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Review: “Water and Sugar: Carlo Di Palma, The Colours of Life"

The 2016 documentary, “Water and Sugar: Carlo Di Palma, The Colours of Life” is a portrait of an artist told through memory, sincere admiration, and respect. Directed by Kurdish-Iranian filmmaker Fariborz Kamkari, the film pays homage to Carlo Di Palma , one of Italy’s most influential and beloved cinematographers, whose work helped define photography in both European art cinema and American independent filmmaking. The documentary is deeply moving and thought provoking because rather than following a traditional style of biography, the story unfolds gently, almost conversationally, the viewer hears from the collaborators, friends and family that shaped Di Palma’s life and work. Kamkari structures the film around interviews with those who knew Di Palma best: directors, collaborators, friends, journalists, and, most poignantly, his wife, Adriana Chiesa Di Palma, who travels the world revisiting the landscapes of his career. Her conversations are unhurried, allowing reflections to emerge ...
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Federico Fellini brings Edgar Allen Poe tale to life in "Toby Dammit"

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...
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Ettore Scola explores enduring friendships and lost ideals in 'C’eravamo tanto amati'

A scene from "C'eravamo tanti amati" Mixing both tragedy and humor, Ettore Scola ’s 1974 film “C’eravamo tanto amati” (“We All Loved Each Other So Much”) follows 30 years in the lives of three men and the woman they each adore. By examining how his generation changed after the war, Scola makes a film that reflects its era. Scola explores the moral, political and emotional evolution of Italy’s postwar generation and, in doing so, creates a film that is a chronicle of its time and a love letter to cinema. The story begins in the aftermath of World War II. Three friends — Antonio ( Nino Manfredi ), Gianni (Vittorio Gassman) and Nicola (Stefano Satta Flores) — emerge from the Italian Resistance with a shared dream of justice, equality and social renewal. They are united by their hope that the sacrifices of war will lead to a better world. But the decades that follow prove to be challenging as Italy undergoes massive social changes, from the postwar economic boom to the politi...
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A Cardinale and Tognazzi Classic

Claudia Cardinale in a scene from   “Il magnifico cornuto” The world said goodbye to one of the last greats of Italy’s Golden Age of cinema and the commedia all’italiana genre when legendary actress Claudia Cardinale passed away in September at 87. She appeared in dozens of films throughout her career, which spanned six decades, and she worked with the likes of Federico Fellini , Luchino Visconti and Sergio Leone on iconic projects that have stood the test of time.  One of her greatest talents was comedy, and one of her best comedic performances was in Antonio Pietrangeli’s 1964 film “Il magnifico cornuto” (“The Magnificent Cuckold”), in which she plays a beautiful young wife married to a wildly jealous older man. The story centers on Andrea (played by Ugo Tognazzi ), a charming but often foolish man who unwittingly becomes tangled in a web of romantic and social misunderstandings created by his own deceit.   The couple is happily married until one evening, when And...
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Nostalgia and landscape blend in Delpero's award-winning 'Vermiglio'

A scene from "Vermiglio" (Photo:  Cinecittà) Inspired by childhood nostalgia and memories of her father, Maura Delpero’s “Vermiglio” is a heartfelt story of one family’s experience during the final days of World War II. Awarded the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the 2024 Venice Film Festival where it premiered, the film is set in the picturesque Alpine mountain village of Vermiglio during the mid-1940s. It follows a schoolmaster’s family of 10 as they navigate life on the bare essentials while grappling with the consequences after a Sicilian soldier, played by Giuseppe De Domenico, deserts the army and seeks refuge with them. The soldier’s romance with the family’s eldest daughter, Lucia, portrayed by Martina Scrinzi, unfolds against the backdrop of a provincial family caught in the traditions of a fading era.   The film begins with an intimate portrayal of the Graziadei family as they wake up to the cold light of the wintertime sun. The scene opens with three sisters sleepi...
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Iconic scenes from 'Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina' highlight Italy's North-South divide

If you’re in the mood for a quintessential old-school Italian comedy, look no further than “Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina.” Directed in the mid-1950s by Camillo Mastrocinque, the film has stood the test of time. Starring two of Italy’s most beloved comic actors, Totò (Antonio De Curtis) and Peppino De Filippo, it is widely regarded as one of the country’s most iconic comedies, showcasing mid-century Neapolitan humor. The film also features a young Nino Manfredi at the beginning of his prolific six-decade career. “Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina” is the story of two simple, old-fashioned brothers from Naples, Antonio and Peppino Caponi (Totò and De Filippo respectively), who embark on a trip up north to check on their young nephew Gianni. Gianni has moved to Milan and fallen for a seductive nightclub dancer named Marisa (Maria Luisa Mangini, aka Dorian Gray), whom they refer to as a “malafemmina,” meaning a “bad woman” or femme fatale. Believing she is corrupting him, Totò and Peppino ...
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Gianfranco Rosi to premiere 'Sotto le nuvole' at Venice Film Fest, exploring Naples' history

Documentary filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi will premiere his much-anticipated latest film at the upcoming 82nd Venice International Film Festival , which runs August 27 - Sept. 6. "Sotto le nuvole" (Below the Clouds)  takes a deep dive into the rich history and culture of Naples and the area surrounding Mount Vesuvius. There has not been much information revealed but so far, we know that the film will focus on themes similar to those explored by Rosi in his previous works, such as the examination of Roman culture in "Sacro GRA" (2013) and Lampedusa's refugee crisis in "Fuocoammare" (2016).  The film's synopsis reads, “The land around Vesuvius is a vast palimpsest. On the surface, underground and even beneath the sea of the modern city of Naples and its surroundings, the memory of history is etched into tunnels, walls and fissures, the remains of women, children and men — statues, buried cities. Only thin layers separate contemporary and ancient life, an...
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