Italian Cinema Today

Terrance Stamp in a scene from Fellini's "Toby Dammit" Long before he portrayed General Zod in the first two “Superman” movies, English actor Terence Stamp lived in Italy and collaborated with some of the country's most renowned filmmakers, including Federico Fellini , Silvana Mangano , Monica Vitti and Pier Paolo Pasolini . The actor died in August at age 87, so to pay homage to his  extraordinary six-decade-long career, we are spotlighting his collaboration with Fellini on a short film that served as the final segment in a three-part film inspired by Edgar Allen Poe tales. Loosely adapted from Poe’s story “Never Bet the Devil Your Head,” Fellini’s contribution to the 1968 “Spirits of the Dead” is notable for being as close to a horror film as Fellini ever created. A 40-minute frenzy of celebrity, decadence and damnation, his “Toby Dammit” appears along with contributions by Louis Malle and Roger Vadim, and stands out as the film’s most imaginative, unsettling and i...

Photo Courtesy of Archivio Luce-Cinecitt à A retrospective dedicated to the films of Italian cinema icon Monica Vitti will be held from June 6 to June 19 at Lincoln Center in New York City.  The 14-film series, titled "Monica Vitti: La Modernista," is presented by Film at Lincoln Center and Cinecittà and marks the first North American retrospective celebrating Vitti's 35-year career. "We are pleased to partner with Cinecittà to celebrate one of Italy's most revered actresses," said Film at Lincoln Center Vice President of Programming Florence Almozini. "It is a privilege to present decades' worth of films from Monica Vitti's illustrious and prolific career, especially with many restored versions of her legendary works." Monica Vitti, a key figure in film history, began her career in the mid-1950s and quickly became a captivating presence on screen. Her collaboration with director Michelangelo Antonioni produced memorable films in the 196...

Whether she’s playing a devoted mother, a biblical figure or a tough but kind hotel manager, Sabrina Impacciatore escapes into the lives and minds of her characters so completely that she often believes she has become them. Impacciatore had wanted to be an actor since she was just 4 years old, but she grew up insecure about her looks and abilities so she pursued a degree in marketing and advertising instead. Unable to shake her childhood dream, she took up acting as a hobby, which led her to write for television. When she presented one of her scripts, she was asked to audition for it. Setting aside her fears, she gave it a shot, landing that role and many others to follow. Her sense of humor made her a natural for TV comedies. Legendary director Ettore Scola cast her in her first feature film, opposite Gérard Depardieu, in the 2000 drama “Concorrenza sleale” (Unfair Competition). Her emotionally charged breakout performance came a year later as Livia in Gabriele Muccino’s internationa...

The Criterion Channel is not only a great resource for streaming classic films but also offers in-depth essays written by cinema scholars. The essays offer analysis of classic films, examining their political and social themes as well as the relationships between iconic directors and their protagonists. Criterion recently released a restored version of Francesco Rosi's 1979 film "Christ Stopped at Eboli" and marked the occasion with a compelling essay by about author Carlo Levi and the film’s political themes. Other interesting essays include “Fellini Satyricon: Not Just Friends,” “L’eclisse: Antonioni and Vitti” and “Seeing Clearly Through Tears: On the Smart Sentiment of Umberto D.” just to name a few.  In one recent essay, "Primary Sources," filmmaker Michael Almereyda sheds light on Federico Fellini's 1948 collaboration with Roberto Rossellini, "The Miracle." Fellini stars in the short along with Anna Magnani. Almereyda writes, "Among ...

′′They will always judge you, whether you behave well or if you behave badly. So screw it and live as you want but above all don't listen to anyone.′′  - Alberto Sordi By giving his fellow Italians something to laugh about during tumultuous times, he emerged as his generation’s King of Comedy. One of Italy’s best-loved personalities, Alberto Sordi played a pivotal role in Italian cinema from the end of World War II to the postwar economic boom of the 1950s. During those tumultuous years, he gave his countrymen a hearty laugh when they might have otherwise cried. Former Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi perhaps said it best: “Alberto Sordi interpreted the feelings of Italians, especially in their most difficult and tough moments.” Born in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome in 1920, Sordi grew up in a creative household. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father, a professional musician for the Rome Opera House. A young Sordi joined the children’s choir o...

L'Avventura Today kicks off the first complete retrospective in New York in more than a decade dedicated to the work of filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni. Presented with Luce Cinecittà, Rome, and featuring nearly 40 35mm prints and digital preservations, the lineup includes the renowned trilogy of L’Avventura , L’Eclisse and La Notte  starring Monica Vitti as well as a diverse collection of films spanning his varied four-decade career. Antonioni made a career out of mesmerizing audiences with his films of complicated relationships that raise questions but leave many of the answers to the viewer. In a 1969 interview with American film critic Roger Ebert, Antonioni described his shooting as a constant departure from the script. “I may film scenes I had no intention of filming; things suggest themselves on location, and we improvise. I try not to think about it too much. Then, in the cutting room, I take the film and start to put it together, and only then do I begin to get a...

Update February 5, 2022: Italian cinema lost one of its most iconic stars. On February 2, Monica Vitti passed away at the age of 90. She suffered from dementia and hadn’t made a public appearance in nearly 20 years. Born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli in Rome on November 3, 1931, Monica Vitti pursued acting as a teenager. She started in amateur theater before her formal training at Rome's National Academy of Dramatic Arts. Shortly after graduating in 1953, she toured Germany with an Italian acting troupe and then returned to her hometown to appear onstage in a production of Niccolò Machiavelli's "La Mandragola." Her first major film role was in Mario Amendola's 1958 "Le dritte."  Her breakout role came just two years later in Michelangelo Antonioni's "L'Avventura" as the beautiful and aloof Claudia. She and the director were involved romantically, so she invested much of herself in the project, accompanying Antonioni on his difficult locatio...