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Showing posts from June, 2019

A Conversation with Francesco Grillo: Italy's Newest Rising Star

The practice of using non-professional actors is nothing new in Italian cinema or even world cinema for that matter. Perhaps the first known Italian filmmaker to cast her fellow towns people was Neapolitan actress and producer Francesca Bertini with her 1915 silent film Assunta Spina . Of course, Vittorio De Sica made it famous with his neorealist epics, Umberto D . and The Bicycle Thieves . Contemporary directors have embraced the century-old tradition in numerous films over the years, including Matteo Garrone’s 2008 Gomorrah , Francesco Munzi’s 2015 Anime nere , and Jonas Carpignano’s 2017 A Ciambra, just to name a few. Those films went on to be huge international successes. The latest to follow suit is Mimmo Calopresti’s A spromonte - La terra degli ultimi , which will premiere as a Special Event at the Taormina Film Festival in July. Adapted from Pietro Ciriaco’s book, Via dall'Aspromonte , the story sheds light on southern Italy’s severely depressed economy and remoten

Tribute to Franco Gasparri at the Casa del Cinema - Rome

A photo exhibit dedicated to actor Franco Gasparri, a heartthrob of the 1970s, is underway at the Casa del Cinema in Rome. The exhibit opened in May with a documentary by his daughter Stella, a tireless promoter of her father's work. The exhibit consists of 150 photos chosen by the actor's family. Born on Halloween 1948, Gasparri began his film career as a teenager in the early sixties taking on small parts and supporting roles. He appeared in films of the Italian Peplum genre such as "Goliath against the Giants" (1961), "Sansone" (1961) and "The Fury of Hercules" (1962). A symbol of masculine perfection, he was known for his trademark male tresses, Greek God-like profile and green eyes. He enjoyed widespread popularity as an actor during the launch of fotoromanzi, a form of comicstrip storytelling that uses photographs rather than illustrations for the images. Gasparri rose to cinematic stardom in the mid-seventies with a police-themed

Fabrizio Corallo's Insightful Documentaries on Two Cinema Icons

Journalist-turned-filmmaker Fabrizio Corallo was hand chosen by the family of Vittorio Gassman to make his latest documentary Sono Gassman! Vittorio King of Comedy. The film, which   Corallo just presented at Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, is a followup to his acclaimed documentary on one of Gassman's frequent collaborators, Dino Risi. The pair made 15 films together. With Fabrizio Corallo at the MAXXI Museo, Rome I spoke with Corallo while he was in New York. He talked so enthusiastically about both of his works, explaining that he was a journalist in Rome long before he became a filmmaker. So, he had personal knowledge and insight into the psyche of each of these giants of Italian cinema. When speaking about Gassman, I could hear the pride in his voice when he talked about the family's desire to have him direct the documentary. He didn't hesitate to take on the project. All he had to do was look inside himself for the essence of the film. "I was lucky to

Pietro Germi and Criterion Channel's Treasure Trove of Cinematic History

I just got around to subscribing to the Criterion Channel tonight and I saw the most fascinating documentary about actor/director Pietro Germi with a beautiful clip of actress Franca Bettoja talking about her husband Ugo Tognazzi.  Bettoja  is Maria Sole and Gian Marco Tognazzi’s mother. She described Ugo when he would work on a film that Pietro Germi was directing. “I saw Ugo for the first time in " L'immorale" (The Climax) . He was always extremely disciplined and professional. Maybe he didn’t know everything but he had a good memory, so he never used to study the script at home. He’d read it and then go to it. I remember that when he had to be on Pietro’s set, he was like a schoolboy. Woe to any driver that would show up late! He was very careful. They both were. Ugo and Pietro respected each other but it was more than that.”  RenĂ©e Longarini and Ugo Tognazzi in Pietro Germi’s " L'immorale" (The Climax) The documentary is a treasure trove o