Dustin Hoffman and Stefania Sandrelli Star in Pietro Germi's 'Alfredo, Alfredo'

Browsing Amazon, I stumbled upon a rare find- Pietro Germi's 1972 film Alfredo, Alfredo starring Dustin Hoffman and Stefania Sandrelli.

The film stars a very young and handsome Dustin Hoffman and equally stunning Stefania Sandrelli. Hoffman is Alfredo Sbisà, a down-to-earth, shy guy who falls in love with the beautiful Maria Rosa (Stefania Sandrelli). The film begins with Alfredo (Dustin Hoffman) and (Stefania Sandrelli) as they meet with a lawyer to finalize their divorce. As Alfredo contemplates the spell that Stefania has cast on him, he tells their story through a sequence of flashbacks beginning on the fateful night they met.

Little by little, Maria Rosa reveals her controlling, jealous tendencies, which Alfredo believes marriage will solve. But after the two marry, life gets more chaotic and ultimately becomes unbearable. During a rare night out with his best friend, Alfredo meets Carolina (Carla Gravina), the polar opposite of Maria Rosa. They fall in love and suddenly, Alfredo finds himself the leader in the movement to make divorce legal in Italy. Although the film is a comedy, the story is complex and tackles real-life issues of personality disorders and emotional abuse. It’s not a very well-known movie, but an example of the masterful storytelling by Germi’s generation of iconic filmmakers. The film won a David Di Donatello for Best Film and scored Hoffman Honorary Citizenship in the town of Ascoli Piceno, located in the central region of Marche, where it was shot.

Italy's affection for Hoffman has continued through the years with invitations to appear on several television shows including the annual music festival in San Remo. Click here to check out a clip of Hoffman and Fiorello.

Hoffman was recently in Rome shooting Donato Carrisi's L'uomo del labirinto (Into the Labyrinth) at Cinecittà opposite actor Toni Servillo. The film is expected to be released later this year. Click here for more information.

Alfredo, Alfredo is not available to stream as of now, but the DVD is available on Amazon. Click here to purchase the DVD. There is currently an English-dubbed version available on YouTube. I'm usually in favor of purchasing films but since this is such a rarity, I will share it.

Follow this link to watch the film on YouTube...

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