Winner of both Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Foreign Film, Vittorio De Sica’s comic episode film is a brilliant showcase for Italy’s powerhouse screen couple Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.
Based on a true story, the first episode ‘Adelina’ tells of a Neapolitan woman (Loren) whose position as her family’s main breadwinner is put under threat after she falls foul of the authorities. When it’s brought to her attention that under current laws pregnant women cannot be jailed, she puts her unemployed husband (Mastroianni) to work in the bedroom.
The second episode ‘Anna’ takes us from the rough and ready backstreets of Naples to the elegant environs of the Milanese bourgeoisie. Loren plays the wife of a rich industrialist who’s having an affair but faces a difficult choice between her lover (Mastroianni) and her precious Rolls Royce.
The third and final episode ‘Mara’ sees Loren play a Roman sex worker who casts an irresistible spell on the grandson of an elderly neighbour. This episode includes a memorable striptease sequence which Loren’s character performs for one of her clients (Mastroianni). Loren and Mastroianni would recreate the scene more than 30 years later, in Robert Altman’s Prêt-à-Porter (1994).
De Sica’s film was shot by Giuseppe Rotunno, one of the Italian masters of widescreen who was equally adept at large-scale epics and intimate chamber pieces, black and white and colour. His filmography spanned long collaborations with Fellini and Luchino Visconti as well as US filmmakers such as Robert Altman and Mike Nichols.
This screening will begin with a short introduction from Dr. Pasquale Iannone, lecturer in film studies, critic and broadcaster.
- DIRECTOR: Vittorio De Sica
- CAST: Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Giuffrè, Agostino Salvietti, Lino Mattera, Tecla Scarano, Silvia Monelli, Carlo Croccolo
- YEAR: 1963
- COUNTRY: Italy/France
- PROJECTION FORMAT: Digital
- DURATION: 119 mins
