Skip to main content

Interview: Carlo Verdone- Italian Cinema's Contemporary Maestro

Carlo Verdone is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to cinema. He began his career in television in the 1970s. With the guidance of legendary director Sergio Leone, Carlo Verdone made a smooth transition to the big screen. Since the success of his first film the 1980 "Un sacco bello," Verdone has been regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of our time. In recent years, he’s gone beyond the boundaries of acting to find further success in directing and screenwriting.  

Born in Rome on November 17, 1950, Carlo Verdone has stayed faithful to his Roman roots.  Many of his characters have embodied the everyday struggles of the typical Roman man trying to assimilate into the society of the modern woman. The irony portrayed in so many of his characters has led to comparisons with the great Alberto Sordi, although Verdone himself would beg to differ with those comparisons. In an effort to stay on top of the changing styles of Italian cinema, Verdone has reached out to other cultures by shooting some of his movies outside Italy, even if he usually stays faithful to portraying the modern Italian man facing society's current challenges. 

 Read about Stefano Natale, the inspiration behind Leo and Mimmo. 

I had the pleasure of speaking with Carlo Verdone a few years ago at the Open Roads: New Italian Cinema film festival in New York City. I found him to be gracious with a clear passion for cinema and melancholic affection for the great masters who impacted his career. 

How has your work evolved during your career as a filmmaker?
I’ve changed very much since the beginning of my career as a filmmaker. My first films were like explosions of acting, like sole acts. I gave a lot of focus especially to dialect, my Roman dialect. In moving forward, I decided to give less importance to this Roman dialect and more importance to something national and international. I directed the film "Maledetto il giorno che ti ho incontrato" (Damned the Day I Met You) in the Czech Republic, and I shot "Sono pazzo di Iris Blond" (I’m Crazy For the Iris Blond) with Claudia Gerini in Belgium. I decided to go outside my country to deprovincialize my films as much as I could. 

You’ve been called this generation's Alberto Sordi. How do you feel about that?
I don’t think it’s true. Sordi was a great actor. I was a spectator and a fan of his movies but he had a mask and the mask was unique, so you cannot imitate a mask. Sordi always interpreted one character; very Italian, cynical and funny but it was only Sordi. He also had the luck to work in a very important period- the end of the war, post-war and the economic boom. I worked in the '80s when the role of the man was in competition with the woman. Therefore, a lot of main characters had difficulties with female characters, not only with their mothers and sisters, but with all women. So, together with Massimo Troisi, I interpreted this situation where the male lost this kind of control or power with women. 

Tell me about your relationship with Sergio Leone.
Sergio Leone was my first producer. He saw me on a television show where I played a lot of different characters. He called me and said, I want to produce your film. Before we made the first film, I lived in his house for a year.  He was a wonderful teacher for me. He was like a padrino, a godfather. So, thanks to Sergio, I am here. 

What do you think of Italian cinema today?
I believe that we have several good screenwriters, actors and directors. The biggest difficulty with Italian cinema now is the difference in itself from television, which often has good quality but is invasive and also changes the style of cinema, for example, the reality shows and how quickly they change. This confuses the minds of new generations. It’s a very complex situation because the cinema is not as supported by the government as television. So, festivals such as the Open Roads in New York are extremely important for the future of our films. If it was not for the passion and dedication of the organizers of these festivals in promoting our films, it would be much harder for us.
 
For a thorough look into the evolution of Italian cinema, one should see the films of  Leone, whose Spaghetti Westerns shot Clint Eastwood to international fame during the mid '60s. Although they belong to different generations, the films of Sordi and Troisi reflect Verdone’s chosen genre of comedy where the middle class Italian man is hilariously overwhelmed with survival in contemporary life. The films are very indicative of Italy in the periods in which they were shot; the '60s through the '80s in particular. For more information about Carlo Verdone’s work, check out his official web site at www.carloverdone.com.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Anna Foglietta: Actress and Activist with Old School Elegance

One look at actress Anna Foglietta in her any of her roles, and the Golden Age of Italian cinema comes to mind. Among Italy’s most sought-after actresses today, Foglietta brings to the table a classic eloquence of yesterday while representing Italy’s modern woman. Born in Rome in 1979, Foglietta began her career in 2005 with a role in the RAI television series La squadra . Her character Agent Anna De Luca had a two-year run on the series as she was transitioning to cinema with Paolo Virzì’s 2006 ensemble project 4-4-2- Il gioco più bello del mondo . Since then, she has become one of Italy’s most diverse actresses, transforming herself into interesting, layered characters for comedies and dramas alike. Aside from a small part in Anton Corbijn’s 2010 film The American starring George Clooney, Foglietta’s work began reaching mainstream American audiences in 2015. As Elisa in Edoardo Leo’s 2015 comedy Noi e la Giulia , Foglietta showed her funny side playing a goofball pregn

The Life and Work of Monica Bellucci

Monica Bellucci as Malèna Born in Umbria in 1964, Monica Bellucci is one of the most recognizable faces of international cinema. But she didn't always have her sights set on the spotlight. She went to college to study law and modeled to pay her tuition. Her success in the fashion world coupled with the offers that were pouring in to appear on the big screen eventually took over, changing her fate. Bellucci made her on-screen debut in the 1990 television movie, " Vita coi figli." Just two years later, she scored her first American role in Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula."   In addition to her native language, she speaks fluent English and French, which has made for a smooth transition from Italian to international cinema. Stateside, she has acted in blockbusters such as "The Matrix-Reloaded,"     " The Passion of the Christ" and " The Sorcerer's Apprentice." She has also appeared in several French films, a

Pasolini's Playground of Roman Ruins

Anna Magnani in a scene from "Mamma Roma" Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1962 “Mamma Roma” starring Anna Magnani , follows the title character, a Roman prostitute determined to change her life and give her son the opportunities she never had. She seizes the opportunity to leave her life on the streets behind when her pimp (Franco Citti) gets married and frees her from his possession. Mamma then goes to the small provincial town of Guidonia to fetch her son, Ettore (Ettore Garofolo), and bring him to Rome to embark on their new life together. She buys a pushcart, finds an apartment in a nice neighborhood, and uses her connections to secure him a job in a restaurant. However, Ettore gets mixed up with boys who are petty thieves and is negatively influenced by them. At the same time, Mamma Roma’s pimp resurfaces and sends her back to the streets. When Ettore learns about his mother’s prostitution, he goes astray and wholeheartedly joins in on the petty crimes of the boys. One day, while

Stefano Natale- the Charismatic Muse behind Carlo Verdone's Iconic Characters

The beauty of Italian cinema lies in the diversity of its genres and styles. Although the ’80s have received its share of criticism for its less-than-profound output, it was the decade in which contemporary maestro Carlo Verdone emerged as a creative young director and actor. The characters he brought to life during those years became permanent fixtures in Roman pop culture. Films like “Un sacco bello,” “Bianco, rosso e Verdone,” and “Borotalco” gave birth to the iconic Mimmo, Leo and Sora Lella.   Enter Stefano Natale, the real-life muse behind Leo and Mimmo. Natale was the subject of a documentary presented at the 2015 Festa del Cinema in Rome. One of four protagonists in Luca Ferrari’s “Showbiz,” he is a soft-spoken gentle giant who recalls his life with Verdone and the creation of his characters in a nostalgic, affectionate manner. “Verdone and I grew up together in the same building near Ponte Sisto,” Natale recalls. “Our grandmothers were cousins, and for 30 years we saw each o

Nicoletta Braschi and Roberto Benigni.. What cinema dreams are made of

The Toronto International Film Festival is wrapping up its retrospective of the cinematic collaboration of husband and wife team, Nicoletta Braschi and Roberto Benigni. Over the last few days, the couple have participated in discussions, Q & A sessions and have introduced several of their films. Today, I attended a screening of "La voce della luna" (The voice of the moon). It was  Federico Fellini's last film and is a wonderful tribute to the director's signature poetic madness. The film gave Benigni the opportunity to team up with fellow beloved comic, Paolo Villaggio, and the two created a truly unforgettable adventure. Today's screening began with an introduction by Benigni. The moments leading up to his introduction were noticeably serious and somewhat tense. Benigni's publicist and TIFF security staunchly guarded his privacy. There was no interaction and no photos were allowed. Guided by his entourage, he walked quickly from the Green Room to th