Jump to content

Bellissima (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bellissima
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLuchino Visconti
Written byCesare Zavattini
Suso Cecchi d'Amico
Francesco Rosi
Luchino Visconti
Produced bySalvo D'Angelo
StarringAnna Magnani
Walter Chiari
Tina Apicella
Gastone Renzelli
Tecla Scarano
Arturo Bragaglia
Alessandro Blasetti
CinematographyPiero Portalupi
Edited byMario Serandrei
Music byFranco Mannino, inspired by Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
Production
company
Film Bellissima
Distributed byCEI Incom
Release date
  • 27 December 1951 (1951-12-27)
Running time
115 minutes {release version}
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian

Bellissima is a 1951 Italian drama film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Anna Magnani, Walter Chiari and Tecla Scarano.[1] In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."[2]

Plot

[edit]

Bellissima centers on a working-class mother in Rome, Maddalena, who drags her young daughter to Cinecittà Studios to attend an audition for a new film by Alessandro Blasetti. Maddalena's efforts to promote her daughter grow increasingly frenzied.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

Alessandro Blasetti, a contemporary film director, appears as himself. Keeping in with the tradition of Italian neorealism a number of roles went to members of the public.[citation needed] Magnani played a part in their selection, approving of Gastone Renzelli a butcher who was cast as her husband.[3]

The film's sets were designed by Gianni Polidori. It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios, which appear prominently in the film. It was not a box office success.[4]

Awards

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey (2019). Luchino Visconti. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781838716974.
  2. ^ "Ecco i cento film italiani da salvare Corriere della Sera". www.corriere.it. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  3. ^ Gundle p.3
  4. ^ Gundle p.4

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Gundle, Stephen. Fame Amid the Ruins: Italian Film Stardom in the Age of Neorealism. Berghahn Books, 2019.
[edit]