and Fred - (Intervista) – (The Voice of the Moon)

© thevoid99 2023

Il bidone

 

Directed by Federico Fellini and written by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, and Tullio Pinelli, Il bidone (The Swindlers) is the story of an aging con man whose crimes start to catch up with him as he tries to con poor peasants into giving him money and such. The film is a look into a man dealing with his growing sense of morality, regrets, and a world that is ever-changing. Starring Broderick Crawford, Giulietta Masina, and Richard Basehart. Il bidone is a rapturous and captivating film from Federico Fellini.

The film revolves around a group of conmen who often charm their way or disguise themselves as priests to swindle poor peasants out of their money and treasures they have as one of them is a middle-aged man who copes with the growing immorality of his line of work. It is a film that explore a trio of men who work with a criminal who hires them to swindle money out of the poor while using money to live their lives yet eldest con man in Augusto (Broderick Crawford) is thinking about a life after crime yet still does things to live. The film’s screenplay by Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano and Tullio Pinelli is straightforward in its narrative yet much of it is told from Augusto’s perspective while it also follows the lives of his fellow conmen in Robert Giorgio (Franco Fabrizi) who loves doing the con game while Carlo aka Picasso (Richard Basehart) hopes to make it as an artist and bring some money to give himself and his wife Iris (Giulietta Masina) a better life with their daughter.

Yet, the appearance of Augusto’s daughter Patrizia (Lorella De Luca) whom he hadn’t seen in a year as well as bumping into a former con man in Rinaldo (Alberto De Amicis) who has become successful as Augusto is invited to a New Year’s Eve party with Carlo, Iris, and Giorgio where things go wrong due to Giorgio’s actions. Even as Giorgio would continue to put Carlo and Augusto into more schemes that eventually has the two of them ponder about their future as the latter copes with the recent sighting of his daughter whom he tries to reconnect with as he deals with the sins of the past.

Fellini’s direction is largely straightforward in terms of his compositions and setting as much of it is shot in Rome and areas outside of Rome as it play into this world where the poor are being conned into giving their money away to con men. While there are some wide shots in some of the locations that include some of the rural, countryside scenes where the poor are often seen. Fellini does maintain an intimacy in his approach to the way he shoots his characters in a frame whether they’re in a section in the city of Rome or how they interact with characters in a poor location where the poor live. Fellini’s usage of close-ups and medium shots add to the drama including the scenes at the New Year’s Eve party where there is a lot that is happening with Fellini often focusing on Carlo and Iris as well as Augusto trying to make a business deal with Rinaldo. There is also focus on a woman being asked to strip where Rinaldo's wife Marisa (Irene Cefaro) watches with disgust while Fellini also showcases an object that would be the cause of Augusto’s troubles due to Giorgio.

The film’s second half does play into the drama as it relates to Augusto’s own past finally catching up with him as well as the lack of a future for himself with Carlo and Giorgio both going into different directions as the latter becomes more reckless. The film’s climatic third act does involve a job for Augusto working for his handler with a new gang of thieves as it becomes a moment of morality in the people he’s about to con. Notably as it is followed by a man dealing with his conscience in a world that has become much crueler where Fellini definitely play into the desolate location set in a mountain area as it serves as a metaphor for what Augusto is coping with. Overall, Fellini crafts a somber yet riveting film about a con man dealing with his crimes and an ever-changing world of immorality.

Cinematographer Otello Martelli does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography to play into the beauty of the daytime exteriors while using available and some stylish lights for the scenes at night including the New Year’s Eve party. Editors Mario Serandrei and Giuseppe Vari do excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward to play into the drama and bits of humor with some rhythmic cuts for the latter. Production/costume designer Dario Cecchi and set decorator Massimilano Capriccioli do amazing work with the look of some of the interior of the farms and the interiors of Rinaldo’s home with Cecchi creating some unique clothing including the fake priests clothing for Carlo and Augusto and the dresses that the women wear. Sound editor Giovanni Rossi does nice work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as the sound of some of the exteriors in Rome. The film’s music by Nino Rota is incredible for its sumptuous orchestral score with elements of bombastic and somber string pieces that also include brass arrangements to play into the drama and some of the film’s humorous moments.

The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Riccardo Garrone as a con man Augusto works late in the film, Giacomo Gabrielli as Augusto’s handler Il Baron Vargas, Sue Ellen Blake as a young woman that Augusto meets late in the film, Irene Cefaro as Rinaldo’s wife Marisa, Alberto De Amicis as a former criminal associate of Augusto in Rinaldo who has changed his life into something greater, and Lorella De Luca in a fantastic performance as Augusto’s daughter Patrizia whom Augusto hadn’t seen in a few years as he tries to reconnect with her while not wanting her to know about what he really does as she is someone that is about to take a major step with her life prompting Augusto to wanting to help her. Franco Fabrizi is excellent as Roberto Giorgio as a smooth con man who likes to wear nice clothes and drive the finest cars as he is an immoral figure that doesn’t care who he steals from as long as he gets something where he would become a source of trouble for both Augusto and Carlo.

Giulietta Masina is amazing in her small role as Carlo’s wife Iris as a woman who is oblivious to what her husband does as she becomes uncomfortable attending Rinaldo’s New Year’s Eve party where she finds herself alienated by the people at the party as well as having some revelations about what her husband does. Richard Basehart is brilliant as Carlo aka Picasso as an aspiring artist who is hoping to use the money to give his wife and daughter a better life while also hoping to kick start his career as an artist only to cope with failures and uncertainty. Finally, there’s Broderick Crawford in a tremendous performance as Augusto Rocco as a veteran con man who often plays a head priest in his scams as he deals with the recent appearance of his daughter and a growing sense of immorality around him as he deals with not just his sins catching up with him but also a growing conscience as he copes with the people he’s scamming.

Il bidone is a phenomenal film from Federico Fellini that features an incredible leading performance from Broderick Crawford. Along with its ensemble cast, study of immorality and society, dazzling visuals, and a rich music score from Nino Rota. The film is definitely a fascinating yet somber film that explore the life of con men as well as this growing sense of change socially and morally that is happening in post-war Italy. In the end, Il bidone is a sensational film from Federico Fellini.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) – The White Sheik - (L’amore in Citta-Un’agenzia martimoniale) – I, Vitelloni - La Strada - 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 (1976 film) - Orchestra Rehearsal – City of Women – And the Ship Sails On - Ginger and Fred - (Intervista) – (The Voice of the Moon)

© thevoid99 2021

Ginger and Fred

Directed by Federico Fellini and screenplay by Fellini, Tonino Guerra, and Tullio Pinelli from a story by Fellini and Guerra, Ginger and Fred is the story of a dancing couple who impersonate the works of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers who reunite after thirty years of retirement for a TV show while contending with all sorts of issues. The film is a look of a couple who try to bring back their sense of joy as the couple is played by Marcello Mastroianni and Giulietta Masina. Also starring Franco Fabrizi, Augusto Poderosi, and Toto Mignone. Ginger and Fred is a delightful and heartfelt film from Federico Fellini.

Set during the Christmas season in Rome, the film follows a dancing tribute act who reunite more than thirty years since their split to appear on a variety TV show as they deal with what they’re about to do as well as the fact that they hadn’t seen each other since the split. It’s a film with a simple premise as it largely takes place in the span of 24 hours where this couple arrive separately unaware that the TV show they’ve been asked to reunite and perform is this odd variety show which would include all sorts of performers and oddballs to appear. The film’s screenplay from Federico Fellini, Tonino Guerra, and Tullio Pinelli is straightforward in terms of its narrative as it play into this strange environment of performers that include a transvestite (Augusto Poderosi), a celebrated admiral (Friedrich von Ledebur), a monk (Jacques Henri Lartigue) who claims he can fly, and all sorts of performers and impersonators.

For Amelia Bonetti (Giulietta Masina) and Pippo Botticella (Marcello Mastroianni) who both respectively play their parts as impersonators of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Their reunion is a joyous one while both of them would have different lives and different reasons for appearing on the show as Amelia is hoping to be on TV for her grandchildren to see her while Pippo claims to show up for money yet he has a bigger reason to be on the show. During their reunion, old issues would return but also a fondness for one another as they also deal with the chaos that is happening for the preparation of their TV appearance.

Fellini’s direction is definitely stylish which is expected from the filmmaker who isn’t afraid to make fun of Italian television in its most lavish as well as the way variety shows and ads for products are presented. Shot largely on location in Rome with much of the sets created at Cinecitta Studios in Rome, Fellini would use wide shots to capture the scope of the TV studio in its interiors as well as its large exterior shots to showcase how big the building is in its grand architecture. Yet, much of Fellini’s direction emphasizes on close-ups and medium shots as it relates to the characters as many of them live in a hotel near the city and then be transported by bus to the studio on that day. Fellini’s direction also play into the fact that the story is set during the Christmas holidays as Fellini avoids many famous landmarks of Rome to show a city that has changed into something that is messier and troubling due to the fact that there’s these ads where nude women are the ones selling products for meat or pasta.

Fellini’s approach to the scenes of the variety show is about excess and this idea of entertainment in which a show brings in an array of personalities and performers where it is more about exploitation and to be used for laughs rather than give them a chance to be appreciated for their talents. It’s something that Pippo is aware of despite the fact that he would run into an old friend in Toto (Toto Mignone) who would help Pippo and Amelia in remembering a few steps and such. There is also this idea of chaos that Fellini would create backstage which would overwhelm Amelia who wonders if she’s made the right decision as the film’s climax is the two dancing like Ginger and Fred. It’s a moment that would play into this idea of not just nostalgia but also bringing in this idea of class and elegance back into a world that lost all of that in favor of low-class entertainment. Overall, Fellini creates a majestic and exhilarating film about a dance tribute couple who reunite for a strange TV show.

Cinematographers Tonino Delli Colli and Ennio Guarnieri do brilliant work with the film’s colorful cinematography with the usage of lights for many of the interior scenes at the studio and backstage area as well as the usage of vibrant lighting for the daytime exteriors as well as a few scenes set at night. Editors Nino Baragli, Ugo de Rossi, and Ruggero Mastroianni do excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into some of the film’s humor and the climatic dance scene. Production designer Dante Ferretti, with art director Nazzareno Piana plus set decorators Franco Fumagalli and Angelo Santucci, does amazing work with the set design from the way the hotel rooms and lobbies look like in the interiors as well as the studio set and the grand look of the studio exterior in how grand it is as it’s a highlight of the film. Costume designer Danilo Donati does fantastic work with the costumes as it play into the extravagance of the performers and personalities that are to appear on the show as well as the clothes that Amelia and Pippo wear offstage that are more casual.

Chief makeup artist Rino Carboni does terrific work with the makeup for the way some of the characters look to play into those they impersonate. The special effects of Adriano Pischiutta is nice for the way some of the TV commercials look when they appear on the TV to play into that sense of artificiality and silliness of what they’re selling. The sound work of Fabio Ancillai and Tomasso Quattarini is superb for the way a studio sounds from the inside as well as some of the sparse moments such as Amelia hearing a man snore in the next room. The film’s music by Nicola Piovani is incredible for its playful and filled with these amazing woodwind arrangements and strings to play into liveliness of the film while the music that Amelia and Pippo dance to are the material that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers would dance to as it is largely music from Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, and Lorenz Hart.

The film’s marvelous ensemble cast include some notable small roles and appearances from Salvatore Billa as a Clark Gable impersonator, Antoine Saint-John as a bandaged man about unveil his new look, Friedrich von Thun as a kidnapped tycoon, Ezio Marano as an intellectual selling books who converses with Pippo, Jacques Henri Lartigue as a monk claiming he can fly, Augusto Poderosi as a kind transvestite Amelia befriends, Toto Mignone as an old friend of Amelia and Pippo who works for the show as he helps them rehearse their performance, and Franco Fabrizi as the host of the variety show.

Finally, there’s the duo of Giulietta Masina and Marcello Mastroianni in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Amelia Bonetti/Ginger and Pippo Botticella/Fred. Masina provides a charm and elegance to her role as a woman that is eager to dance while dealing with everything that is happening backstage as it would overwhelm her. Mastroianni also provides charm but with a haggard look of a man who hasn’t done much while being frustrated with the ways of the world. Masina and Mastroianni together are just a joy to watch in the way they argue as well as reminisce about other things as they are a major highlight of the film.

Ginger and Fred is a sensational film from Federico Fellini that features incredible performances from Giulietta Masina and Marcello Mastroianni. Along with its ensemble cast, grand art direction, colorful visuals, bawdy humor, and a sumptuous music score. The film is definitely entertaining as well as provide an idea of what entertainment could be without the need to be overly silly or exploitive. In the end, Ginger and Fred is a spectacular film from Federico Fellini.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) – The White Sheik - (L’amore in Citta-Un’agenzia martimoniale) – 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 (1976 film) - Orchestra Rehearsal – City of Women – And the Ship Sails On - (Intervista) – (The Voice of the Moon)

© thevoid99 2018

The Flowers of St. Francis

Based on the novels Little Flowers of St. Francis and The Life of Brother Juniper, Francesco, giullare di Dio (The Flowers of St. Francis) is a film featuring a series of stories about the life of St. Francis and his followers doing deeds in their journey. Directed by Roberto Rossellini and screenplay by Rossellini and Federico Fellini with contributions from Father Antonio Lisandrini and Father Felix Morlion, the film is an exploration of faith and spiritual enlightenment that follows the teachings of St. Francis and his own journey into his devotion to God. Starring Brother Nazario Gerardi, Brother Severino Pisacane, Esposito Bonaventura, Arabella Lemaitre, and Aldo Fabrizi. Francesco giullare di Dio is a majestic and touching film from Roberto Rossellini.

Set around the 12th/13th Century, the film follows the life and works of St. Francis of Assisi (Brother Nazario Gerardi) who walks around the world with his disciples as they would perform small miracles and such during the course of their time at a village where they build a home. Through a series of short segments and vignettes, the film showcases what St. Francis and some of his disciples would do to help spread their word of peace and generosity. The film’s screenplay opens with St. Francis and his disciples walking around the rain as they find shelter where they eventually build a small house for themselves at a village. The segments which are introduced with intertitle cards as it play into moments of St. Francis and his disciples doing whatever they can to help out people whether it’s St. Francis comforting a man with leprosy, the adventures of Brother Ginepro (Brother Severino Pisacane) in his attempt to do good deeds including meeting a noted tyrant (Aldo Fabrizi), and other moments to play involving St. Francis’ teachings.

Roberto Rossellini’s direction is very simple as he doesn’t really go for anything stylistic in its compositions in order to create something that does feel real. Shot on location at the Italian countryside near Rome and Bracciano, Rossellini chooses to shot in places where it does feel like a world that is very simple whether it’s people farming or doing things in the country life during this period between the end of the 12th Century and the early years of the 13th Century. While there are some wide shots of the locations, Rossellini would favor more intimate shots in close-ups and medium shots as it relates to the plight of St. Francis and his disciples as they try to help anyone or resolve some form of conflict that is looming nearby. Even as the film opens and closes with St. Francis and his disciples going into places to find a home base or something as it all play into everything St. Francis wants to do to help anyone and remain humble about it. Overall, Rossellini creates an engaging and mesmerizing film about a man and his followers trying to do what is good for the world and help people during troubled times.

Cinematographer Otello Martelli does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography from the naturalistic look of the daytime exterior scenes in the sun to the scenes set at night with its usage of artificial light for its interiors. Editor Jolanda Benvenuti does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward with some transition wipes for stylistic reasons. Production designer Virgilio Marchi and set decorator Giuseppe Rissone do fantastic work with the design of the hut that the monks live in as well as some of the interiors of the houses of some of the locals.

Costume designers Marina Arcangeli and Ditta Peruzzi does nice work with the costumes from the robes of St. Francis and his disciples to the clothes that the nuns wear as well as the locals. The sound work of Eraldo Giordani and Raffaele Del Monte do superb work with the sound as it is mostly straightforward to capture the natural aspects of the location. The film’s music by Renzo Rossellini, with liturgical music chants by Father Enrico Buondonno, is wonderful as its usage of organs and string instruments play into the drama while the music chants add a serene yet evocative quality to play into St. Francis’ plight.

The film’s incredible cast which largely consists of non-professional actors include some notable small roles from Brother Nazareno, Brother Raffaele, and Brother Robert Sorrentino as a trio of monks, Arabella Lemaitre as a visiting head nun in St. Claire, and Esposito Bonaventura as an old man named Giovanni who would be a follower of St. Francis. Aldo Fabrizi is excellent in a small role as a tyrant whom Brother Ginepro tries to reason with while Brother Severino Pisacane is brilliant as the young Brother Ginerpo as a young monk trying to whatever he can to help people as well as deal with humility. Finally, there’s Brother Nazario Gerardi in a tremendous performance as St. Francis of Assisi as a monk who travels around the world in the hopes to spread messages of peace, love, and generosity to the poorest parts of the world as he maintains his humility as well as being humble knowing that he’s just a servant of God.

Francesco, giullare di Dio is a sensational film from Roberto Rossellini. Featuring a rapturous story told through a series of segments as well as powerful themes on faith and humanity. The film is definitely one of Rossellini’s finest films as it has elements of neorealism but without a sense of cynicism. In the end, Francesco, giullare di Dio is a phenomenal film from Roberto Rossellini.

Roberto Rossellini Films: (La Vispa Teresa) - (Desiderio) - (Paisan) - (L’Amore-Il Miracolo) - Rome, Open City - (Germany, Year Zero) - Stromboli - (Medico Condotto) - (The Seven Deadly Sins-Envie, L’Envy) - Machine to Kill Bad People) - Europe '51 - (We, the Women-Ingrid Bergman) – Journey to Italy - Fear (1954 film) - (Giovanna d’Arco al rogo) - (General della Rovere) - (Escape by Night) - (Viva l’Italia!) - (Vanina Vanini) - (Benito Mussolini) - (Ro.Go.Pa.G.-Illbatezza) - (The Carabineers) - (Rice University) - (Anno uno)

© thevoid99 2017

And the Ship Sails On

Directed by Federico Fellini and screenplay by Fellini and Tonino Guerra with operatic texts by Andrea Zanzotto, And the Ship Sails On is the story of a group of aristocrats who board an ocean liner on the eve of World War I to scatter the ashes of a beloved diva. The film is a stylized portrait of a period of time just before the world is thrown into chaos where a group of people go on board on a ship to say goodbye. Starring Freddie Jones, Barbara Jefford, Victor Poletti, Peter Cellier, Elisa Mainardi, Norma West, Paolo Paolini, Pina Bausch, and Sarah Jane Varley. And the Ship Sails On is a majestic and grand film from Federico Fellini.

Set just days before World War I is to happen and on an ocean liner during a journey to the island of Erimo, the film revolves a large group of people consisting of opera singers, statesmen, artists, aristocrats, and a journalist all traveling from Naples to Erimo to say farewell to an operatic diva who had just passed away. It’s a film that follows a moment in time on an ocean liner as if it represents the end of an era where the journalist Orlando (Freddie Jones) is there to observe everything as well as be the film’s narrator. The film’s screenplay by Federico Fellini and Tonino Guerra doesn’t just explore the life of these rich and aristocratic individuals but also coping with loss as well as the fact that they’re sort of disconnected with reality. Especially as there’s a young duke (Fiorenzo Serra) onboard as he really has very little clue on what to do while many of the opera singers and performers are just mourning this diva they admire. Adding to the turbulent journey is a lovesick rhinoceros who hasn’t been bathed and Serbian refugees who later join the ship during the second half as it play into what is happening in the world outside of the ship.

Fellini’s direction definitely relies largely on style from the fact that it is shot entirely at Cinecitta Studios in Rome where it’s full of artificiality from the sea where it definitely looks plastic to the exterior backdrops which is also fake. It adds to the world that Fellini has created as the ship itself is a character where it also displays its sense of artificiality where it kind of represents this world of fine cuisine, posh rooms, and other rich things that is quite disconnected from the realities of the world. While the film opens with this rich sequence shot entirely in a sepia-like film stock with no sound to recreate the feel of newsreels and silent cinema. After a number of minutes, the film turns into color once the ashes of the diva arrives in this lavish carriage with all of the passengers boarding on the ocean-liner as Fellini’s usage of wide and medium shots are rich with detail. Even in the way he would place his actors into a frame for a wide shot and have them positioned in the shot to display how they’re reacting or what are they looking at on the ship.

The direction also has an air of melancholia and nostalgia that looms throughout the film as it is in display through some of the music which features a lot of classical and operatic pieces with some opera singers singing these pieces. One particular scene late in the film as it relates to the Serbian refugees who aren’t exactly welcomed by the other passengers has them observing the music the refugees are playing where it is clear that they have something in common to bond with regardless of class, social standing, and cultural differences. It does have this sense of what the world could be despite what is happening outside of the sea as that reality would come into play. Still, it has something that is offbeat in the way Fellini would tell the story as well as showcase what these people would do to keep their head high despite the inevitable of what their world would become. Overall, Fellini creates a whimsical yet evocative film about a voyage at sea for a deceased diva.

Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of grainy-sepia film stock for the opening sequence to the lavish usage of lights and colors for many of the scenes set on the ship to play into its different moods. Editor Ruggero Mastroianni does excellent work with the editing as it is very straightforward with very few stylish cuts as it play into the drama and some of the humor. Production designer Dante Ferretti, with set decorators Francesca Lo Schiavo and Massimo Tavazzi as well as art directors Maria-Teresa Barbasso, Nazzareno Piana, and Massimo Razzi, does incredible work with the design of the ship as well as the artificial look of the sea and rooms in the ship as it is a major highlight of the film.

The costumes of Maurizio Millenotti is fantastic for the look of the suits and dresses that the characters wear to play into their posh look and the contrast to the look of the Serbian refugees. Sound mixer Fausto Ancillai does terrific work with the sound as it is very straightforward to play into the atmosphere of the ship as well as how music is presented in some scenes. The film’s music by Gianfranco Plenizio is wonderful as it is mostly low-key in its orchestral setting where it is playful at times but also dramatic while much of the music soundtrack features an array of classical and operatic pieces that is mostly from Giuseppe Verdi with additional music from Franz Schubert, Claude Debussy, and Camile Saint-Saens.

The film’s marvelous cast include some notable small roles from Janet Zusman as the ghost and picture of the deceased opera singer Edmea Tetua, Philip Locke as a prime minister, Antonio Vezza as the ship’s captain, Maurice Barrier and Fred Williams in their respective roles as the opera singers Ziloev and Sabatino Lepori, Roberto Caporali and Franca Maresca as Dorotea’s parents, and Linda Polan as the opera diva Ines Ruffo Saltini. Pasquale Zito is superb as a young conductor whose room is a shrine to Tetua while Fiorenzo Serra is terrific as the young yet slightly-obese Grand Duke. Pina Bausch is fantastic as the Grand Duke’s blind older sister that is having an affair with the prime minister while Paolo Paolini is excellent as an artist who is a conductor and dancer. Sarah Jane Varley is radiant as Dorotea as a young woman who has this angelic look as she infatuates the journalist Orlando. Victor Poletti is brilliant as the opera performer Aurelio Fuciletto whose voice can do wonders as he shows it to a kitchen staff. Peter Cellier and Norma West are amazing as the couple Sir Reginald Dongby and his nymphomaniac wife Lady Violet as a couple that is just going through marital problems due to the former’s stuffy behavior.

Elisa Mainardi is remarkable as the opera singer Teresa Valegnani as a woman dealing with the loss of a friend in Tetua while Barbara Jefford is incredible as Ildebranda Cuffari as a rival opera singer trying to understand what made Tetua so great as she copes with the loss of someone she despises. Finally, there’s Freddie Jones in a tremendous performance as the journalist Orlando as a man who observes everything around him as well as be the narrator of sorts often talking to the camera as it’s a very witty and lively performance from Jones.

And the Ship Sails On is a spectacular film from Federico Fellini. Featuring a great ensemble cast, grand production values, an amazing music soundtrack, and a captivating theme on loss and dealing with the end of an era. It’s a film that explores a group of people who are saying goodbye as they also cope with a world that is changing into something much darker. In the end, And the Ship Sails On is a rapturous film from Federico Fellini.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) – The White Sheik - (L’amore in Citta-Un’agenzia martimoniale) – 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 (1976 film) - Orchestra Rehearsal – City of Women – Ginger and Fred – (Intervista) – (The Voice of the Moon)

© thevoid99 2017

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

Spirits of the Dead

Histoires extraordinaire (Spirits of the Dead) is an omnibus film from Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, and Roger Vadim that takes three different stories based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe. The three segments each explores the world of horror in many different ways as well as individuals who deal with their sins. The result is a truly fascinating and entertaining omnibus film from Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, and Roger Vadim on the works of Edgar Allen Poe.

Metzengerstein

Directed by Roger Vadim. Screenplay by Roger Vadim, Pascal Cousin, and Daniel Boulanger. Starring Jane Fonda and Peter Fonda. Cinematographer Claude Renoir. Editor Helene Plemiannikov. Production designer Jean Andre. Costume designer Jacques Fonteray. Music by Jean Prodromides.

The segment is about a countess who has inherited a renowned estate as she lives a life of debauchery and excess with no consequences. When she is rejected by her baron cousin who lives nearby, she seeks vengeance only to get a mysterious horse that she becomes attached to. It’s a piece that is filled with an array of beautiful imagery through Roger Vadim’s direction as well as sense of style in the way the clothes display that sense of decadence as well as the sense of guilt and melancholia that Countess Frederique Metzengerstein (Jane Fonda) would deal with over what she did to Baron Wilhem Berliftizing (Peter Fonda). Even as the mysterious horse in a tapestry the countess has might play into the fate that she would encounter with the horse she had just received where both Fonda siblings give fantastic performances where Jane speaks perfect French while Peter is more quiet as his lines are dubbed in French.

William Wilson

Directed by Louis Malle. Screenplay by Louis Malle, Clement Biddle Wood, and Daniel Boulanger. Starring Alain Delon and Brigitte Bardot. Cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli. Editors Franco Arcalli and Suzanne Baron. Production/costume designer Ghislain Uhry. Art director/costume designer Carlo Leva. Music by Diego Masson.

Louis Malle’s segment explores the life of a cruel young man (Alain Delon) who shares the same name of a doppelganger who would set the rights of what his counterpart has done. Yet, it has a narrative that is told in a reflective manner as Wilson confesses to a priest (Salvo Radone) about the rivalry he has with his doppelganger dating back to childhood where it would culminate in a game where Wilson tries to cheat a socialite named Giuseppina (Brigitte Bardot). It’s a very complex and eerie film about identity and such that features a brilliant Alain Delon that is complemented by Malle’s very intense and mesmerizing direction as well Bardot’s very charming and cool performance.

Toby Dammit

Directed by Federico Fellini. Screenplay by Federico Fellini and Bernardino Zapponi. Starring Terence Stamp. Cinematographer Giuseppe Rutunno. Editor Ruggero Mastroianni. Production/costume designer Piero Tosi. Art director Fabrizio Clerici. Visual effects by Joseph Nathanson. Music by Nino Rota.

The segment is about a washed-up Shakespearean actor who goes to Rome to accept an award and to star in a Catholic western as he starts to lose his mind following an encounter with a little girl who lost her ball. It’s a film that is filled with many of the visual traits of Federico Fellini as it’s all style where it’s playful but also gorgeous to look at thanks to Giuseppe Rutunno’s cinematography. The film also features a truly delightful score by Nino Rota that also features a truly magnificent sequence of the titular character driving all over Italy on a Ferrari as he’s played with such complexity by Terence Stamp who adds a melancholia and craziness to the character.

The film is about the sins and such of various individuals all told in very different places as the segments by Roger Vadim and Louis Malle are all period pieces that do play with Edgar Allen Poe’s story. In Metzengerstein, Vadim decided to make Poe’s story about a long-standing family feud be more complex as its protagonist would become a woman as she falls for her rival only to be upset by his rejection. In William Wilson, Malle sets his story in the 19th Century Austria where it plays into a man’s identity and the idea of a double where his double is man that is the exact opposite of the other man.

Both Vadim and Malle bring a sense of faithfulness to their respective stories yet it is Federico Fellini who does a whole lot more in his loose-adaptation of Never Bet the Devil Your Head where he sets in modern-day Italy as it’s all full of style to play up the troubled mind of an alcoholic actor as he’s doing interviews and attend a lavish party that has him realize how undeserving he is as he’s being paid a Ferrari to do a film. It’s Fellini’s segment that is the best of the three as well as one of his most outstanding works of his career.

Histoires extraordinaire is a marvelous omnibus film that chronicles the work of Edgar Allen Poe. Featuring some fantastic segments by Roger Vadim and Louis Malle that features excellent performances from Jane and Peter Fonda, Brigitte Bardot, and Alain Delon. The film also features a magnificent segment by Federico Fellini that is one of his great masterworks that includes an incredible performance by Terence Stamp. In the end, Histoires extraordinaire is a remarkable omnibus film from the trio of Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, and Roger Vadim.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) - The White Sheik - (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 - (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)

Louis Malle Films: (The Silent World) - (Elevator to the Gallows) - (The Lovers) - (Zazie dans la Metro) - (Vive le Tour) - (A Very Private Affair) - (The Fire Within) - (Viva Maria!) - (The Thief of Paris) - (Calcutta (1969 film)) - (Murmur of the Heart) - (Humain, trop humain) - (Lacombe, Lucien) - (Black Moon) - (Pretty Baby) - (Atlantic City (1980 film)) - (My Dinner with Andre) - (Crackers) - (Alamo Bay) - (God’s Country) - (And the Pursuit of Happiness) - (Au Revoir Le Enfants) - (May Fools) - (Damage) - (Vanya on 42nd Street)

Roger Vadim Films: (And God Created Woman) - (No Sun in Venice) - (The Night Heaven Fell) - (Les laisons dangereuses) - (Blood and Roses) - (Please, Not Now!) - (The Seven Deadly Sins) - (Love on a Pillow) - (Castle in Sweden) - (Vice and Virtue) - (Circle of Love) - (La Curee) - (Barbarella, Queen of the Galaxy) - (Pretty Maids All in a Row) - (Helle) - (Ciao! Manhattan) - (Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman) - (The Murdered Young Girl) - (Game of Seduction) - (Night Games) - (Hot Touch) - (Surprise Party) - (And God Created Woman (1988 film))

© thevoid99 2013

2012 Cannes Marathon: Rome, Open City

(Co-Winner of the Palme D’or at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival)

Directed by Roberto Rossellini, Roma, citta aperta (Rome, Open City) is the story of an Italian resistance fighter who is targeted by the Nazis during World War II. With an original screenplay written by Federico Fellini and Sergio Amidei from a story by Amidei and Alberto Consiglio. The film is considered to be one of the pillars of the Italian neorealist movement that would change the face of Italian cinema following World War II. Starring Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani, and Marcello Pagliero. Roma, citta aperta is a chilling yet suspenseful film from Roberto Rossellini.

In post-Fascist Italy where the Nazis have occupied Rome, a resistance fighter named Giorgio Manfredi (Marcello Pagliero) is on the run as he hides out various places to evade the Germans. Living next door to a woman named Pina (Anna Magnani, he asks her for the service of a local priest named Don Prieto Pellegrino (Aldo Fabrizi) who is also helping out the resistance in secrecy as he talks to Manfredi. While Manfredi decides to help the priest out in planning an upcoming wedding for Pina and her future husband Francesco (Francesco Grandjacquet). Yet, things become tense when Pina’s young son Marcello (Vito Annicchiarico) returns home to help pull some pranks on the Germans. On the day of Pina and Francesco’s wedding, things go wrong as the men try to leave while the women, children, and Don Prieto try to cover for them.

Instead, tragedy occurs as Manfredi and Francesco are forced to hide at the home of Manfredi’s girlfriend Marina (Maria Michi) who isn’t happy about Manfredi’s politics as he’s decided to flee to help out the resistance. With Don Prieto’s help, Manfredi and Francesco decide to flee only for Manfredi, Prieto, and an Austrian deserter (Aknos Tolay) get captured while Francesco was able to evade the Nazis. With Manfredi being the target so that they can get answers from him, a Nazi officer named Major Bergmann (Harry Feist) does everything he can to push Manfredi and Don Prieto to answer questions only to face defiance from the two different men who both share a common goal for Italy.

The film is a very loose story about a priest helping out a resistance fighter with the aid of a family during a tense period for Italy following the fall of Fascism and the Germans occupation of Rome. The screenplay by Sergio Amidei and Federico Fellini is a film where it’s about people trying to defy the Nazis without being seen and do things in secret. Yet, they have to live in this tense world where they have curfew and have their homes searched every now and then. They have young adolescent boys trying to do anything they can to fight back causing worry for the parents. All of this just adds to the suspense where it’s all about families, a few resistance fighters, and a priest trying to stick together. Meanwhile, there’s characters like Marina who feels neglected as she refuses to see the bigger picture of what Manfredi wants to do. It would later have repercussions for Manfredi as there’s those who are close to Mariana that have much more seedier intentions to capture him.

The direction of Roberto Rossellini adds to the chaos and tension that occurs in the film. Notably as it was shot in late 1944 after the Germans were forced out of Italy by the Allies in World War II. In order to achieve realism with this story, Rossellini chooses to shoot the film largely on location with non-professional actors to help tell the story. While there’s a lot of melodrama in the story, Rossellini chooses to keep the drama straightforward but also real such as the scene where the women are angry over seeing their husbands, brothers, and other men being captured. There’s something very engaging to that direction as well as a sense of terror that might occur.

The direction that is filled with very direct yet entrancing for the way the scenes in the church is shot or the intimate moments in the film involving the family hiding Manfredi. There’s also a lot of suspense in the scenes where both Manfredi and Don Prieto are interrogated. Rossellini just keeps the camera work and editing simple just so that these interrogations can find a way to build up some kind of momentum. Notably with Don Prieto’s interrogation where he is forced to watch torture to see if he’ll crack. What happens will unveil the kind of approach Rossellini will tell to achieve realism where a more conventional film would have something big happen. Instead, Rossellini strays from that to unveil what would really happen as the result is actually very heartbreaking as he creates a truly marvelous yet harrowing film.

Cinematographer Ubalto Arata does superb work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to display the sense of grit and terror for some of the film‘s daytime exteriors while the nighttime exteriors have a more eerie lighting to play up its chills while some of the interiors adds to the suspense that occurs in the film. Editor Eraldo Da Roma does excellent work with the film‘s stylized editing by utilizing rhythmic yet effective cuts to play up the suspense while using dissolves and wipes to smooth out the transitions. Art director Rosario Megna does terrific work with the set pieces created such as the interrogation room, the jail cells, and the bar that the German officers relax at.

The film’s cast is truly phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it includes noteworthy performances from Aknos Tolay as the Austrian deserter, Joop van Hulzen as the disillusioned Nazi officer Captain Hartmann, Carlo Sindici as a corrupt police commissioner, Eduardo Passarelli as a sympathetic police sergeant, Carla Rovere as Pina’s more outgoing sister Laura, Nando Bruno as Don Prieto’s friend Augusto, and Giovanna Galletti as Marina’s very shady boss Ingrid. Other memorable performances include Maria Michi as the lonely and materialistic Marina, Vito Annicchiarico as Pina’s young son Marcello, Harry Feist as the cruel Major Bergmann, and Francesco Grandjacquet as Pina’s soon-to-be husband Francesco who reluctantly helps Manfredi with the fight.

Marcello Pagliero is superb as the determined Manfredi who tries to evade the Nazis while helping people out as he also fights them any way he can. Anna Magnani is great as the very fierce Pina who tries to keep her son in check while making sure things stay low-key as it’s an intense performance from Magnani. Finally, there’s Aldo Fabrizi in an intense yet very understated performance as Don Prieto Pellegrini as Fabrizi maintains a sense of calm but also drive as a man just wanting to do what is right. Even as he has to go face-to-face against a Nazi officer about what is right and tells him that no one is above God as Fabrizi truly delivers that performance with a conviction that is ravishing to watch.

Romma, citta aperta is a mesmerizing yet haunting film from Roberto Rossellini that features outstanding performances from Aldo Fabrizi and Anna Magnani. For anyone that wants a primer in the world of Italian neorealist cinema will find this film as a nice place to start as well as worthy introduction to the works of Roberto Rossellini. It’s not an easy film to watch for the way it goes for realism but it is a very compelling one to display the chaos that was happening in German-occupied Rome. In the end, Romma, citta aperta is an engrossing but astonishing drama from Roberto Rossellini.

Roberto Rossellini Films: (La Vispa Teresa) - (Desiderio) - (Paisan) - (L’Amore-Il Miracolo) - (Germany Year Zero) - Stromboli - The Flowers of St. Francis - (Medico Condotto) - (The Seven Deadly Sins-Envie, L’Envy) - (Machine to Kill Bad People) - Europe ‘51 - (We, the Women-Ingrid Bergman) - Journey to Italy - Fear (1954 film) - (Giovanna d’Arco al rogo) - (General della Rovere) - (Escape by Night) - (Viva l’Italia!) - (Vanina Vanini) - (Benito Mussolini) - (Ro.Go.Pa.G.-Illbatezza) - (The Carabineers) - (Rice University) - (Anno uno)

© thevoid99 2012

Fellini's Casanova

Based on the biography of Giacomo Casanova, Fellini’s Casanova is the story about the infamous womanizer as his life is unraveled by a journey that becomes surreal as his life of sexual pleasure becomes troubled. Directed by Federico Fellini and adapted into script by Fellini and Bernardino Zapponi, the film is a different take on the Casanova story as it plays to Fellini’s world of extravagance and surreal imagery. Playing the role of Casanova is Canadian actor Donald Sutherland as the cast also includes Tina Aumont, Cicely Browne, and Daniel Emilfork. Fellini’s Casanova is a strange yet stylish film from Federico Fellini.

After bedding the lover (Margareth Clementti) of a French ambassador, Giacomo Casanova is arrested by authorities for heresy and being connected with black magic. Sent to jail, Casanova reminisces about his time when he was having an affair with a rich seamstress and her ailing servant Anna Maria (Clarissa Mary Roll) whom he adored. After escaping prison and eventually leaving his beloved Venice, Casanova seeks refuge in the court of Madam d’Ufre (Cicely Browne) of Paris. He offers his expertise in alchemy to help her transfer her soul to a younger body so she can be reborn as a man. After moving to another court in a man named Du Bois (Daniel Emilfork), he falls in love with Du Bois’ lover Henrietta (Tina Aumont). The two pledge love to each other until he is overcome with emotion at a party as she performed a cello piece and later disappears the morning after.

Fleeing to London, Casanova endures humiliating ordeals by the hands of two scheming women. During his suicide attempt, he encounters a mysterious woman (Sandra Elaine Harris) and two dwarves where he takes temporary refuge in the Frost fair near the Thames. Traveling all over Europe, Casanova arrives at Rome at the home of Lord Talou (John Karlsen) where he attends a crazed party as he’s forced to compete with a younger man on who can give the woman the most orgasms. Fleeing to Germany where he falls for a scientist named Isabella (Olimipia Carlisi), he hopes to have something with her. Instead, he is tricked into participating in an orgy that leaves him overwhelmed as he would later meet his estranged mother (Mary Marquet) at an opera as the two have a brief conversation.

Taking refuge at another court at another castle in Germany, Casanova deals with the lack of respect of young patrons as he romances a mechanical doll named Rosalba (Leda Lojodice). Later dealing with old age as time passes by, Casanova tries to find his place in the world as he becomes a librarian for count as he endures more acts of insults. Notably as he ponders about his old life in the place he once called home.

The film is about the life of Giacomo Casanova at a point where his days as this great lover is waning where he would face strange encounters with women he would make love to. Notably as he is traveling all over Europe after being banished from his beloved home of Venice. It’s a very loose take on the Casanova story where Fellini goes for this sort of episodic approach to follow Casanova’s travels. The one mainstay in Fellini’s story is the fact that he portrays Casanova as this melancholic man who knows that his days as a lover is waning. Throughout this journey, Casanova tries to use his knowledge on everything to gain respect but his known reputation as being this great lover would often undermine everything. Notably as Casanova is easily tempted to give in to these things.

Fellini’s direction is pretty much what is expected of him in terms of extravagance and indulgence. Yet, it is done with a vast degree of style and artificiality where he doesn’t care that the audience knows that the water in an early scene in the film is fake. That’s part of his genius as he opens this film with this amazing scene of a party where people attempt to raise a large statue head from the depths of the sea. It’s a scene that would set up Casanova’s fate for the journey he would take in the film. Shot largely in Cinecitta studios in Rome, Fellini creates a world where it plays to Casanova’s love of excess and decadence in the places and parties that he encounters.

Since the set pieces are meant to be these worlds where they aren’t real but rather surreal, it allows Fellini to follow Casanova embark in these strange places. Many of them turn out to be exciting though at times, there’s moments in the film where it does feel a bit laborious because there’s so much going on and a lot of repetition occurs. Yet, it is what Fellini is intending so that Casanova is forced to endure these moments of humiliation. With a lot of grand shots and compositions to get the audience be caught up in the world of Casanova, Fellini aims for something where he gets the audience at the center of these parties and moments. Despite a few sluggish spots as well as Fellini’s approach to having the story be more drawn out. It is still a very fun and engaging film from the Italian master.

Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno does a fantastic job with the film‘s colorful and rapturous cinematography that is filled with amazing nighttime shots of the opening party scene as well as the interiors for the parties that occur in the film. Editor Ruggero Mastroianni does a nice job with the editing by maintaining a sense of style towards the film‘s pacing by utilizing jump-cuts and other rhythmic shots for some of the energy of the party scenes. Art director/costume designer Danilo Donati does an incredible job with the creation of the set pieces for the film that includes the large statue in the opening sequence. Donati’s work in the costumes, with additional contribution from Fellini, definitely play up to the spectacle of the film as well as the artificiality that surrounds Casanova’s life

Makeup artist Rino Carboni and hair stylist Gabriella Borzelli do excellent work in the creation of the wigs worn by the many characters of the film including the make-up to emphasize the world that Casanova embarks in. The sound work of Oscar De Arcangelis is terrific for the atmosphere that occurs in the various interior location that occurs including the parties and Frost fair scene that Casanova is intrigued by. The film’s whimsical score by Nino Rota is a delight to listen to from the playful and dramatic orchestral pieces to the more electronic yet melodic-driven themes played whenever Casanova is having sex as it’s one of Rota’s more underrated scores.

The casting by Paola Roli is pretty good for the large ensemble that is created although there’s not a lot of performances that really stand out. Aside from a few minor performances from Mary Marquet as Casanova’s mother along with Daniel Emilfork and John Karlsen as a couple of counts. There’s only a few of Casanova’s lovers that really get a chance to shine such as Sandra Elaine Harris as the mysterious Angelina, Olimipia Carlisi as the eerie scientist Isabella, Clarissa Mary Roll as the sickly Anna Maria, and Cicely Browne as the aging yet daring Madam d’Ufre. The best of the lovers go to Tina Aumont as the talented yet secretive Henrietta and Leda Lojodice as the robotic Rosalba.

The film’s major highlight is the performance of Donald Sutherland. Although he is dubbed by another actor which is an unfortunate drawback. Sutherland is able to create a performance that is very interesting in the way he expresses his despair and endure them. Another key element of Sutherland’s performance is his physicality in the way he presents himself as if he is this great lover of Casanova. Through these humiliating ordeals, he continually tries to present himself as this larger than life character only to find himself become more human and flawed. It’s a remarkable performance for the legendary actor.

Fellini’s Casanova is a sensational and stellar film from Federico Fellini featuring a superb performance from Donald Sutherland. While it’s a film that is very flawed in its presentation, a heavily-drawn out narrative, and some dubbing issues. It is still a film that has a lot of ambition and amazing scenery that is quite inspiring that only Fellini can do best. In the end, Federico Fellini’s take on Casanova is an extraordinary yet extravagant film from the late yet legendary filmmaker.

Federico Fellini Films: (Variety Lights) - The White Sheik - I, Vitelloni - (L’amore in Citta-Un’agenzia matrimoniale) - La Strada - Il bidone - Nights of Cabiria - La Dolce Vita - (Boccaccio ‘70-Le tentazoni 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 - Orchestra Rehearsal - City of Women - And the Ship Sails On - Ginger and Fred - (Intervista) - (The Voice of the Moon)

© thevoid99 2012