Italian

  • Luigi Comencini – La valigia dei sogni AKA The Suitcase Of Dreams (1953)

    Documentary1951-1960ComedyItalyLuigi Comencini

    In the movie La valigia dei sogni (The Suitcase of Dreams, Italy, 1953) directed by Luigi Comencini, some sequences from Cenere are inserted. The protagonist is a former silent film actor who has saved old movies of his time from destruction, and uses them to set up recreational performances at schools. After an accidental fire and the risk of prison, he meets a rich producer who helps him to build a film museum.Read More »

  • Andrea Bianchi – Malabimba (1979)

    1971-1980Andrea BianchiEroticaHorrorItaly

    Quote:
    This movie works for two reasons. The first is the director Andreas Bianchi who, though far less prolific, was a lot like Spanish auteur Jesus Franco in his ability to take irredeemably sleazy material like this and make it somehow oddly watchable. Bianchi’s work includes “What the Peeper Saw” which offered the unusual pairing of Swedish sex kitten Britt Ekland and the kid from “Oliver”, scuzzy giallo favorite “Strip Nude for Your Killer” where the usually classy Edwige Fenech simulated both oral and anal sex (not surprisingly, it’s the only recent DVD release she hasn’t provided any commentary for), and his follow-up to this film “Burial Ground” again with Giordano who this time gets her latex nipple bitten off by a strange-looking dwarf who is supposed to be her zombified son.Read More »

  • Dario Argento – La sindrome di Stendhal AKA The Stendhal Syndrome (1996) (HD)

    1991-2000Dario ArgentoGialloHorrorItaly

    Quote:
    A young policewoman slowly goes insane while tracking down an elusive serial rapist/killer through Italy when she herself becomes a victim of the brutal man’s obsession.Read More »

  • Mario Monicelli – Le rose del deserto AKA The Roses of the Desert (2006)

    2001-2010ComedyItalyMario MonicelliWar

    A sanitary battalion of Italian Army is sent to Sorman oasis in Lybia during the Africa campaign in 1940. Soon an Italian missionary, living nearby, succeed to transform the occupation by Italian Army in a kind of humanitarian mission. In fact all the battalion is involved to help the local population. The war anyway goes on with no regards to human feelings. The “glorious” Fascist campaign is going to became a fast retreat.Read More »

  • Carmelo Bene – Don Giovanni (1970)

    1961-1970Amos Vogel: Film as a Subversive ArtArthouseCarmelo BeneExperimentalItaly

    Synopsis:
    Spectacular Italian comedy-drama directed by Carmelo Bene. The narrative follows how Don Giovanni tries to seduce a young woman who is manically searching for Christian icons. The film is loosely based on Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly’s short story “The Greatest Love of Don Juan”, from the collection Les Diaboliques. The film premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival.Read More »

  • Mario Bava – La ragazza che sapeva troppo AKA The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963)

    1961-1970GialloItalyMario BavaThriller

    Synopsis:
    The American fan of mystery novels, Nora Davis, travels from New York to Rome to spend vacation with her mother’s friend Ethel Windell Batocci. On board the airplane, she accepts a pack of cigarettes from the passenger on the next seat and in the airport she finds that the man is a drug dealer. When she arrives at Ethel’s place, she meets Dr. Marcello Bassi and finds that the old lady is on her deathbed. During the night, Ethel has a heart attack and dies; Nora runs to the hospital to call Marcello. However, she is attacked and robbed on a staircase by a thief and faints. She awakens to witness a woman being stabbed, a man is after her. At the hospital, however, nobody believes her. At Ethel’s funeral, a stranger (Laura Craven-Torrani) introduces herself as a friend of Ethel’s and invites Nora to stay in her apartment while she travels to Switzerland to meet her husband. Nora accepts the invitation and decides to investigate the murder. She believes that the serial-killer of the so called Alphabet Murders is chasing her and she will be the next victim.Read More »

  • Sergio Rubini – L’amore ritorna (2004)

    2001-2010DramaItalySergio Rubini

    Tale of a self-centered actor preparing to direct his first film, but who is struck down by illness, recalls everything from Bob Fosse’s “All That Jazz” to Denys Arcand’s “The Barbarian Invasions” with a friendly ghost thrown in for good measure.Read More »

  • Bruno Bozzetto – Allegro non troppo (1976)

    1971-1980AnimationBruno BozzettoItalyMusical

    Bruno Bozzetto’s parody and spin-off of Disney’s Fantasia is a collection of animated sketches accompanying classical music pieces (by Debussy, Dvorak, Ravel, Sibelius, Stravinsky, and Vivaldi), with live-action slapstick sequences featuring cowriter Maurizio Nichetti (The Icicle Thief). It’s not only a hilarious send-up of Disney’s excesses but a splendid cartoon feature in its own right–funny and imaginative and lively. The “restored” version of this 1976 Italian picture includes more Nichetti footage and a stereo sound track.Read More »

  • Ettore Scola – Gente di Roma AKA People of Rome (2003)

    2001-2010ComedyEttore ScolaItaly

    Quote:
    The camera follows citizens of Rome in mockumentary style.

    Wikipedia wrote:
    This film is recognized as of national cultural interest by the General Directorate for Cinema of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, on the basis of the ministerial resolution of 4 February 2003.Read More »

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