Carlo Ponti Movies
Italian mega-producer Carlo Ponti's resumé reads not only like a checklist of the golden highlights of postwar European cinema, but as a testament to the creative vision of a maverick -- a filmmaking revolutionary defiantly unafraid to take enormous career risks. In the final analysis, Ponti's consistency in gracing the pinnacle of success and breaking new filmic ground time and again -- in Italy, Great Britain, and Hollywood -- is virtually unprecedented in moviedom. Born December 11, 1913, in the hamlet of Magenta, Italy, on the outskirts of Milan, Ponti studied law as a young man and launched his own practice as an attorney before entering filmmaking with the Mario Soldati-directed period epic Piccolo Mondo Antico in 1940, starring Alida Valli. That picture's twin commercial and critical triumphs enabled Ponti not simply to continue his production-oriented work, but to ride the crest of Italian neorealism by collaborating with the top helmers in Italy as the '40s progressed, including Luigi Zampa (Vivere in Pace [1947], Cuori Senza Frontiere [1949]), Alberto Lattuada (Il Mulino del Po [1949]), Renato Castellani (Mio Figlio Professore [1946]), and Pietro Germi (Gioventu Perduta [1947]).In 1950, Ponti teamed with another brilliant mind on the south European filmscape, Dino de Laurentiis. During their seven-year partnership, the men extended their influence beyond the Mediterranean with a series of massively budgeted international co-productions, the most famous of which was King Vidor's Italian-American joint venture War and Peace (1956), an adaptation of the Tolstoy novel starring Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, and Mel Ferrer. Regional (Italian) co-productions of Ponti and de Laurentiis during the '50s included Alberto Lattuada's 1951 Anna, Roberto Rossellini's Europa '51 (1952), and Federico Fellini's La Strada (1954) -- not exactly the first film to launch Fellini onto the international scene (the still-influential Variety Lights, The White Sheik, and I Vitelloni preceded it), but a hallmark of international cinema nonetheless, and one of its director's most vital works, winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film.
This idea -- that of seeking out, nurturing, and cultivating exciting cinematic talent, both new and established -- became something of a hallmark of Ponti's career, evident in his decision to shepherd then-neophytes Martin Ritt (Black Orchid [1958]), Sidney Lumet (That Kind of Woman [1959]), and especially Jean-Luc Godard (A Woman Is a Woman [1961]) through production and distribution channels. (The ongoing involvement with Godard made Ponti one of the few producers in history to aggressively shape both Italian neorealism and the French New Wave.) Additional credits during the 1960s include George Cukor's Heller in Pink Tights (1960), David Lean's Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Milos Forman's The Firemen's Ball (1967).
The Ponti-produced Blow-Up (1966) and Zabriskie Point (1970) -- both directed by Michelangelo Antonioni -- and especially Paul Morrissey's ultraviolent twin horror features Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), represented massive risks from the standpoint of content, but paid off critically and commercially, becoming runaway sleeper hits.
Meanwhile, alongside Ponti's career accomplishments, his personal life crescendoed. In 1950, he purportedly served as a 37-year-old judge for a beauty contest and fell for one of its contestants, the luminous Sophia Loren -- at that time, only a 15-year-old girl named Sofia Lazarro. In 1956, 22-year-old Loren wed Ponti in Mexico, and their marriage lasted over four decades, until Ponti's death. It survived repetitive tabloid interference, Ponti's alleged adulteries, and rumors of Loren's feelings for other men. They had two children together, symphony conductor Carlo Jr. and director Edoardo, in addition to two children from Ponti's first marriage. During the early years of their union, Ponti prepped the then-ingenue for international stardom, and hit a watershed moment in the pursuit of that goal when Loren won the 1961 Best Actress Oscar for Two Women, directed by Vittorio De Sica. Ponti's production-oriented work lasted through the end of the 1970s, but after 1976's elephantine disaster opus The Cassandra Crossing and 1977's well-received Una Giornata Particolare, he largely retired. In later years, Ponti and Loren moved to Switzerland together. Ponti died of pulmonary complications in Geneva, Switzerland, on January 9, 2007 -- merely three weeks after celebrating his 93rd birthday. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1983
In this black comedy, a struggling actor-playwright goes on tour with a play he wrote for himself and his lover. It is about the life and love between Benito Mussolini and Claretta Petracci, his mistress. When his show travels to Italy it meets with a very negative response from the local Communists who throw tomatoes at them. To get them to stop, the actor changes their minds by placing emphasis on the romance between the two rather than the politics. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ugo Tognazzi, Bernadette Lafont, (more)
The film is set during the late 1930s: the occasion is the first meeting between Mussolini and Hitler. Left alone in her tenement home when her fascist husband runs off to attend the historic event, Sophia Loren strikes up a friendship with her homosexual neighbor Mastroianni. As the day segues into night, Loreon and Mastroianni develop a very special relationship that will radically alter both of their outlooks on life. Beyond the "sensational" aspect of virile Marcello Mastoianni playing a gay character, A Special Day garnered a great deal of American attention when the stars promoted the film on the very first installment of PBS's Dick Cavett Show (that's the one in which Mastroianni might have said the F-word). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
- 1976
Down & Dirty was originally titled Brutti, sporchi e cativi in Italy. That translates literally to "dirty, nasty and bad", in reference to the lower-class characters and surroundings in this Ettore Scola film. Scola zeroes in on a particularly offensive Roman family. The stingy patriarch, Nino Manfredi, is personally wealthy but morally bankrupt, and his repulsive view of life trickles down to every member of his clan. Not content with corrupting his own flesh and blood, Manfredi spreads his philosophy throughout his village, where he functions as slumlord. By the time Manfredi's wife and sons begin plotting his murder, the audience is ready for a long, cold shower, with plenty of soap. A bleak film heavily laden with humor, Down & Dirty won Ettore Scola a Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nino Manfredi
- 1975
Maria Schneider is Michele, a young student sculptress assigned to look after the kidnapped baby of her ex-lover. She and the kid hit it off but are unable to escape until the kidnappers begin to kill one another off. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Schneider, Sydne Rome, (more)
- 1975
The Italian Man with a Flower in His Mouth bears no relation to the Luigi Pirandello one-act play of the same title. Also known as Flower in His Mouth, and The Masters this thriller stars Jennifer O'Neill as an American schoolteacher, newly arrived in Sicily. No sooner has she assumed her duties in a remote rural town than a series of ritual murders begins. Is Jennifer the catalyst, the cause...or merely the excuse? The film's original Italian title was Gente di Rispetto. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
This simple movie, which follow the exploits of two transcontinental truck drivers as they wrestle their semi across Europe, is much enhanced by having the veteran actors Michel Constantin and Giancarlo Giannini in the roles of Nino and Sandro. At the beginning of the film, the two men have not driven together before, and neither one is much pleased with the other. By the end of the film, their adventures and common adversities have drawn them together. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giancarlo Giannini, Michel Constantin, (more)
Spaghetti meets chop-suey in the Italian/Spanish/Hong Kong production Blood Money. Lee VanCleef plays an adventurer in search of a treasure buried somewhere in the orient. The clues are tattooed on the backs of four lovely young ladies. This translates to lots of exposed epidermis, not to mention a surplus of blood-and-gore. VanCleef emerges from the confusion with his reputation intact, but most of the supporting actors were never heard from again. Blood Money was produced by Sir Run Run Shaw, Hong Kong's leading purveyor of box-office bonanzas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Van Cleef, Lo Lieh, (more)
- 1974
In Jury of One, French filmmaker Andre Cayatte once more probes into the intricacies of the Gallic justice system. Sophia Loren plays the widow of a man reputed to be a gangster. When Loren's son Michel Albertini is accused of murder, his father's reputation practically assures a guilty verdict. Desperately, Loren kidnaps Gisel Casadessus, the wife of prosecuting judge Jean Gabin. In order to save Gisel's life, Gabin acquits Albertini, only to discover that his wife, a diabetic, has died after refusing to take insulin. It is up to the conscience-stricken Loren to mete out final justice against herself. Jury of One was also distributed to English-speaking countries under the title The Verdict. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Sophia Loren, (more)
- 1974
In turn-of-the-century Sicily, aristocratic scions Adriana (Sophia Loren) and Cesar (Richard Burton) have loved one another for years, but Adriana accedes to the wishes of Cesar's father and marries his foolish younger brother Antonio (Ian Bannen). When Antonio dies, much to the relief of everyone, it looks as though the coast is now clear for Cesar to marry Adriana after a suitable mourning period. Alas, she has a fatal illness and it is not to be. This romantic melodrama is chiefly distinguished by the fact that it is the last film directed by the legendary Vittorio de Sica, who died shortly afterward. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Gianna Abastanza (Mariangelo Melato) is tired of men acting as though they can do everything better than women, so she enters the police force and dons a policewoman's uniform. By following the law more closely than her police comrades and superiors, she soon runs into trouble with them, though this does not prevent love from blossoming. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mariangela Melato, Orazio Orlando, (more)
The second of two horror films shot in a single production term and bearing the name of pop-art icon Andy Warhol (whose participation pretty much ended with the use of his name), this film is slightly superior to its higher-profile predecessor, Andy Warhol's Frankenstein. Direction is credited to Warhol factory filmmaker Paul Morrissey, though there still exists a very vocal camp who insist that the real credit should go to Italian director Antonio Margheriti. Euro-horror leading man Udo Kier assays the title role, playing the count as a pale, anemic-looking blood junkie with an overwrought accent. Finding the supply of "weer-gin" blood diminishing rapidly in Romania, Dracula is forced to seek a fix in a predominantly Catholic Italian province, where he is certain a few virgins still exist. He travels with his assistant (Arno Juerging) and his coffin-sealed sister to the decrepit, crumbling mansion of the financially-strapped Marquis DiFore (a tour-de-force performance from Bicycle Thief director Vittorio de Sica) who welcomes the affluent Count with open arms, hoping to marry off any one of his four daughters. Dracula clearly has other intentions for the girls... but his plans are rudely thwarted by beefy, socialist handyman Mario (Joe Dallesandro), who has been dutifully divesting the young maidens of their -- ahem -- virtue, thus tainting their blood and making it unsafe for vampiric consumption. Very unsafe, it turns out -- as we are treated to protracted scenes of the death-pale Count vomiting up gallons of blood. Rated "X" at the time of its release (and subsequently re-rated "R" ten years later), this outrageous catalogue of depravity features wildly campy performances, inane dialogue and an outrageous climax. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Dallesandro, Udo Kier, (more)
- 1973
In this historical fantasy, based on the classic medieval poem during the days of King Arthur, the gallant Green Knight gallops into the court and makes a gruesome challenge to the Round Table Knights. He dares any of them to successfully chop off his head. If they fail, he gets to hack off theirs. Brave Gawain accepts the challenge and with a mighty swing slices off the Green Knight's noggin. Unfortunately, the headless body calmly picks up the head and places it back on his shoulders. The honor-bound Gawain then must fulfill his destiny at the palace of the Green Knight. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
On March 24, 1944, in the Ardeatine Caves outside Rome, one of the most infamous atrocities of World War II occurred -- the mass execution of 330 Italians in retaliation for the deaths of 33 Germans. The book Death in Rome contends that Pope Pius XII knew of the German plan but did nothing to stop it. In this film adaptation, Richard Burton plays Col. Herbert Kappler, a Nazi officer torn between his devotion to Hitler's cause and his love for Italy when he is ordered by his superior officer, Gen. Kurt Maelzer (Leo McKern), to see that this execution is carried out. Opposing the Germans and reacting against the silence of the Pope is Vatican priest Don Antonelli (Marcello Mastroianni), who chooses to die with the Italians rather than continue to act as a middleman between the German army and the Romans. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
In March of 1944 the Thied-Reich's stronghold over Europe was weakening, and the swelling resistance in Nazi-occupied Rome would spark one of the most devastating wartime atrocities in modern history. When thirty-three members of the SS military police were ambushed and gunned down by the Roman underground, an enraged German High Command ordered the death of ten Roman civilians for each of the thirty-three SS soldiers killed. A decree issued directly from the Pope states that Roman priest Pietro Antonelli (Marcello Mastroianni) must collaborate with Nazi Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Kappler (Richard Burton) in gathering 330 Roman citizens for systematic execution. Torn by his faith and devoted to pacifism, Father Antonelli must choose between defying direct orders from the highest seat in the Catholic church, or remaining true to his vows and standing by as 330 innocents are gunned down on the orders of history's most notorious dictator. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) was one of the pivotal thinkers of the Renaissance. A Dominican friar in Italy, he left the order and taught widely throughout Europe. Among the ideas he taught were the inexpressibility of any ultimate truths and the complete relativity of ordinary truth. He also taught religious tolerance. For these and other deviations, he was burned at the stake by the Inquisition. This lavish Italian film takes up his story after he has returned to Venice from meetings with European heads of state and teaching sessions at the great universities. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gian Maria Volontè
- 1973
One of Roman Polanski's lesser-known films, Diary of Forbidden Dreams (also known as What?) stars Sydne Rome as an attractive young hitchhiker who, as the film opens, accepts a ride from three men in a car, who later attempt to rape her. She escapes their clutches and makes her way to a mansion owned by millionaire Joseph Noblart (Hugh Griffith), who is overseeing a decadent party. Among the guests at his home are a pair of table-tennis players, a man with a harpoon (played by Polanski himself), and a hedonistic pimp played by Marcello Mastroianni. The woman's sexually charged adventure is an homage to Alice in Wonderland. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1972
The well-known short-story writer Ring Lardner, Jr. wrote the screenplay for La Mortadella, an Italian/French production with mostly English dialogue. The story concerns the difficulties and reactions of Madelena (Sophia Loren), an Italian visitor to New York City. She has come to the country carrying a huge mortadella sausage which she intends as a gift for her fiancé. U.S. Customs has other ideas, however, and she is detained until she hits upon the idea of sharing the offending foodstuff with the customs officers. Finally allowed entry into the U.S., she grows disenchanted with her fiancé and other men she meets and is only with difficulty able to make her escape to a more agreeable location. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni star in this Italian comedy. The story begins with Loren as Valerie, a woman whose suicide attempt, prompted by a romantic disappointment, is thwarted by Don Mario (Mastroianni), a priest whom she called before she lost consciousness. She immediately falls in love with the priest. He is much taken with her beauty and considers asking for a dispensation to marry her, which encourages her greatly. The priest asks for advice, which ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous (castration). Meanwhile, he is promoted to be a Monsignor. At the same time, Valerie learns that she is pregnant, though it is not clear who the father is. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
The first Italian feature film shot in Moscow was directed by the renowned Vittorio De Sica and produced by Carlo Ponti. Sophia Loren stars as Giovanna, an Italian woman who marries Antonio (Marcello Mastroianni) 12 days before the outbreak of WWII. Antonio has no desire to fight in the conflict, and he fakes insanity to try to avoid the draft, but officials see through the charade. Antonio is sent to the Russian front, where the soldiers are plagued by freezing temperatures and short supplies of rations. He is found half-dead in the cold by a Russian peasant girl, Mascia (Lyudmila Savelyeva). She takes him in, and eventually, they marry. Giovanna waits in vain for word on the fate of her husband, who is officially declared missing in action. She goes to Russia to try to find him, searching records and cemeteries. Finally, she discovers first his new wife, then him, and reluctantly decides not to fight the situation. Returning home to Italy, she marries an older factory worker, Ettore (Germano Longo), and they have a son (who is played by the real-life son of Ponti and Loren). But Antonio still longs for Giovanna, and he returns to Italy to discuss a reconciliation with her. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
- 1968
Vittorio De Sica directed this sudsy romantic drama, which received punishing reviews on its initial release. Recently-divorced fashion designer Julia (Faye Dunaway) arrives in Venice from the U.S. and meets handsome race car driver Valerio (Marcello Mastroianni) at the airport. While she initially brushes off his advances, she soon has a change of heart and invites him to spend a few days with her at the villa where she'll be staying. After several days divided between lovemaking and sightseeing, a party at Julia's home turns into an orgy, and Valerio decides that he's bitten off more than he can chew and leaves her. However, Valerio soon learns that there's a reason for Julia's reckless abandon -- she is suffering from a terminal illness and has a very short time to live. Faye Dunaway and Marcello Mastroianni were romantically involved at the time Amanti was in production, though little of their personal chemistry appears onscreen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faye Dunaway, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
- 1968
Marcello Mastroianni marks his English language film debut in this featherweight caper film directed by first-time director Christopher Morahan. Mastroianni plays the owner of a London boutique who also happens to be the fourth in line to succeed the Russian throne. Mastroianni, feeling that the collection of Russian imperial jewels actually belongs to him, determines to steal them and return them to their rightful owner -- himself. To carry out his plan, he puts together a cadre of pulchritudinous female crooks and arranges for his gal gang to model the imperial jewels at a fashion show. But, as usual, complications set in to mess up his plans. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Rita Tushingham, (more)
- 1968
Mario (Marcello Mastroianni) is a Milan industrialist who is constantly testing balloons to see how much air one can take before busting. His principle romantic interest in this feature is played by Catherine Spaak. The majority of the film seems to come from previous efforts from 1964 and 1965 which additional footage was added to, to insure an 85-minute full-length movie. A new soundtrack has been added as well. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Catherine Spaak, (more)
- 1967
Adapted from the novel by C. Virgil Gheorghiu, this satirical concentration-camp drama from Turkish-born French director Henri Verneuil stars Anthony Quinn as Johann Moritz, a Romanian peasant who experiences the horrors of World War II when the Nazis invade his country. Because local police chief Dobresco (Gregoire Aslan) is anamorous towards Moritz's wife Suzanna (Virna Lisi), he has the lowly fieldhand falsely labeled a Jew and sent to a work camp. Moritz's troubles continue to mount, as his wife is threatened with losing their property unless she divorces him. Also starring Michael Redgrave, La Vingt-cinquième heure is also known as The 25th Hour, though it should not be confused with and bears no resemblance to the 2002 Spike Lee film of the same name. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Virna Lisi, (more)
- 1967
Smashing Time attempts to turn British actresses Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave into a female Laurel and Hardy. The film's second mistake is to prolong the joke for 96 minutes. Tushingham and Redgrave play a couple of dimwitted North Country girls who head to London, in hopes of breaking into the mad, mod world of fashion modeling. Instead they spend most of their screen time getting in each other's way and wreaking havoc on innocent pedestrians. The comic "highlight" of Smashing Time is supposed to be a mammoth pie fight; but outside of one cute throwaway gag involving a street minister, the sequence makes one wish, in the words of Laurel and Hardy buff Leonard Maltin, that Smashing Time "had been handled by someone other than [director] Desmond Davis." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave, (more)
