Giovanni Bertolucci Movies

Bernardo Bertolucci was obviously influenced by the films of Jean-Luc Godard and the worldwide political upheavals of 1968 while assembling his feature-film Partner. This unorthodox adaptation of Dostoevsky's The Double studiously avoids traditional linear storytelling and exposition techniques. Pierre Clementi stars as a repressed young student who concocts a radical alter ego for himself. As the student's two faces argue polemics, Bertolucci uses the opportunity to take freewheeling critical potshots at all forms of political ideology. Not all of Partner makes sense, but the film will command the viewer's interest from beginning to end. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The conformist is 1930s Italian Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a coward who has spent his life accommodating others so that he can "belong." Marcello agrees to kill a political refugee, on orders from the Fascist government, even though the victim-to-be is his college mentor. The film is a character study of the kind of person who willingly "conforms" to the ideological fashions of his day. In this case, director Bernardo Bertolucci suggests that Marcello's desire to conform is rooted in his latent homosexuality. In addition to its strong storyline, the film is critically revered for the astonishing production design by Nedo Azzini, which, together with Vittorio Storaro's camerawork, recreates the atmosphere of Fascist Italy with some of the most complex visual compositions ever seen on film, filled with highly stylized uses of angles, shapes, and shadows. The Conformist was cut by five crucial minutes when first released in the US; those missing moments were restored in the 1994 reissue. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An introverted American professor (Burt Lancaster) has retired to an Italian house, but finds his life interrupted when a decadent family moves upstairs. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Based on a novel by Gabriele d'Annunzio, The Innocent (L'Innocente) is set amongst the aristocracy of 19th-century Italy. Wealthy Tullio (Giancarlo Giannini) thinks nothing of squiring his mistress (Jennifer O'Neill) in full view of his friends and the public. But when Giannini's cast-off wife (Laura Antonelli) begins an affair with a young novelist (based, it is said, on author d'Annunzio), it is too much for the philandering aristocrat. Outside of Erich von Stroheim, few directors were as masterful at combining lavishness with depravity as Luchino Visconti. The Innocent turned out to be Visconti's last film; he died in 1976, shortly before the picture's premiere. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Bernardo Bertolucci's controversial drama explores the troubled life of a young man and his troubling relationship with his parents. Joe (Matthew Barry) is the son of famous opera singer Caterina Silveri (Jill Clayburgh); while Joe believes that Caterina's husband Douglas Winter (Fred Gwynne) is his biological father, the truth is that he was sired by Caterina's former lover, who is now living in Italy and working as a schoolteacher. Joe is moody and rebellious and needs a strong father figure to guide him and keep him in line. But Douglas is ineffectual and emotionally weak, and when Joe witnesses Douglas committing suicide, it sends the young man over the edge. In hopes of boosting her singing career, which has fallen into a rut, Caterina decides to move to Italy, with Joe in tow; Joe falls in with a dangerous crowd and becomes addicted to heroin, while Caterina, hoping to lure her son back to a safer and more healthy lifestyle, tries to become closer to him, which leads to a flirtation with incest. Jill Clayburgh's performance earned her a 1980 Golden Globe nomination. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Thirteen months and ten million dollars were lavished upon this ten-hour, four-part TV miniseries about legendary globetrotter Marco Polo. Newcomer Ken Marshall played the title character, a 14th century Venetian explorer who, among other accomplishments, firmly established the "silk route" between Europe and the Orient, introducing such precious commodities as spaghetti and fireworks to the Occidental world. In addition to featuring the usual polyglot of major British and American stars in cameo roles (including Denholm Elliott, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Leonard Nimoy, and Burt Lancaster), the production represented the first Western production to be filmed on location in China since WWII -- not to mention the first English-language appearance of celebrated Chinese stage and film actor Ying Ruocheng, superbly cast as the mighty Kublai Khan. An American-Italian-Austrian-French-British co-production, Marco Polo received its first U.S. showing when it was telecast by NBC from May 16 through 19, 1982. A "condensed" version, running approximately 270 minutes, was later made available in Europe and South America. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this weakly plotted drama with abundant sex, Miranda (Serena Grandi) is a bulbous, overweight manager of a country pub and inn just outside of Venice. Miranda thinks she is a widow since her husband has been missing since World War II. To compensate for her widow's needs, she beds down a series of men ranging from a local trucker to a Consul. Sexual encounters take place often and anywhere (from the precincts of a urinal to the muddy back woods), with various numbers of people involved. Eventually, Miranda ends up with the most unlikely suitor. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Jennifer (Nicola Warren) and her husband, Fred (Andy J. Forest), seek out their old lovers for another fling in this erotic drama. Fred hooks up with the prostitute Rosalba (Francesca Dellera), while Jennifer returns to the arms of the handsome pimp Ciro (Luigi Laezza). The unfaithful couple return to each other after the affairs prove to be less satisfying then the memory of their initial experiences. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This somber docudrama takes place in the squalid ghetto known as Zen 2. Over 25,000 people live in the 3-year-old makeshift city under deplorable conditions where there are open sewers and undrinkable water. The only available electricity is stolen from power lines, as children are constantly sickened by the pollution of the air and water. The main industry consists of violent crime, drug dealing, prostitution, and robbery. Sister Chiara (Consuelo Lupo) and Father Don Luigi (Franco Scaldati) seem to be the only ones who try to save the children by encouraging them to play sports instead of snatching purses and dealing drugs. They also take the kids on trips to show them there are other places than the notorious ghetto where they live their miserable lives. During filming of ZEN - Zona Espansione Nord, local authorities refused to accompany the film crew into the area. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Tinto Brass is a noted Italian director known for his erotic films. This one is no exception except that the vignettes therein come from numerous letters, pictures, and videos detailing the sexual fantasies of his ardent female fans. The story is set in the cigar smoking director's office. While he puffs away on a cigar, his voluptuous secretary opens his mail. The contents from these letters (which come from all over Italy) are presented as vignettes. The first concerns an ordinary wife who finds thrills turning tricks while her hubby is at work. Other activities of the lusty correspondents include phone sex, partner exchanges, and a sexy poker game in which the wife is staked. In the final entry, the secretary shares her own fantasy in which the director owns a shoe store. She goes in to buy a pair of red boots and inflames him by allowing him to see that she wears nothing beneath her dress while he helps her with his boots. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi