Lina Wertmüller Movies
The daughter of an aristocratic Swiss family, Lina Wertmuller harbored dreams of becoming a lawyer, but this notion fell by the wayside when she entered the Academy of Theatre in Rome in 1947. Thanks to a few valuable connections--one of her school chums was the wife of actor Marcello Mastroianni--Wertmuller found work as a performer/writer with Maria Signorelli's Puppet Troupe. She went on to function as actress, writer, set designer and publicist in a variety of theatrical and broadcast endeavors, entering films in 1962 as Federico Fellini's assistant on the set of 8 1/2. She made her directorial debut the following year with The Lizards. With actor Giancarlo Giannini, a friend and co-worker from her theater days, Wertmuller formed Liberty Films, turning out a series of fascinating, iconoclastic feature films, with Giannini-invariably cast as a Chaplinesque loser--starring in all but one film (All Screwed Up). The first Wertmuller effort to receive an American release was Love and Anarchy (1973). Three years later, she scored her biggest international hit with Seven Beauties (1976), a trenchant, surreal, darkly comic tale of survival and compromise that earned her a Academy Award nomination for "Best Director" (the first such honor bestowed upon a woman). On the strength of Seven Beauties, Warners signed Wertmuller to a four-picture contract--an agreement that was abruptly cancelled after the poor box-office showing of her first Warners project, The End of the World in Our Usual Bed in a Nightful of Rain (1976). During her heyday, Wertmuller was effusively praised for her championing of the underdog, her staunch feminism and her anarchistic approach to her material. Once her vogue had passed in the U.S., however, she was taken to task for the "hollowness" of her vision and her lack of compassion for her characters. Undaunted, she continued making films for the European market, enjoying a brief resurgence of critical approval with one of her most atypical films, Ciao Professore (1994). Lina Wertmuller's most recent film, completed in 1996, bears the typically lengthy cognomen Metalmeccanico e parrucchiera in un turbine di sesso di politica. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 2006
Marcello Mastroianni (1924-1996) was arguably the most famous and respected leading man in the history of Italian cinema. A favorite of such directors Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti and Michelangelo Antonioni, Mastroianni's fame in Europe extended to the United States, where he was nominated for three Academy Awards and frequently starred opposite another celebrated Italian player, Sophia Loren. Filmmakers Mario Canale and Annarosa Morri offer a look at the public and private sides of this legendary actor in the documentary Marcello: A Sweet Life, which features archival interviews with the actor alongside reminiscences from his family, friends and colleagues. Interview subjects include actresses Claudia Cardinale and Anouk Aimee, directors Ettore Scola, Mario Monicelli and Lina Wertmuller, and Marcello's daughters Barbara Mastroianni and Chiara Mastroianni. Marcello: A Sweet Life received its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Guy Ritchie, best known for the tough-guy crime comedies Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, goes for a change of pace with this remake of Lina Wertmuller's 1974 comedy-drama, with his wife Madonna in tow. Amber Leighton (Madonna) is the wife of Dr. Anthony Leighton (Bruce Greenwood), the wealthy and successful head of a pharmaceutical company. While Amber seemingly leads a charmed life, it doesn't appear to make her very happy, and she often inflicts her typically foul mood on those around her, especially the hired help. Anthony decides to surprise Amber with a cruise from Italy to Greece, with four of their friends in tow, but Amber doesn't much care for the notion. Amber feels the yacht they've hired is far beneath her standards, and she makes Giuseppe (Adriano Giannini), the first mate of the crew, the primary target of her dissatisfaction. Giuseppe, an ardent leftist, feels nothing but contempt for Amber, but for the sake of his job he can't say a word in response to her attacks. One day, Amber declines an invitation to go diving with her friends, but later changes her mind, demanding that Giuseppe take her to the underwater caves. Giuseppe warns Amber that a storm is brewing, and his prediction proves to be right on the money; soon, Amber and Giuseppe are stranded on a desert island, and suddenly they discover the tables are turned. Giuseppe, a trained fisherman and outdoorsman, knows how to survive on the island, while Amber is utterly helpless, and he forces her to cower under his commands in order to survive; before long, their mutual antagonism has begun to turn into something approaching unfettered lust. Adriano Giannini, who plays Giuseppe, is the son of Giancarlo Giannini, who played the equivalent role in Wertmuller's original film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madonna, Adriano Giannini, (more)
- 2001
A mother who thinks of marriage in terms of business butts heads with a daughter who has her own unusual ideas about love in Lina Wertmuller's screen adaptation of Maria Orsini Natale's historical novel. Francesca (Sophia Loren) was a woman of common birth whose beauty and charm so entranced Prince Giordano Montorsi (Giancarlo Giannini) that he took her hand in marriage in the 1890s. Francesca and the Prince had a baby, Federico, and when the boy became seriously ill, Francesca pledged to the Lord that if her son was spared, she would adopt a needy orphan. Federico recovered, and true to her word, Francesca and the Prince adopted a nine-year-old girl, Nunziata. Years later, Nunziata has grown to become an attractive young woman, and Francesca watches over the Prince's financial affairs, having learned a thing or two about business from helping her father manage his thriving pasta company. Francesca does a fine job of handling the royal accounts, but when one business deal goes spectacularly sour, the Prince decides he should mind the books from now on; he proves to have no skills for the task, and the royal family is soon in dire financial straits. Eager to put the family back on its feet, Francesca begins to broker a marriage between Federico (Raoul Bova) and the daughter of a wealthy shipping tycoon. However, Federico is less than enthusiastic about the idea, largely because he's fallen in love with his adopted sister Nunziata. Francesca is appalled at this and overrules his objections, but after Federico goes to the altar, Nunziata begins arranging a lucrative wedding of her own; Nunziata's plan is to collect a large dowry, and use the money to fund a competing pasta company that will put her mother's firm out of business. Francesca e Nunziata was produced for Italian television, but received theatrical release abroad. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Giancarlo Giannini, (more)
The life and times of Italy's King Ferdinand are played for laughs in this comic historical piece directed by Lina Wertmuller. Set in the 18th century, Ferdinando E Carolina opens with the aging Ferdinand falling ill and being taken to his bed, with his life story told in flashback. A naturally rambunctious and impetuous child, Ferdinand grows to young adulthood and is poised to take over the crown at 16. The powers behind the throne have arranged a marriage with a princess from Austria (despite the fact that Ferdinand has already taken a lover), but she dies of smallpox before the wedding can take place; her sister is next proposed as a fitting mate, but then she dies as well. When a third sister, Maria Carolina, is presented, Ferdinand is decidedly unenthusiastic, given the family's track record on the path to the altar. But when Ferdinand's advisors (and Carolina's mother) start to lean on him, he agrees, and he soon discovers on their honeymoon that he and Carolina get along famously in the bedroom, if nowhere else. While Ferdinand is never quite cured of his roving eye, Carolina soon has the King under her spell, and her political power soon rivals his own. While much of the cast of Ferdinando E Carolina (aka Ferdinand and Carolina) are newcomers, veteran Italian film stars Silvana De Santis and Mario Scaccia appear in supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sergio Assisi, Gabriella Pession, (more)
- 1996
- NR
This Italian political satire from filmmaker Lina Wertmuller will be most enjoyable for those well-grounded in Italian politics. Covering the late March through April general elections of 1994 in which right-wing conservatives routed the incumbent leftists. This is particularly upsetting for Tunin, a mechanic with a firm belief in communism. Fearing that his party is about to lose, he journeys to a northern village to stir up trouble. He isn't there long before he is arguing with a beautiful hairdresser. Their debate is fiery as is his growing and impossible-to-disguise passion for her. She too is intrigued with him, but their disparate ideologies threaten to keep them apart. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
A ripe 19-year-old virgin fights to keep her virtue and retain her free-spirited ways during WW II. Set in an ancient, remote Neapolitan village, Miluzza is the lovely pubescent daughter of the glorious Nunziata, a nymphomaniac who is surprisingly well tolerated by her husband and her normally conservative neighbors. Nunziata and Miluzza lead an idyllic life until the Allies bomb their village. During the shelling Nunziata is killed in a manner that would make Freud proud. Afterward, Miluzza gets work at a tomato sauce factory where the owner, enticed by an accidental peak at her underwear attempts to seduce her in a local hotel. With her reputation thus ruined, life for Miluzza becomes a struggle to fight the gossip mongers and those who would rape here until she encounters Pietro, a handsome wounded soldier who offers her a better life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Lina Wertmuller's Ciao Professore was released in Italy as Il Speriamo che me la Cavo. Paolo Villago plays an urbane, supercillious schoolteacher who hopes to be assigned to an upper-crust district. Instead, a bureaucratic snafu ships Villago to the impoverished town of Corzano. Of the fifteen third-graders in his class, only three show up on the first day of school. Fortified with condescention and disgust, Villago personally sets out to collect his deliquent students. He discovers that most of them are absent because they're forced on a daily basis to hustle for their very survival; in some instances, the kids are their familys' sole support. Villago not only develops a stronger understanding and bond with the children, but he also ends up adopting their street smarts in a moment of crisis. Based on Me, Let's Hope I Make It, a collection of essays written by Neapolitan street kids and edited by Marcello D'Orta, the location-filmed Ciao Professore is one of Lina Wertmuller's most benign and life-affirming efforts. Enhancing its appeal is the use of non-professionals for most of the secondary roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paolo Villaggio, Ciro Esposito, (more)
- 1990
In this domestic comedy, Rosa (Sophia Loren), a mature mother of several children, is concerned that her beloved husband Don Peppino (Luca de Filippo) is losing interest in her, and does his best to provoke some jealousy in him. She is a masterful cook, and if her romantic charms are fading, her culinary skills are not. By one means and another, and after some amusing confrontations, she succeeds in keeping her husband from taking her for granted and harmony is restored. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Luca DeFilippo, (more)
- 1989
This international production by well-known director Lina Wertmuller is a harrowing educational melodrama about the AIDS epidemic. The story follows John Knot (Rutger Hauer) a brash, cheerful American reporter, and Joelle (Nastassja Kinski), a new photographer he has had an affair with and (unbeknownst to him) a child as well. He has been having a lot of fun poking into anti-AIDS prejudice for a series by a Paris paper by pretending to have HIV and announcing this in various situations around Paris, which results in his being thrown out of restaurants, bars, and (in one scene) bed. He runs into Joelle on one these excursions, and discovers that he has a child and that he still cares for Joelle. Not long after that, he discovers that he really is HIV positive. This provokes a lot of soul-searching and anguish, right up to the story's unhappy ending. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rutger Hauer, Nastassja Kinski, (more)
- 1989
Originally titled simply Decimo Clandestino, this Lina Wertmuller "miniature" began life as an Italian TV drama. Piera Degli Esposti plays the widowed, impoverished mother of a huge farm family. The woman moves her nine children to Bologna, where their living conditions are deplorable. To avoid a hike in rent, she tells her landlady (Dominique Sanda) that she is living alone. Also known as To Save Nine (a curiously brief English-language title for a Wertmuller film!), IL Decimo Clandestino was expanded from 60 to 90 minutes for its theatrical release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dominique Sanda, Hartmut Becker, (more)
- 1987
Survey of the history of Italian cinema, featuring clips from such classics as "Open City," "8-1/2," and "Seven Beauties," and interviews with illustrious stars and filmmakers, including Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Toto, Monica Vitti, Anna Magnani, Vittorio DeSica, Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Roberto Rossellini. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- R
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Mariangela Melato plays a female industrialist subjected to a kidnapping. Tired of watching her "class" being persecuted, Melato wreaks vengeance by abducting the head kidnapper, Sicilian bandit Michele Placido. She forces the gang to pony up $100,000, but the crooks manage to have the last laugh. On the other hand, Melato does enjoy an enforced tryst with the handsome, helpless Placido. This very characteristic Lina Wertmuller film was originally released in the US as Summer Night with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mariangela Melato, Michele Placido, (more)
- 1985
- R
This Wertmuller sex comedy centers on a married couple who have found the magic gone from their physical relationship. The trouble begins when the wife, Ester, finds herself sexually attracted to her best friend Adele and one day tells her of the erotic dream she had in which she and Adele were reenacting the kissing scene from Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious. Soon a flirtation ensues that falls just short of an actual affair. Poor Oscar, Ester's sexist husband, is beside himself. Eventually doubts about his own manliness end up driving him totally nuts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Enrico Montesano, Veronica Lario, (more)
- 1985
- R
The vicious drug-related killings of young pre-teen boys are the fuel that moves this mystery-actioner into high gear. After Annunziata (Angela Molina) opens up a hostel with her friend Antonio (Daniel Ezralow) she is saved from being raped by a Camorra (organized crime) boss when the gangster is suddenly killed. The killer escapes before Annunziata is able to see who it was. Following this murder are several others and always with the same "signature" -- a needle through one of the testicles of the victims. Everyone suspects a drug war is on because the slain men are cocaine-heroin pushers. In a subplot, Annunziata's young son is forced to run drugs (underage children cannot be prosecuted), making him the next candidate for murder. As the drug dealers continue to be killed off, the identity of the killer -- or killers -- slowly becomes obvious. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ángela Molina, Harvey Keitel, (more)
- 1983
In an irreverent send up of politicians and feminists and others, director and co-writer Lina Wertmuller has a Minister of the Interior locked inside his impermeable luxury car with only his broken computer to keep him company. Unfortunately, this accident happens at the villa of a conservative party deputy (Ugo Tognazzi) whose wildly eccentric wife Maria Teresa (Piera Degli Espositi) is in a panic about hiding her lover (Enzo Jannacci) in the basement -- he is an escaped terrorist. While the authorities arrive to make one futile effort after another to get the Minister out of his car, the Minister's assistant deadpans his way through the household chaos, and the granny is busy smoking pot. Out of the entire crew, the conservative deputy is limned with sympathy and the flighty, witless feminist is not -- a state of affairs bound to raise the shackles of some viewers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ugo Tognazzi, Piera Degli Esposti, (more)
- 1979
After a beautiful woman's husband is murdered by the Sicilian Mafia, she is romanced by both an attorney and a local crook while maintaining her proper image. This Italian film stars Sophia Loren, Giancarlo Giannini and Marcello Mastroianni. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
- 1979
Elsa Martinelli plays the title outlaw in the made-for-Italian-TV Belle Starr. Though ostensibly based on historical fact, the film's chronology and character relationships are somewhat juggled with by director Lina Wertmuller. What emerges is a typically Wertmullerian "battle of the sexes" endeavor, with anachronistic emphasis on the story's political ramifications. Also, the American West is depicted in near-surrealistic fashion, not quite as zany as in a Mel Brooks picture, but not very far from it. For reasons of her own, Wertmuller used the psedonym Nathan Wich in the film's credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elsa Martinelli
- 1978
- R
Fine del Mondo nel Nostro Solito Letto in una Notte Piena di Pioggia, literally translated as "The End of the World in Our Usual Bed in a Night Full of Rain," was also released as Night Full of Rain. This film is director Lina Wertmuller's English-language film-debut. The poor critical and box-office reception to this film marked the beginning of a difficult period for director Wertmuller. In the story, Italian newsman Paolo (Giancarlo Giannini) rescues the American photojournalist Lizzy (Candice Bergen) from a brawl while she is in Italy. He also tries, less than successfully, to seduce her. When they meet again in San Francisco, the sparks between them lead to love. He is an old-guard Italian communist who wants his wife to stay at home and tend to the laundry and the cooking. Lizzy is an emerging feminist, and wants to make a contribution to that movement. Though their differences lead to some noisy confrontations, they are able to talk them through. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giancarlo Giannini, Candice Bergen, (more)
Italian filmmaker Lina Wertmuller directs the black comedy Pasqualino Settebellezze (Seven Beauties). During WWII, Pasqualino Frafuso (Giancarlo Giannini) ends up lost in a dense forest along with fellow army deserter Francesco (Piero De Orio). After they witness a mass execution by German soldiers, Francesco admits his moral opposition to the Nazis and Pasqualino reveals his criminal past in a series of flashbacks. Back in Naples, he was known as "Pasqualino Seven Beauties," a petty thief who lived off the profits of his seven sisters while claiming to protect their honor at any cost. When Totonno (Mario Conti) pimps out his sister Concettina (Elena Fiore), Pasqualino kills him, chops up his body, and mails each piece across the country. He is then arrested and sent to a mental institution, where he commits sexual assault against another patient. Kicked out of the asylum, he is sent to fight in the army. The Germans capture him and he gets sent to a concentration camp. He then plots to make his escape by demoralizing himself in an attempt to seduce a German officer (Shirley Stoler). Seven Beauties was nominated for four Academy Awards in 1977, including Best Foreign Film. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giancarlo Giannini, Fernando Rey, (more)
- 1974
Lina Wertmuller's flamboyant satire is an acquired taste, and this unpleasant sociopolitical comedy may be the acid test for potential devotees. Luigi Diberti stars in a scathing look at a group of rural youths who share a Milan apartment-commune in order to combat the economic oppression of urban life. Giuseppe Rotunno's evocative camerawork brings a consistency of tone to even Wertmuller's most extreme indulgences, such as a slaughterhouse ballet, but many viewers will be left scratching their heads wondering what it all means. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- R
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The Mediterranean sea is the backdrop for this social drama from director Lina Wertmuller. While vacationing on a yacht, the wealthy capitalist Raffaella (Mariangela Melato) shouts out orders in between spouting off political opinions amongst her friends. She is especially confrontational to the deck hand and servant Gennarino (frequent Wertmuller leading man Giancarlo Giannini), by demanding that he appear more presentable. Gennarino grows increasingly frustrated by her demands and develops contempt for her independence. When it is nearing dark, Raffaella has Gennarino take her out in the dinghy for a swim. The two find themselves stranded after the motor seizes up and a current sends them drifting out to sea. Eventually finding land, they end up on an uninhabited island and their small boat deflates. Removed from the trappings of society, Gennarino and Rafaella engage in a passionate power struggle fueled by sexual tension and basic survival. Their desperation develops into a strange and cruel love affair that determines whether or not they want to be rescued. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, (more)
St. Francis of Assisi was an extraordinarily complex and difficult figure whose effect on his contemporary society was electrifying. Even today, many people are moved by his visionary message of universal toleration. Twelfth-century Italy had an exceptionally grim and regimented society, but the barefoot monk from Assisi undoubtedly had the courage that comes from deep faith and was able to transcend the oppressiveness of the time. In this Italian/British-produced film, director Franco Zeffirelli attempts to bring his vision of this great man to the screen. The contemporary (1970s) example of the hippie movement contributed a great deal to the style in which the story is told. The musical score, using ancient Italian melodies, was arranged by Donovan. The film is visually beautiful in a way which tends to minimize the squalor of the times. As the movie begins, Francis (Graham Faulkner) is the son of wealthy merchants, and enjoys his share of wine, women and song without serious thought. When war and disease devastate his neighborhood, Francis undergoes an anguished transformation which culminates in his appearing before the local bishop and removing his clothes to renounce his previous life and family before dedicating himself to God. The culminating dramatic moment is Francis' appearance before Pope Innocent III (Sir Alec Guinness), to make his case for an independent religious order under new rules. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, (more)
Originally released in Italy as Film d'Amore e d'Anarchia, Lina Wertmuller's Love and Anarchy is set in the fascist-dominated Italy of the 1930s. Giancarlo Giannini plays an idealistic farmer swept up in an anti-fascist underground movement. His first task as a member is to assassinate Mussolini (talk about your initiation stunts!) While preparing to carry out his assignment, Giannini takes up residence in a whorehouse run by Mariangela Melato, another anti-Mussolinite. Giannini's resolve to carry out the assassination is weakened by his love for one of Melato's prostitutes, as well as his own essentially gentle nature. Love and Anarchy was the first of Wertmuller's films to gain a U.S. release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- R
Lina Wertmuller's fifth feature, The Seduction of Mimi, stars the director's favorite leading man, Giancarlo Giannini. Giannini plays the muddler of the title, who can't keep apace with the exigencies of a cruel, callous society (this character would be honed to perfection in Wertmuller's subsequent Seven Beauties); his political and sexual ignorance land him in hot water time and again. Wertmuller devotes much of the picture's running time to lengthy monologues and diatribes involving sex and politics; the film attained notoriety for its infamous sequence of Giannini bedding an obese woman. Wertmuller won a Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival for her work in this picture. Originally titled Mimi Mettalurgio Ferito nell'Onore, the film has also been released as Mimi the Metalworker and Wounded in Honor. It was remade (very loosely) by Richard Pryor as Which Way Is Up? (1977). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, (more)
