Laura Betti Movies
Costar Betti has been onscreen from the '70s. ~ All Movie Guide
Bernardo Bertolucci's 255-minute 1900 was a gargantuan undertaking, requiring the resources of three European countries and a trio of American movie studios. Set in the Italian town of Parma, the film's continuity backtracks from Liberation Day in 1945 to the occasion of composer/patriot Giuseppe Verdi's death in 1901. We follow the lives of two men born on that day in 1901, who grow up to be Alfredo Berlinghieti (Robert De Niro) and Olmo Dalco (Gérard Depardieu). Wealthy Alfredo sinks into dissipation, while poverty-stricken Olmo becomes a firebrand labor leader and communist. After WWI, Alfredo is allowed to peacefully retain his land holdings by playing nice with the burgeoning fascists; Olmo, on the other hand, engages in a long-standing battle against the minions of Mussolini. The two protagonists are reunited when Alfredo returns to Parma to preside over Olmo's trial for "political crimes." Co-star Burt Lancaster is cast as Alfredo's wealthy grandfather, who hates to see the old values buried beneath the social travails of the 20th century. Many American prints of 1900 were shortened to 243 minutes, rendering the story hard to follow at times. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, (more)
In this Italian western, an outlaw enlists the aid of his pal and a robber gang to pull off a gold heist. Later, the gang argues about how the loot should be split. The robber gang then absconds with the gold leaving the other pair in the dust. The outlaw and friend set off to capture the treacherous gang. They finally find them in a Mexican town where the residents are celebrating a religious festival. A terrible shootout ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Dennis Weaver, (more)
- 1973
In Allonsanfan, the director/brother team of Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani weave a witty and occasionally melancholic tale of 19th century radicalism in Italy. Marcello Mastroianni stars as Fulvio, a middle-aged man swept up in a extremist political movement. The more he protests that he wants no part of politics, the deeper he becomes enmeshed in the Cause. This film might make an intriguing companion piece to the earlier Mastroianni film The Organizer (63), in which he portrays one of the very radical types that his character in Allonsanfan so zealously repudiates. The title refers to the phonetic spelling of "Alons enfants," the first two words of the French "Marseillaise". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Lea Massari, (more)
- 1971
A family's murderous battle over some bayfront property is the subject of director Mario Bava's bloody horror-thriller, which many have cited as the grandfather of the modern slasher film. Claudine Auger is the scheming daughter of a murdered Countess; her staged suicide forms the basis of the film's plot. In a seemingly unrelated subplot, four hippies arrive in a dune buggy led by Brigitte Skay, who dances the Shake and swims naked before having her throat hacked open with a machete. Skay's boyfriend has his face chopped with the same machete and the other couple has a spear thrust through their bodies as they make love. All of these murder scenes were imitated in Steve Miner's Friday the 13th, Part 2, and the film's style influenced countless American slasher films of the 1970s and '80s. Bava also includes a strangulation by telephone cord, a gory axe decapitation, a man speared to a wall, and five other murders. Antefatto was a trendsetting film, and paved the way for literally hundreds of graphically violent imitations. The film exists in several versions, differing mainly in the extent of the bloodshed. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1995
This gentle Italian drama is based upon the 1919 autobiographical novel by Federico Tozzi. The film tells the story of teenagers Ghisola and Pietro whose closeness is born of the pain the two experience in their daily lives. Ghisola, only 14-years old, must work in the fields away from her family. Pietro is emotionally abused by his father. When his father discovers their mutual affection, he sends Ghisola away. Pietro does not see her again until he is an adult. She has changed. Now pregnant and alone, Ghisola tries to seduce Pietro so he will marry her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In a standard tale of intrigue and foul play, Michel Sauvage (Lambert Wilson) has just gotten away with murder and is now marrying rich heiress Ariane (Ingrid Held) in hopes of taking all she's worth. Unfortunately for Michel, the murder victim's hard-fisted, tippling neighbor Madam Krantz (Danielle Darrieux in a great comic performance) has just blown into Paris with the intention of tracking down the killer. On one hand, Michel has to defend himself from her prying, and on the other, protect his wife's fortune from the increasingly attractive and avaricious Helene, Ariane's half-sister (Dominique Sanda). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dominique Sanda, Lambert Wilson, (more)
With a story that seeks to continue the famous tale of Heidi, Courage Mountain focuses on the teenager (Juliette Caton), forced to leave her grandfather (Jan Rubes) to attend an Italian boarding school on the eve of World War I. The German army appropriates the school, and Heidi is forced to depend on her smarts until she can be reunited with her boyfriend Peter (Charlie Sheen). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliette Caton, Jan Rubes, (more)
- 1990
Despite being busy with his profession of soldiery, Brantome (Richard Bohringer) manages to find much more time for amorous dalliances with the ladies of the 16th-century French court than for battles. Unfortunately for him, his true love, Victoire (Isabella Rossellini), is beyond his reach most of the time. He more than compensates for this in the arms of others. Reviewers found little merit in this uninspired drama, except for the gorgeous period settings and costumes. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Bohringer, Isabella Rossellini, (more)
Director Catherine Breillat, who courted international controversy with her film Romance, once again pushed the envelope with this disturbing (if somewhat less explicit) look at adolescent sexuality. Anaïs (Anaïs Reboux) is a 12-year-old girl with a weight problem and a downbeat disposition growing up in a family which offers her little in the way of understanding and affection. Anaïs has a typically adolescent love/hate relationship with her slimmer and prettier 15-year-old sister, Elena (Roxane Mesquida); she's at once fascinated by her sister (and the boys who follow her around), and hates her for the love and attention she receives from others. While the family spends the summer at the beach, Elena attracts the attentions of Fernando (Libero de Rienzo), a college student from Italy who makes no secret of his attraction to Elena's budding sexuality. Anaïs, on the other hand, is forced to make do with a sad game in which she pretends that a ladder and a diving board at a neighborhood swimming pool are two suitors vying for her affections. Anaïs shares a room with Elena, and finds herself a fascinated, if troubled, witness as Fernando uses both charm and deceit to rob her sister of her virginity, while Elena is too naïve to see through the lies Fernando is spinning -- and enjoys having Anaïs as an audience for her steadily advancing sex play with Fernando. Anaïs is more aware than her older sister of Fernando's insincerity, but she finds Elena isn't eager to believe her. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anaïs Reboux, Roxane Mesquida, (more)
Based on a true story, this political thriller/drama explores the ordeal of Linda Murri (Catherine Deneuve), a 19th-century upper-class Italian woman who was caught in an unhappy marriage and who broke the code of behavior for aristocrats by taking a lower-class lover. After her husband was murdered, Murri stood trial for the murder. Her professor father's socialist opinions were clearly the reason for the harshness of the prosecution. The case was widely known throughout Italy at the time, and caused a national furor. Murri did not actually arrange to murder her boorish nobleman husband Count Bonmartini (Paolo Bonacelli); rather, she told her brother how unhappy she was and that she was afraid for her life. He acted on her complaint by taking the drastic step of murder. The trial resulted in her being given a long prison term, along with her brother (Giancarlo Giannini), her lover Carlo Secci (Ettore Manni) and her brother's assistants Pio and Rosa (Corrado Pani and Tina Aumont). The relentlessness of the prosecutor Giudice Stanzani (Marcel Bozzuffi) and the spinelessness of the family patriarch Augusto Murri (Fernando Rey), the professor with the unpopular opinions, are key dramatic features of this complex story. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giancarlo Giannini, Catherine Deneuve, (more)
- 2000
A woman finds herself wondering if the support of her friends is helping or hindering her progress as a writer in this comedy-drama from Italy. Mara (Laura Morante) is an actress in her late thirties who has broken up with her boyfriend, a film producer (Vanni Corbellini), just as she's trying to complete a screenplay for a film festival, with her deadline only a week away. As Mara tries to find the right tone for her story, she finds herself inundated with visits from her friends, many of whom have problems of their own -- chatty Monica (Monica Scattini), newlywed Tazi (Naike Rivelli), and stable Very (Maddalena Crippa). Before long, the stories of their lives find their way into Mara's project. Film was the directorial debut from Laura Betti, who is well known as an actress in her native Italy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Morante, Monica Scattini, (more)
Rosso Segno Della Folia, an Italian horror film written, directed and photographed by Mario Bava, is the bloody story of an impotent man who turns to murder to vent his frustrations. The designer and owner of a fashion design business (Stephen Forsyth), frustrated with his own sexual failure, murders the new brides who have modelled his fashions. When he decides to murder his wife, she becomes the ghost who will not leave him alone. Director Bava, who began his career as a cinematographer, while directing mostly low-budget horror films, has become a cult figure among some fans and critics who admire his unique and beautiful visual style and his often very amusing exaggeration of the cliches of the genre. Rosso Segno Della Folia, released in the United States as Hatchet for a Honeymoon is not the best of Mario Bava's work, but this above-average horror film is a must see for those who love the genre and admire stylish horror films. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
Ferroccio Ferri (Paolo Rossi) is a quiz-show champion who is an expert on camels in this offbeat comedy. He is eligible for the upcoming show that will award a sizeable sum of money to the grand-prize winner. Camillo (Diego Abatantuono) is the manager of a second-rate traveling troupe who recruits Ferri to ride a camel for a promotional tour of the Po Valley. Sabina Guzzanti plays a notoriously bad singer in Camillo's troupe with comedic flair. Ferri loses on the quiz show and meets the beautiful Anna (Giulio Boschi) on the train ride back home. Anna talks Ferri into posing as her lover so she can dump her fiancee in front of her mother (Laura Betti) and father (Giancarno Sbragia). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paolo Rossi, Diego Abatantuono, (more)
- 1996
The three performers (one Italian, one Frenchman and one German) in a ramshackle and miniscule traveling circus are traveling through rural Italy looking for an audience when they encounter Father Gregorio who asks them to portray the three wise men in his village Christmas pageant. This comedy chronicles the many misadventures that ensue when they take the job. First they must deal with irate union actors, then with the women's chorus with whom they dallied, but their biggest problem comes when they must find an infant to play the baby Jesus. For some reason, everyone in town is childless and so the three hit the road in search of their Christ child. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
A young writer is trapped between his awful actress mother (Laura Betti) and the knowledge that he has only a mediocre talent as a playwright and almost no force of character. After the young man in this story suffers the loss of his mistress to his self-satisfied novelist stepfather, his self-respect is so shattered that he commits suicide. This is an Italian adaptation of The Sea Gull by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Betti, Giulio Brogi, (more)
- 1993
The innovative Italian neuropsychiatrist Marco Lombardo Radice started at treatment movement which draws its name from the unlikely object of worship found in the Peanuts cartoon series, The Great Pumpkin, and it seems likely that this movie and its story represent some kind of homage to his memory. Arturo's wife walked out on him, and now he devotes all his time to his job. He (Sergio Castillitto) is a professor of psychiatry at the university hospital in Rome, and specializes in children's problems. When Pippi (Alessia Fugardi) is brought in for a consultation, it is alleged that she is an epileptic, but the good doctor thinks otherwise. He convinces her reluctant parents to leave her in his care, and through a series of brilliant manipulations, he manages to cure her. The world of mental illness and how it is handled in Italy are not seen through rose-colored glasses, here, and reviewers found tht what could have been a mere tear-jerker manages to be a convincing, gripping drama. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sergio Castellitto, Alessia Fugardi, (more)
- 1979
This tragic story explores the situation of a little Italian peasant boy who is discovered by an Englishman to have unusual musical and mathematical gifts. Based on a book by Aldous Huxley, the boy is exploited by his neighbors, and his life is made miserable after the Englishman leaves. When his English patron discovers how things are, he returns to save the boy, but it is too late. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Steiner, Laura Betti, (more)
- 1971
Set in a Catholic boy's school, this wearisome tale concerns a group of obnoxious rich students and their pompous headmasters. The film tries hard to be an allegory of the anti-establishment social atmosphere of the early 1970s, evidently attempting to prove that Mankind is basically bestial by depicting all the characters as repulsive and self-serving. There's no highlight to speak of, though the scene in which the students stage a deliberately offensive amateur theatrical is perhaps the most watchable sequence. In the Name of the Father is a dreary exercise in heavy-handedness and repetition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- R
Jed (Tomas Milian) is an unlikely hero in this Italian western. As thoroughly unlikeable a robber as ever walked the West, he nonetheless robs from the rich and gives to the poor. Not only is he a murderous, ill-tempered sort, he is bad-mannered, too. When Sonny (Susan George) decides he should be her man and teach her how to be a proper outlaw, sparks fly. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Jane B. is London-born actress and recording star Jane Birkin. Agnes V. is Belgian filmmaker and "grandmother of the New Wave" Agnes Varda. Jane B. Par Agnes V is a cinematic recounting of Birkin's career, from her breakthrough appearance as one of the nude models in Blow-Up to her pinnacle as star of such films as La Femme de Ma Vie (1986). It is also the story of Birkin and Varda's close relationship, made stronger by their mutual admiration and their lifelong fascination with feminist themes. Viewers who prefer straightforward, objective documentaries rather than radicalized film techniques, may not appreciate Jane B. par Agnes V. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Birkin, Philippe Léotard, (more)
- 1987
Cristophe (Michel Voita) is a reporter who is assigned to interview the prominent archaeologist Tober (Jean Bouise) in this combination fantasy drama. Tober has uncovered the coffin of the legendary 16t-century killer Jenatsch (Vittorio Mezzogiorno). After the interview, Cristophe begins to experience hallucinations that move from the present to the past with disturbing consequences. Soon his relationship with his sweetheart Nina (Christine Boisson) begins to suffer as Cristophe has visions of Jenatsch's murder. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Voita, Christine Boisson, (more)
- 1984
Financed in Germany and filmed in New York, Class Relations is adapted from Franz Kafka's unfinished novel Amerika. Christian Heinisch plays a bourgeois German forced to leave his homeland after a scandal. He accepts his uncle's invitation to move to America, where he takes a succession of "Joe Jobs." Heinisch tries, but he is unable to shake off his old-world customs. Worse, the class structure in Europe never prepared him to have to actually use his hands to make a living. Rather than tack on an ending of their own, writer/directors Daniel Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub conclude Class Relations in the same manner that Kafka left Amerika behind when he died--with the hero's ultimate fate still in limbo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Heinisch
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)
- 2003
Mimmo Calopresti directs and stars in the existential drama La Felicita Non Costa Niente (Happiness Costs Nothing). Calopresti stars as Sergio, a successful architect who is suddenly afflicted with a malaise. Haunted by the ghost of a co-worker, Sergio takes a mistress, offends his best friends, refuses to acknowledge guidance from his doctor, and eventually loses everything. He has a failed relationship with a woman named Sara (Francesca Neri). Only after losing it all does Sergio find something worthwhile in life. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mimmo Calopresti, Vincent Perez, (more)
