Honorary Award non-recipient Marlene Dietrich. Honorary Award: Academy ‘snubbed’ Gloria Swanson & Rita Hayworth + Marlene Dietrich & dozens of other women (See previous post: “Honorary Oscars: Doris Day &…
Senso with Alida Valli and Farley Granger. Critical consensus regards Luchino Visconti’s Senso as a radical departure, a sign of the director’s shift in focus from the gritty world of downtrodden…
Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori, Vittorio Gassman in Mauro Monicelli’s Big Deal on Madonna Street. Mario Monicelli, the (co)writer-director of Italian cinema classics such as I soliti ignoti / Big Deal on…
Suso Cecchi D’Amico, the only top female screenwriter in the post-World War II Italian cinema, died today in Rome. She had turned 96 on July 14. According to reports, no…
Francesco Rosi political drama Salvatore Giuliano. This year’s Berlin Film Festival will present the Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement to the unabashedly political Italian filmmaker Francesco Rosi, 85, on Feb.…
Anna Magnani in Bellissima. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (website) began a mini Anna Magnani retrospective, Mamma Roma: The Films of Anna Magnani, on Friday, Nov. 3. Twelve…
Luchino Visconti’s White Nights has the look – but not the feel – of a Hollywood production. Great cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Maria Schell and Jean Marais.
Gianni Amelio’s acclaimed father-son drama was the Italian film journalists’ top Nastri d’Argento winner. Pedro Almodóvar and veteran Mario Monicelli were also honored.
Claudia Cardinale: Screen legend at Cannes Film Festival. Claudia Cardinale: The Leopard premiere at Cannes Claudia Cardinale arrives at the premiere of the new restoration of Luchino Visconti’s 1963 Palme…
Silvio Berlusconi attack: The Caiman with Silvio Orlando. The Caiman / Il Caimano, described by the Roman daily La Repubblica as a “dark portrait of Berlusconian Italy,” won four of the…