Hello everyone!
There are some very interesting cinema-related events that will take place next week during Birkbeck Arts Week 2013.
Follow this link to take a look at the programme: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/arts/about-us/events/arts-week
All best,
Cristina
Dear All,
First of all, I would like to apologise for not being able to post something on Una giornata particolare last week. I’ve had some technical problems with the blog and did not manage to update the page.
I would also like to thank all the people who have attended our screenings this year. The regular meetings of the Italian Film Club will resume in October but I will also try to organise a couple of ‘special screenings’ during the third term.
I will keep you posted through the blog page.
See you soon!
Cristina
Hello everyone,
The next meeting of UCL’s Italian Film Club will take place this coming Thursday at 6pm with a screening of La Donna della Domenica (Luigi Comencini, 1975).
An architect with a shady reputation is found murdered in a hot and deserted summer Turin. By an extraordinary web of circumstances suspicion falls on Massimo, a member of Turin’s high society (Jean-Louis Trintignant), and Annacarla Dosio (Jacqueline Bisset), his woman friend, much to the embarrassment of the local police. The investigator, Inspector Santamaria (Marcello Mastroianni), matches the subtlety of the charmingly snobbish suspects, for whom a man of his type is a beguiling novelty, as they are for him.
Based on the delightful murder mystery by the same title by Fruttero & Lucentini, the film is rich and entertaining, with fully rounded and unforgettable characters. The visceral curiosity about who done it furnishes the suspense on the surface level. At the some time, however, the watcher is constantly delighted by the wit and charm with which the screenwriters and actors handle the inquiry. Two love stories, one escalating, the other disintegrating, are brought to beginning and end in the wake of the murder, generating their own suspense.
Please, note that the film will be in Italian with Italian subtitles.
Hope to see you there!
Marcello Mastroianni and Jean-Louis Trintignant
Hello everyone!
After a short break, the Italian Film Club at UCL is back for a new meeting.
On Thursday 31 January (at 6pm, Malet Place Eng 1.03) there will be a screening of Dino Risi’s Straziami ma di baci saziami (1968).
The romance between Marisa (Pamela Tiffin), a young factory worker, and Marino (Nino Manfredi), a barber, is stopped when her father opposes her relationship with the man. When rumors of an alleged fling between Marisa and another man during a pilgrimage to Assisi runs rampant in the small town, she leaves for Rome where she takes a job as an assistant to a deaf-mute tailor (Ugo Tognazzi) and eventually accepts his proposal of marriage. Desperate and destitute, Marino (who also moved to Rome to search for Marisa) attempts suicide and is hospitalized. His depression is cured though when he wins the lottery and starts attempting to reclaim his old love. Marisa and Marino rekindle their romance and plan the demise of her husband by planting a bomb in the stove…
The film cleverly parodies Italian photonovels and popular subculture. The events and the characters are over the top, Marisa and Marino communicate their love by quoting excerpts of famous pop songs and the dialogues are delightfully witty and full of amusing references. Dino Risi directs with levity one of the most successful Italian comedies of the late 1960s featuring brilliant performances by Nino Manfredi, Ugo Tognazzi and British actress Pamela Tiffin.
Hope to see you there!
Cristina
Pamela Tiffin and Nino Manfredi
Dear All,
Please, note that due to a personal commitment, the screening of Dino Risi’s Straziami ma di baci saziami has been moved to Thursday 31 January (instead of Thursday 24 January).
Time and venue will be the same.
See you this coming Thursday to watch Germi’s Signore e signori!
Cristina
Hello everyone and Happy New Year!
The Italian Film Club will resume its meetings on Thursday 10 January with a screening of Signore e Signori (Pietro Germi, 1966)
Pietro Germi’s funny anthology combines the standard sex comedy format with some unexpectedly subtle observations about village life. The film centers on three stories exposing the sexual secrets of the Italian town of Treviso. Toni Gasparini (Alberto Lionello) pretends to be impotent in order to wrangle an illicit affair with his doctor’s wife. Bank clerk Osvaldo Bisigato (Gastone Moschin) leaves his shrewish wife (Nora Ricci) to move in with his mistress Milena (Virna Lisi), a cafe cashier, but Treviso’s jealous husbands unite to cost the lovers their jobs and have them arrested. Meanwhile, most of the village’s men are busy seducing a promiscuous teenager (Patrizia Valturri), whose father eventually reveals that she is underage. Franco Fabrizi, Beba Loncar, and cult filmmaker Giulio Questi are among the cast, and Carlo Rustichelli provided the score. Signore e Signori won the Best Film award at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival. (©Robert Firsching, Rovi)
Please, note that the film will be in Italian with Italian subtitles only.
Virna Lisi
Hello everyone,
The Italian Film Club’s last meeting before the Christmas break is coming up with a screening of Io la conoscevo bene (Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965).
Revolving around the themes of loneliness and alienation, Pietrangeli’s sombre drama focuses on Adriana (Stefania Sandrelli), a naive countryside girl who dreams of a career as a star in Rome. In the big city she gets caught up in a series of affairs that are just for fun, only to become severely depressed when she desperately looks for a more meaningful relationship. The only men she finds sympathy with are a battered boxer (Mario Adorf) and a publicity agent (Nino Manfredi). Adriana’s dreams are crushed to the point of considering suicide as the only viable option.
Adriana is depicted as an extrovert girl who tries her best to socialize and befriend people but whose results are usually disappointing and frustrating. People either ignore her, use her or make fun of her. Nobody seems to be taking her seriously and indifference will ultimately ask for a price. The cast is made up of many famous Italian stars , each of them playing only small episodes. The soundtrack by Piero Piccioni accompanies Adriana’s descent into depression suggesting a young life broken before it has had the chance to blossom. Stefania Sandrelli offers one of the defining performances of her career and depicts Adriana in a mature and confident way.
Please, note that the film will be in Italian with Italian subtitles only.
Stefania Sandrelli
