Leonardo Botta Movies
- 1963
Gidget Goes to Rome was the third film to be inspired by the beach-happy characters created by Frederick Kohner back in the mid-1950s. This time, surfer gal Francie "Gidget" Lawrence is played by newcomer Cindy Carol. Per the title, the film finds Gidget vacationing in the Eternal City with faithful boyfriend Jeff, aka Moondoggie (James Darren). Chaperoning the pair is Aunt Albertina (Jessie Royce Landis), but that doesn't stop Gidge and Jeff from experiencing brief extracurricular flirtations in Rome. The question: how do the producers get Cindy Carol into a bikini without diverting from the plotline? The answer: a slapstick setpiece during a fashion show. The last of the theatrical Gidget features, Gidget Goes to Rome was followed by a handful of TV-movie sequels and two separate weekly sitcoms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cindy Carol, James Darren, (more)
In one of the most widely seen and acclaimed European movies of the 1960s, Federico Fellini featured Marcello Mastrioanni as gossip columnist Marcello Rubini. Having left his dreary provincial existence behind, Marcello wanders through an ultra-modern, ultra-sophisticated, ultra-decadent Rome. He yearns to write seriously, but his inconsequential newspaper pieces bring in more money, and he's too lazy to argue with this setup. He attaches himself to a bored socialite (Anouk Aimée), whose search for thrills brings them in contact with a bisexual prostitute. The next day, Marcello juggles a personal tragedy (the attempted suicide of his mistress (Yvonne Furneaux)) with the demands of his profession (an interview with none-too-deep film star Anita Ekberg). Throughout his adventures, Marcello's dreams, fantasies, and nightmares are mirrored by the hedonism around him. With a shrug, he concludes that, while his lifestyle is shallow and ultimately pointless, there's nothing he can do to change it and so he might as well enjoy it. Fellini's hallucinatory, circus-like depictions of modern life first earned the adjective "Felliniesque" in this celebrated movie, which also traded on the idea of Rome as a hotbed of sex and decadence. A huge worldwide success, La Dolce Vita won several awards, including a New York Film Critics CIrcle award for Best Foreign Film and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Yvonne Furneaux, (more)
- 1959
The slow pacing of this fanciful tale about the life and one reputed love of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya makes for an uneven drama. Anthony Franciosa is the artist, and Ava Gardner plays his paramour, the Duchess of Alba. While the Prime Minister of Spain schemes to betray his country to Napoleon's forces and the Spanish Inquisition is winding to a close (overplayed here) Goya is trying to survive the pangs of love he feels for the aloof Duchess. In reality, the artist was seriously ill during this period -- in the last decade of the 18th century -- and actually went deaf. But reality is set aside for high romance, as the pair of star-crossed lovers take center stage over art and politics. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ava Gardner, Anthony Franciosa, (more)
- 1958
In this spectacle, the Assyrians launch a siege against the Asian city of Bethulia to force the city dwellers to stop worshipping God, and begin paying homage to an idol. This causes great restlessness among the residents who begin a conspiratorial underground, plotting the death of the Assyrian leader. They make one attempt and fail. The despotic leader then demands that the perpetrators turn themselves in. If they do not, the rest of the city will suffer. A beautiful sister of one of the rebels decides to join her brother and kill the leader herself. Unfortunately, she falls in love with the leader until she learns that he is planning to destroy her city just to win the admiration of his troops. Her patriotism exceeds her love and she cuts off his head, causing his Assyrian army to flee in terror. As she holds up the leader's head, a bolt of lightning strikes the pagan idol. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Massimo Girotti, Isabelle Corey, (more)
- 1955
Gli Sbandati was released worldwide as The Disbanded. Set during WWII, the film is a drama of the Italian resistance, with all the usual clichéd characters in attendance. The central character, a bombed-out gamine who falls in love with an Italian partisan, is played by Lucia Bose, who earned a great deal of praise for her performance. Most of the film deals with the culture-clash between the citified resistance fighters and their rural hosts. Extremely well cast, and equipped with a powerhouse climax, Gil Sbandati proved to be a worthwhile feature-film directorial debut for onetime Antonioni associate Francesco Maselli. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucia Bosé, Jean-Pierre Mocky, (more)
