Celebrate Ferragosto with 70 Years of Italian Cinema

"Under the Riccione Sun"

Many of us are missing our annual trips to Italy this year. During this time of COVID and quarantine, I’ve explored decades of Italian cinema that I had never delved into before.

When I started writing for Fra Noi Magazine many moons ago and then starting this blog, my mission was to focus on contemporary Italian cinema, hence the name Italian Cinema Today. With a few exceptions, one glance at the sidebar of interviews and profiles, you’ll see that I’ve been pretty true to that original vision. This year, however, has been different. With a lot more time on my hands and the centennial years of three greats—Federico Fellini, Alberto Sordi and Franca Valeri—I’ve been watching the cinema of their generation, which has brought me back to the 1950s and ‘60s. It’s been a unique experience that has made me nostalgic and sad at times, knowing that so many of those larger-than-life filmmakers are no longer with us. Above all, though, I am grateful for having discovered these wonderful films, even if I am pretty late to the game.

"A Sunday in August"

During these months, I’ve watched endless hours of old footage and have concluded that Sordi and Fellini gave exceptional interviews. Fellini started out as a journalist, so he knew what it was like being on the other side asking questions, and I believe having that perspective gave him some extra patience and empathy. I’ve found Sordi to be the same–very patient and articulate when talking to journalists. What a dream to interview those two.

So, my annual Ferragosto post is a little longer this year because I’ve discovered some real gems as well as a brand new series that came to Netflix just last month. So take a break from reality and lose yourself in these films, visiting Italian beaches from the North to the South with beautiful people and sights.

Luciano Emmer’s 1950 “La domenica d'agosto” (A Sunday in August) has become one of my favorite Marcello Mastroianni works. The film follows four different stories all tied to an Ostia beach on a sweltering Sunday in August.

Antonio Pietrangeli’s 1957 “Souvenir D'Italie” (It Happened in Rome) follows three young women as they hitchhike from northern Italy to the Eternal City. Each finds romance with handsome suitors played by the likes of Sordi, Vittorio De Sica, Massimo Girotti and Antonio Cifariello. Sordi is hilarious in the role of Sergio Battistini, the boy toy of a wealthy older woman.

Vittorio Sala’s 1959 “Costa Azzurra” (Wildcats on the Beach) follows a few storylines, including Alberto (Sordi) as he accompanies his wife Giovanna (Giovanna Ralli) to the French Riviera for a movie audition and unexpectedly ends up being called back for a role. Sordi is comedy gold and his Roman accent and mannerisms are laugh-out-loud funny. If you are easily offended, though, skip this one. There is political incorrectness galore. If you keep in mind that it was made 60 years ago, it'll be easier to appreciate the humor.

Dino Risi's 1962 "Il Sorpasso" (The Easy Life) is the complex and tragic story of two acquaintances who leave the vacant streets of Rome on Ferragosto and head to the sea. Vittorio Gassman is young and charming as a carefree and careless wise guy. Click here to stream it on iTunes.

Gianni Di Gregorio's 2009 contemporary classic "Mid-August Lunch" is the hilarious story of a middle-aged man who lives with his elderly mother. As the traditional Italian holiday weekend of August 15 approaches, his landlord, friend and doctor persuade him to let their elderly relatives stay with him in return for favors. Click here to stream it for free on Tubi.

The newly released Italian comedy series "Under the Riccione Sun" became available on Netflix in July. Directed by Antonio Usbergo and Niccolo Celaia, the series follows the adventures of a group of teenagers vacationing on the northern Italian seaside. Click here to stream it.

Buon Ferragosto, enjoy!

Comments

Ornella Muti: Five decades of Acting and Still Going Strong

Ornella Muti was born Francesca Romana Rivelli in Rome in 1955 to a Neapolitan father and an Estonian mother. She began her career as a model during her teenage years and made her film debut in 1970 with “La Moglie più bella” (The Most Beautiful Wife). Her follow-up role was in the 1971 film, “Sole nella pelle” (Sun on the Skin), in which she played the daughter of wealthy parents who runs off with a hippie they don’t approve of. The film offers a telling journey through Italian society in the seventies, with its political climate, breathtaking seaside, and the styles and cars of that time. Much of the film is set amid the sunny Italian seaside and captures the innocence and beauty of first love. Muti made her American film debut in 1980 with "Flash Gordon." She played the role of Princess Aura. She’s appeared in two other American films, including “Oscar,” directed by John Landis and starring Don Ameche, Chazz Palminteri, and Sylvester Stallone. In 1992, she w...

The Anthology Film Archives Presents: The Italian Connection: Poliziotteschi and Other Italo-Crime Films of the 1960s and '70's

June 19 – June 29 Influenced both by 1960s political cinema and Italian crime novels, as well as by French noir and American cop movies like "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection," many Italian filmmakers in the late-60s and early-70s gradually moved away from the spaghetti western genre, trading lone cowboys for ‘bad’ cops and the rough frontier of the American west for the mean streets of modern Italy. Just as they had with their westerns, they reinvented the borrowed genre with their inimitable eye for style and filled their stories with the kidnappings, heists, vigilante justice, and brutal violence that suffused this turbulent moment in post-boom 1970s Italy. The undercurrent of fatalism and cynicism in these uncompromising movies is eerily reminiscent of the state of discontent in Italy today. ‘The Italian Connection’ showcases the diversity and innovation found in the genre, from the gangster noir of Fernando Di Leo’s "Caliber 9" ...

Model/Actress Anna Falchi

Anna Falchi was born Anna Kristiina Palomaki, on April 22, 1972, in Tampere, Finland. Her mother, Kaarina Palomaki Sisko, is Finnish, while her father, Benito "Tito" Falchi, is from Romagna, Italy. Growing up in Italy, Anna was a tomboy, and had a fervent imagination. She is known mostly for her prolific career in modelling. However, she tried her hand at acting and landed a role in one of my favorite Italian comedies, Nessun messaggio in segreteria . I consider it my one of my favorites because it brought together so many amazing, talented filmmakers during a time when they were all just starting out. Those filmmakers, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valerio Mastandrea, Luca Miniero and Paolo Genovese are now huge names in contemporary Italian cinema, so it's great to look back and see their work in a low-profile film completely different from the bigger-budget stardom they now know. Watch the trailer . Anna Falchi started her career as a...

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...

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann. Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog